The Dream of a Doctorate
In the winter of 2011 I dropped out of my local university. I was majoring in Mass Communication and felt I was not pursuing a degree that I was passionate about or interested in. Since that day I have had the desire to go back to school and obtain a degree, but I did not have the motivation, time, or finances to return, nor did I have a proper direction in my life. I proudly enrolled in Oregon State University majoring in Psychology in the fall of 2015. My biggest motivation at the moment is my two sons. I want to set a good example for them and I want to be able to provide them with a comfortable life.
My dream may not be extravagant, but education is important to me. I want to obtain a Doctorate of Psychology (PsyD) from Baylor University. A PsyD differs from a PhD in Clinical Psychology in several ways. A PhD focuses on research and is often obtained in five or more years. Funding also varies depending on the school. A PsyD focuses more on the clinical training and less on research. The program at Baylor offers tuition coverage in the form of a practicum salary and stipends. The program generally lasts for four years with a fifth year as an internship. It is one of the few reputable PsyD programs in the United States. Many other programs have been criticized as being diploma mills that will give a degree to anyone who pays. Some critics also claim that in-depth research is the preferred method to obtaining a doctorate and do not feel the PsyD is as prestigious as the PhD. I am not interested in prestige, I do however want to attend a good school and become a clinical psychologist. I am much more interested in hands on clinical experience rather than focusing primarily on conducting research.
Pat Neff Hall, © Baylor® University
Doctors Before Me
One of the most notable PsyD holders is Dr. Dorothy Cantor. According to her website she graduated from Rutgers University in 1976 and has been a prominent member of the psychology community since. Some of her accomplishments include being the 109th President of the American Psychological Association, former President of the New Jersey Psychological Association, and is a co-founder of Women in Psychology for Legislative Action.
Betsy Kennard graduated in 1984 with a PsyD from Baylor. She works for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. During her time there she has been Program Director and Director of Outpatient Psychological Services and the Associate Program Chair of the Psychology doctoral program. The focus of her research is depression in adolescents and teens that have attempted suicide.
Barriers and Support
Waco Texas, ©2016 City of Waco
Baylor is an extremely competitive school due to the excellent financial support and the small class sizes. Acceptance into the PsyD program would be one of the biggest barriers to overcome. If my resume is impressive enough to be accepted, my next hurdle would be to move to Waco, TX. This is no small feat. My husband works for AT&T and would need to be able to transfer or find a different job with comparable pay. Assuming we could sell our house, the next step would be to find new housing. Luckily we would not have to rent a U Haul because we have a family member with a large trailer. I also believe we would need to go to Waco at least one time in advanced to look at places to live, to interview with the school, and to possibly have my husband interview for a job.
I am very lucky because I have my husband’s full support of this dream. He is willing to pack up our lives and move almost anywhere graduate school might take me. I would not be able to complete any schooling without his help. Both of our families would be sad to see us and our kids move so far away, but both of our mothers are teachers and they know the value of higher education.
Current Finances
The following is a general outline of my finances. I did not include a few items such as clothing and entertainment because I really do not buy clothing very often, certainly not monthly, nor do we go on many outings. Our entertainment usually consists of eating out at a restaurant.
| Monthly | Yearly | |
| Expenses | ||
| Mortgage | $1,200.00 | $14,400.00 |
| Car Loan | $675.00 | $8,100.00 |
| Car/House Insurance | $130.00 | $1,560.00 |
| Utilities | $150.00 | $1,800.00 |
| Groceries | $800.00 | $9,600.00 |
| Phone | $100.00 | $1,200.00 |
| Internet/TV | $50.00 | $600.00 |
| Gas | $50.00 | $600.00 |
| Dining Out | $200.00 | $2,400.00 |
| Total Expenses | $3,355.00 | $40,260.00 |
| Net Income | $4,000.00 | $48,000.00 |
| Total Discretionary | $645.00 | $7,740.00 |
Budget Projections and Variations
Baylor is my first choice of graduate school. I am not positive what my next choice would be so I will compare Baylor’s PsyD program with the University of Montana’s clinical psychology PhD program and Montana State University Billings’ Master of Science in Psychology. The UM program is the closest clinical psychology program to me and MSU Billings is the closest psychology graduate degree. I wish to compare these degrees because I am realistic and I have not actually done the math yet as to the cost of different schools. I did not include any financial assistance with the two Montana schools because they will vary depending on what kind of aid I will qualify for.
Billings, MT to Waco, TX
| Expenses | Baylor PsyD | U of M PhD | MSU M.S. Psyc. |
| Moving Expenses | |||
| Gas (3 vehicles) | $600.00 | $150.00 | $0.00 |
| Hotel (1 night) | $100.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Moving Total | $700.00 | $150.00 | $0.00 |
| School Expenses (1 Semester, 9 credits) | |||
| Tuition | $0.00 | $2,193.00 | $2,632.00 |
| Fees | $3,000.00 | $866.00 | $0.00 |
| Books | $500.00 | $500.00 | $500.00 |
| School Total | $3,500.00 | $3,559.00 | $3,132.00 |
| Monthly Expenses | |||
| Housing | $918.00 | $1,257.00 | $1,200.00 |
| Utilities | $164.00 | $150.00 | $150.00 |
| Monthly Total | $1,082.00 | $1,421.00 | $1,350.00 |
| Total Expenses | $5,282.00 | $5,130.00 | $4,482.00 |
| Total Expenses Without Moving | $4,582.00 | $4,980.00 | $4,482.00 |
This is not an exhaustive list of expenses. I used www.areavibes.com to find average utilities and housing amounts for Waco, TX and Missoula, MT. The MSU website did not list tuition and fees separately, so they are combined under the tuition category. The school expenses category lists the maximum amount of money I would pay for 9 credits. I could end up paying nothing for any of the schools depending on the financial aid/stipends/assistantships I may receive.
Saving for the Dream
| School Expenses | |||
| Baylor (4 Years) | U of M (5 years) | MSU (3 years) | |
| $28,000.00 | $35,590.00 | $18,792.00 | |
| Savings/Month | # of Years | ||
| $400.00 | 6 | 7.5 | 4 |
| $500.00 | 5 | 6 | 3.5 |
| $600.00 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
Saving $400 per month is the most realistic figure for me, but I wanted to see the other figures for comparison. If tuition/fees stayed fixed, it would take nearly eight years to save for the University of Montana. Since tuition generally goes up every year, it would take even longer. I have two young kids and do not wish to pay exorbitant childcare costs therefore I do not plan to go to graduate school for four to six more years. I want to wait until my youngest is at least in preschool. This will give me time to save, finish my bachelor’s degree, and gain some part time experience in the mental health field. I realize there are a lot of variable to this dream and taking an extravagant vacation would certainly be more fun, but it is important that I weigh the options for my future.
