My name is Emily Zimmerer and I am in my first semester as a graduate student in the M.A. Couples Marital and Family Therapy program. After high school graduation I had a fairly easy time choosing where I wanted to go to college. I applied to Kutztown, was accepted and that was it. I knew since I was a little girl that I wanted to attend KU because my mother had and graduated from here. Plus I always loved this campus, with its old buildings and welcoming environment. I had a great undergrad experience here and made some really great, lasting friendships.
When it came time to start the grad school search, I immediately became overwhelmed. Kutztown was always an option for me, but I wanted to see what else was out there. I looked at fifteen different schools between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Then I found my dream school, Monmouth University. I loved how close to the beach it was and how amazing the campus was. A little side note, scenes from Annie were filmed there.
I began to apply to about ten different universities with my hopes up that Monmouth would call and I would be accepted. When the time came around to start hearing back from schools Monmouth was the first to call and congratulate me on my acceptance. Then came the hard part actually choosing from all six schools that accepted me – although with my dream school accepting me, you think this would have been easy.
When it came down to it, just because it was by the beach and was a great campus with an amazing counseling degree program, I needed to consider everything else, such as money and living situations. These were going to play a huge part in my decision. Kutztown had also accepted me and also offered me a better deal than any other school, which included a graduate assistantship.
The graduate assistantship offer sealed the deal for me. Having your tuition covered is a huge stress relief in an already highly stressful situation. Plus, I love the department I work in and the connections I have made because of it.
