Admissions Coordinator:
Dr. Elliott Ingersoll 216-687-5291 or r.ingersoll@csuohio.edu.

ADMISSIONS TIMETABLE:

Once a person has decided that one of CSU's counselor education programs is right for her or him, there are five steps to applying to either the agency or school programs.

GRADUATE SCHOOL APPLICATION:

This general application to graduate school is found in the back of the CSU Graduate Catalog. The catalog is available from the admissions office in Rhodes Tower West (216-687-3754). The application is to be mailed back to:

The Office of Graduate Admissions
Rhodes Tower West, room 204
Cleveland State University
2121 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland OH 44115-2214

TWO LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION:

Each candidate to the counseling programs must have two letters of recommendation supporting their application. The form for this (which can be copied) is also in the graduate catalog. There are also forms available in the CASAL department offices in Rhodes Tower 1419. These letters should also be sent to the address above for admissions.

FORWARDING PREVIOUS COLEGE TRANSCRIPTS:

Next, applicants should forward any undergraduate, post-graduate, or graduate transcripts to the address above for admissions.

STANDARDIZED TESTING:

All applicants to the counseling programs must take one of two standardized exams for entrance to graduate school. Applicants must take either the Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Applicants should forward their results to the College of Education at Cleveland State University. Most applicants take the MAT as it is a shorter exam and less expensive. Applicants can arrange to take the exams at the Cleveland State University Counseling and Testing Center (216-687-2272. For general information on these standardized tests, you may click on the hyperlinks below.

• MAT Information
• GRE Information

COUNSELING ESSAY TEST:

Each applicant to the counseling programs is asked to take the counseling essay exam. This is a one-hour essay exam given once each semester. The exam asks you to choose a case of a child, adolescent or adult. Once you choose the case, you will be provided some information and asked to write a short essay about it. The aim of the test is to assess writing skills and basic knowledge/common sense about working with people. The essay exam is offered once each fall semester (usually October) and twice in the spring semester (usually February and March). For information on the next dates, contact Ms. Wiggins-Claytor at t.wiggins@csuohio.edu.

PLEASE NOTE: As of July 1st, 2003 you can only take the essay exam two times. If you take it a second time you must select a different case from the case selected the first time.

ESSAYS WILL ONLY BE HELD FOR TWO YEARS. IF AFTER TWO YEARS THE APPLICANT HAS NOT FINISHED THEIR APPLICATION, THEIR ESSAY WILL BE DESTROYED.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS:

Once your application, undergraduate transcripts, letters of recommendation, and standardized test score (if you took the GRE) are at the admissions office, the admission office forwards your file to Education Students' Services Center (ESSC) in 1455 Rhodes Tower. (If you took the MAT, that score is sent directly to the ESSC). Your file is then forwarded to Dr. Elliott Ingersoll, coordinator of counseling admissions (216-687-5291). Dr. Elliott Ingersoll then presents your file to the counseling faculty for assessment and an admissions decision. Your file and the recommendation are then forwarded back to the Education Student Services Center where a letter to each applicant is drafted and mailed, informing them of the decision. If you are recommended for admission, your letter will specify a faculty member who will act as your academic advisor. The counseling faculty makes admissions decisions once at the end of each semester.

IMPORTANT NOTE! You should have all your application materials turned in 6 months prior to the date you wish to begin as a degree –seeking student. The admission process goes through several university departments and takes some time – WE DO NOT DO “RUSH” ADMISSIONS.

ADMISSION TO THE PROGRAM

Once a person is recommended by the faculty for admission to either the school or agency counseling program, they must pass one final screening to qualify for full admission. This final screening is a passing grade in the first course in the program, EDE 684: Lab in Counseling Skills. The course is graded on a pass/fail basis. This course should be the first one taken after an applicant gets a letter confirming initial admission.