If you answered “yes” to any of the questions above, there’s a good chance that you would excel as a counselor. However, it takes much more than listening skills and compassion to make someone a qualified professional counselor. A degree in counseling is designed to equip people to deal with serious life issues such as depression, anxiety, abuse, mental disorders, traumatic events, suicidal tendencies, and low self-esteem. People who seek counseling need quality help. A counseling degree is the best way to ensure that the counsel you offer them is reliable and valid and reassure your counselees that you are qualified to help them.

Most counseling programs will require some courses in psychology. Psychology is the study of the human mind. It explores how people think and the external and internal influences that shape the way that they think. Many also include courses in sociology, which is the study of human social activity and the factors that affect and shape it. Depending on the type of counseling degree you are pursuing, you may also need to take courses that will teach you about the physiology of the brain and how this can affect the way someone thinks and behaves.

Counseling is a diverse and ever-changing field because human beings are diverse and the world around us is ever-changing. Counseling is a wonderful choice of major for someone who loves to learn. There is always something new to learn in this field, new research being conducted, and new revelations about how the human mind works. The decision to pursue a counseling degree is a decision to be a student of life, for life. Even after graduation, your education will continue as you gain experience and see firsthand how diverse human nature can be.

Depending what level of education you’d like to pursue, you can also chose to pursue different types of degrees, from accreditation programs to a Bachelor’s degree or even a Master’s degree or Doctorate. Whatever the level you chose, you can rest assured that your counseling degree has prepared you to do the work of helping people to cope with whatever life throws at them.

10. University of California – San Diego. This beachside campus boasts a very high level of research activity and has sea grants as well as space grants. This is an undergraduate counseling school that places a premium on experimental psychology.

9. University of California – Berkeley. The oldest school in the University of California System is also the only university in the United States to receive top five rankings in all of the doctorate disciplines offered by the school.

8. University of Pennsylvania. Penn is the fourth-oldest university in the United States and had the first Department of Psychology. In a way, that makes Penn America’s first undergraduate counseling school as well. It is an Ivy League School and was also one of the Colonial Colleges founded before the Revolutionary War.

7. University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. U of M is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Minnesota System. It currently has the fourth largest main campus student body in the nation.

6. Harvard University (Tied). Harvard is oldest university in the United States. It also well established as one of the best universities in the nation. It is in the Ivy League and is a Colonial College.

5. University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign. The oldest and largest part of the University of Illinois System also has the tenth largest enrollment of any university. The Psychology Department is one of the most distinguished programs that the university offers. It’s a solid choice of an undergraduate counseling school.

4. University of California – Los Angeles. UCLA has the distinction of being the only leading research institute in the world founded in the twentieth century. It has more applicants than any other university in the United States.

3. Yale University Yale University is the third-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. It is also, like Harvard and UPenn, an Ivy League university and a Colonial College.

2. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (Tied). UMich is the flagship campus of the University of Michigan and widely recognized as one of the best public universities in the world. It is one of eight original Public Ivies – public universities that “provide an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price” (Richard Moll).

1. Stanford University (Tied). This private research university constantly ranks among the world’s top universities. It has been the top psychology school for over fifty years, making it a dream destination for anyone who wants to attend an undergraduate counseling school.

8. University of Wisconsin – Madison (Tied). UW is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin system, and also has very high research activity, making it the ideal graduate level counseling school for those interested in experimental psychology.

8. University of Minnesota – Twin Cities (Tied). U of M is the oldest and largest campus in the University of Minnesota System, and currently boasts the fourth largest main campus student body in the United States.

8. Princeton University (Tied). This private university is one of the eight schools that make up the Ivy League. It is also one of the nine Colonial Colleges that were founded prior to the American Revolution.

7. University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign. The oldest and largest campus of the University of Illinois System has the tenth largest enrollment of any university. The Psychology Department is one of the most distinguished programs that the university offers, making it a competitive graduate level counseling school.

3. Yale University (Tied). Yale University is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Like Princeton, it is also an Ivy League university and a Colonial College.

3. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (Tied). UMich is the flagship campus of the University of Michigan and also one of the best public universities in the world. It is one of the original Public Ivies – public universities that offer “an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price” (Richard Moll).

3. University of California – Los Angeles (Tied). UCLA has the distinction of being the only leading research institute in the world founded in the twentieth century. It has more applicants than any other university in the United States.

3. Harvard University (Tied). The oldest university in the United States, it is also the first and oldest corporation in the United States. It joins Princeton and Yale in the Ivy League and as a Colonial College. Harvard’s Department of Psychology has been considered a top-ranked graduate level counseling school for decades.

1. University of California – Berkeley (Tied). Berkeley is the oldest school in the University of California System. Berkeley is the only school to receive top five rankings in all of the doctorate disciplines offered by the school.

1. Stanford University (Tied). This private research university constantly ranks among the world’s top universities. It has held the top spot for psychology for over fifty years; an achievement recognized and honored by the Smithsonian Institution in 2003. It’s the brass ring of graduate level counseling schools.

10. Texas A&M University at College Station (Productivity Index: 0.5): The flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System, A&M is also the seventh largest university in the United States, as well as one of the top twenty research institutes for funding.

9. New York University (Productivity Index: 0.9): This private research institution is the largest private, nonprofit university in the United States. It is, of course, located in the heart of Manhattan.

8. Teachers College, Columbia University (Productivity Index: 1.21): Teachers College has a corporate status distinct from that of Columbia University, but all of its faculty hold appointments from Columbia and the President is a Dean of the University. It developed its Clinical and Counseling Psychology department when the field was just emerging.

7. Brigham Young University (Productivity Index: 1.35):  BYU is a private research university owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is the nation’s largest religious university, and boasts the second-largest enrollment of any private university in the United States.

6. State University of New York at Buffalo (Productivity Index: 1.36): Originally a private institution, UB became a state university in 1962. It is a university with Very High Research Activity, according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Learning.

5. Arizona State University (Productivity Index: 1.37). ASU is the largest public research university in the United States. It is ranked among the top five “Up and Coming” universities in America, meaning that it has made substantial improvements to its academics and facilities. It is also considered one of “America’s Best College Buys”, as ranked by Forbes Magazine.

4. Pennsylvania State University at University Park (Productivity Index: 1.42): Penn State’s “Main Campus” is also a Public Ivy: an institution of higher learning that offers “an Ivy League collegiate experience at a public school price” (Richard Moll). It’s also one of the ten largest public universities in the United States.

3. University of Oregon (Productivity Index: 1.44): UO’s College of Education, of which the Department of Counseling Psychology is a part, is America’s fourth best graduate school in the nation, and the best public grad school, according to the US News & World Report.

2. Georgia State University (Productivity Index: 1.5): GSU also has “Very High Research Activity” according to the Carnegie Foundation. Graduates of its Counseling Psychology program score very well on the EPPP.

1. Iowa State University (Productivity Index: 1.67): This public university is also a land-grant and space-grant university. Obviously, its Counseling Psychology program is top-notch.

10. Genetic Counseling. This is the counseling job of the future. Thanks to advances in science, couples can now be pre-screened for genetic disorders. Genetic counselors advise couples on the probability of conceiving a child with the disorder and help them to plan to avoid or at least mitigate the condition.

9. Grief Counseling. The world we live in can be cruel at times. Fortunately, the stigma attached to sharing about one’s grief is fading and more people feel comfortable getting grief counseling.

8. Rehabilitation Counseling. Injuries can often be just as psychologically damaging as they are physically damaging. Rehabilitation counselors help people recovering from injuries to come to terms with their injury and how quickly they will be able to heal.

7. Dating Counseling. In an age where finding love on the internet is becoming commonplace, expect to see more people going to a professional for advice on how to handle the new territory of internet dating. This is another counseling job that will grow in popularity in the future.

