Psychology Major: Georgia, Tulane, VaTech or Ohio State?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is a senior, will major in Psychology, and is down to these schools (listed in no particular order):

Georgia
Tulane
Virginia Tech
Ohio State

Can anyone help us: We are having trouble differentiating psychology departments / rankings / offerings / summer intern & post grad opportunities among these schools. Can anyone share insight on respective psychology offerings for some or all of these schools or suggest how we can go about finding this information?

Note: While we know about the schools, campus/location, weather, costs, etc… our real interest here is narrowed to learning more about the psychology department. And so far, we have been to some of the admitted student events and have learned from the schools that their respective departments are basically “amazing”. So any insight would be appreciated.

Where are you located, OP? Honestly, I would not pay the Tulane tuition, nor out of state public schools, for a degree in psychology.

[Anonymous]

I have a Tulane psych student who is having a wonderful experience both inside the classroom and out. She has enjoyed her classes and is loving the New Orleans experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:cheapest possible, unless he plans to open his own business its not a good ROI

+1 this exactly

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks to all who responded. Some of you asked some questions so I’ll reply here:

1) The questions about the psychology offerings are to help us with just one of several decision points my son will incorporate into his college destination decision. We are aware of the other factors including cost, student/social life, weather, etc. We are just trying to find some differentiations among each schools' psychology program.

2) At least as of now, my son wants the option to pursue a pre-med track or become a psychologist. He also knows that because a psychology major offers a blend of training in both quantitative and qualitative aspects, he will have other avenues available to him including business (MBA school), law, etc. I suppose what he does post-graduate will crystallize has he progresses in college.

3) Some asked where we are located. We are located in Maryland.

Many thanks again and thanks in advance for any more insights below.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tulane, of course.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Checkout each school for their tracks offered within the psychology dept. for undergraduate students. Some (Big Ten schools for example) will offer a track for those intending to pursue a PhD. and at least one or two other tracks for those who want to go into a certain type of practice or practice area.

Continuing:

Just checked out U Georgia's website. U Georgia suggests that, due to the few required courses for psychology majors, that psychology is an excellent second major. The website then lists several majors that mesh well with psychology (such as statistics or criminal justice or a few others depending upon one's career goals).

What? This is the most bs major ever invented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is a psychology major at UGA with an emphasis in Neuroscience. It is a very demanding program on the science side - and she has enjoyed her psych classes too. The professors are very approachable.
It is in the college of arts and sciences, so there is a foreign language requirement, which may be the case most of these places.
I would not hestitate to choose UGA if otherwise inclined.

OP, if your kid has even the slightest interest in perhaps getting a phd afterwards, they will want a foreign language.

[Anonymous]

Unless he plans to go to graduate school or med school, it doesn't really matter OP.

[Anonymous]

Probably everyone already said that you have to get a masters/PHD in Psychology. if you don't its like getting a bachelors in "pre-law" or "pre-med". Or in in the case of psychology, its a social worker. So go where they like it and its cheapest or a balance of the two because from the PHDs I know in Psychology (shockingly 3) they all said its all about your undergrand GPA and your gradute exam scores. I dont think they even care what school it was - they want top class rank, close to 4.0 and solid scores.

[Anonymous]

Sorry about my spelling above, just trying to share info, but see its a hot mess. Content over format!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Probably everyone already said that you have to get a masters/PHD in Psychology. if you don't its like getting a bachelors in "pre-law" or "pre-med". Or in in the case of psychology, its a social worker. So go where they like it and its cheapest or a balance of the two because from the PHDs I know in Psychology (shockingly 3) they all said its all about your undergrand GPA and your gradute exam scores. I dont think they even care what school it was - they want top class rank, close to 4.0 and solid scores.

Undergrad psych majors do well in a variety of business jobs. In other threads, market research and marketing have repeatedly come up as logical places to look.

[Anonymous]

With a psychology degree he's going to be waiting tables without a graduate degree, so it doesn't really matter.

[Anonymous]

I'm a college administrator and my institution's psychology department falls under my portfolio so I keep up with what's happening around the landscape. First, these four schools, Georgia, Tulane, Virginia Tech and Ohio State are all outstanding. Congratulations on admission.

I want to point out that Georgia and Ohio State have some very innovative and cutting edge labs. Students who get placed in these seem to have a glide path to meaningful summer internships and post-graduate opportunities. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My DC considered 3 of these (no Ohio State) and also chose psychology as a major to have a lot of directions to pursue after college.

We loved Tulane on paper and this it would be a great school for the right kid. New Orleans wasn't the right place for my kid.

UGA offers a wonderful, traditional college experience. We liked the Double Dawgs program: https://psychology.uga.edu/double-dawgs

At VT, we went to their open house so we attending a presentation in the School of Science. DC actually changed to neuroscience for their application b/c they were so impressed by the students who spoke about the cognitive science program. There is a lot of overlap between neuro and psych. If DC wanted to stay in state, they would have been happy with that program.

[Anonymous]

I don't know how anyone else on this board feels - and I'm not knowledgeable about the specific psychology departments of those schools - but generally speaking, Ohio St and UGA have huge alumni bases and that has to be helpful for networking when seeking job/internship opportunities. Those schools seem to have the most powerful and recognizable brands.