6. School Counseling. The first counselor that most people see is a school counselor. There will always be a need for counselors to give advice to kids or even just be available to listen to them talk and show them that someone cares. This is one counseling job that will never go out of style.

5. Behavioral Disorder Counseling. There just aren’t enough qualified counselors trained to deal with the flood of patients being diagnosed with depression and other mood disorders. Demand for this counseling job is rising with every new diagnosis.

4. Marriage Counseling. Over half of marriages in the United States end in divorce. Given this statistic and the frequency with which it’s being mentioned in the media, couples are becoming more proactive about seeking out marriage counseling before the marriage is unsalvageable.

3. Relationship Counseling. Married people aren’t the only ones with problems. Every human relationship is bound to undergo some strain over time. People are becoming more to getting a professional evaluation of their relationships and how they can be improved.

2. Life Coaching. Some people are determined to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, and the number of determined people looking to life coaches to help them achieve these goals is growing. Sometimes, it just helps to get an objective opinion.

1. Career Counseling. With the economy in its current state, the unemployed are flocking in droves to get a professional opinion on how they can make themselves more marketable to companies or where they ought to look for work. Perhaps they should consider getting a counseling job.

After deciding what kind of program or degree you want to pursue and which schools would be the best fit for you, the next step in applying to counseling schools is researching the school’s requirements. You’ll want to know if there are any prerequisite courses required or any standardized tests or proficiency exams you need to take in order to qualify. Some of these tests require you to register in advance and you want to make sure that the results will be available to the school of your choice in a timely manner.

Once you know the school’s requirements and prerequisites, you can focus on the actual application. When applying to counseling schools, it’s important to remember that not all programs are created equal. Some of them will want to know more about your academic history, while others might want to know your personal history, and still others will want to know your motivation for pursuing a degree in counseling. In any case, you will want to carefully read over the application before answering any of the questions so that your application is cohesive and consistent.

While a strong academic history and high test scores are important in applying to counseling schools, you also want to show the schools that you are a unique individual. You want to show them that you are committed and hard-working. You basically want to give them a quick glimpse of who you are and what you can offer to the school that no other applicant can. This is why a good personal statement is so important. Some schools will limit the length of your personal statement, but, as a general rule of thumb, it should be at least one page long and no longer than two.

Applying to counseling schools can be a harrowing process. But if you leave yourself enough time to finish the application, personal statement and any prerequisites without rushing, you will have a much more pleasant experience during this time.

Some counseling scholarships are specific to a field of counseling. For example, the U.S. Department of Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) offers grants to colleges that give scholarships to students interested in pursuing careers in rehabilitation counseling. In exchange, the students are expected to work for two years in the public rehabilitation program, with full pay, for each year that they received financial support from RSA. RSA has found a way to encourage counselors to give back to their communities after having equipped and trained them to help people. This is not only helpful to the community, but also raises awareness of quality public rehabilitation programs.

Many counseling scholarships are offered through foundations or organizations championing a specific cause. The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) offers several scholarships to both undergraduate and graduate students. They offer these scholarships to students who are conducting noteworthy research, pursuing marriage and family therapy specifically, or are minorities pursuing this specific field.  The last is important because certain minorities are less aware that such counseling is available, and certainly less likely to take advantage of it. AAMFT is committed to championing marriage and family therapy, and they believe that supporting students who are pursuing this career is a strategic move.

But finding a reputable organization offering counseling scholarships is only part of the battle. Even after you find the right scholarship for you, you have to convince the scholarship board that you deserve it. Most scholarship programs require the applicant to submit a personal statement of some sort. This is a very important document, as it is often the applicant’s only opportunity to show the scholarship board that he or she is extraordinary and will do extraordinary work if the scholarship is awarded to him or her. The personal statement should be honest, but not boastful; respectful, but not sycophantic.

There are many counseling scholarships available to those who wish to pursue a career in counseling. There are even a few scholarships that are not specific to counseling, but that a student majoring in counseling is still eligible for. It’s important for an underprivileged student to remember that he or she may still be able to afford a quality counseling education.