Elmhurst College

This graduate program has a few good qualities, but overall it is horribly managed, and of little practical/applied value. The organization of the program is atrocious, wasting way to much time on certain minuscule areas, and cramming other, much more useful areas into tiny amounts of time. Most of the time it feels like you are spinning your wheels, working your ass off, and obtaining nothing. This has been the single most stressful educational experience of my life. The program is seemingly divorced from the greater university, and participants are purposefully isolated from campus life/involvement. The internship process is horrendous, and the internship coordinator is a clueless idiot. If you have any questions about program completion or graduation, no one will have a real answer. You will be shuffled back and forth between 5 different people for months trying to get a strait answer on anything. I feel little prepared for any practical, real life application of anything having to do with this program. There is far too much emphasis on repetitive and meaningless science, and applied topics are minimized. I am currently searching other universities and programs, with an emphasis on locating one with a competent program director, and an appropriate balance between science and practice. There are a handful of good teachers, who actually seam to be grounded in reality, and provide purposeful, helpful education and insight. Pat Ackles is a humorous, realistic, sarcastic ass (in a harmless, and fairly amusing way), who is not concerned with the politics of the program, and doesn't make any attempt to kiss ass to the higher ups. He's definitely the most engaging instructor in the program, and offers a real insight and objective opinion on issues (such as flat out telling us what things are crap, and you should avoid, and then explaining why.) He's kind of like a blunt santa clause who will call you out and make fun of you for being a dumb-ass. Cheers to Ackles. Larry Caroll offers an enlightened and thoughtful approach, geared towards increasing the students practical skills and self-efficacy through the direct involvement and engagement of students with practical interventions. He is exceptionally concerned with the student's progress, and seeks to maximize the learning experience. Cheers to Caroll. Sharon Parker is another good teacher, who offers real insight and utility into the material. She offers a blend of light humor, practical insight/utility, positive encouragement, and flexibility that is very effective, and shows a genuine concern for student progress. Cheers to Sharon. Colantoni is exceptionally concerned with student progress, and more than willing to adapt the emphasis of the course material to the interests of the students. Unfortunately, the scope of what he is able to do is limited by the fact that his course meets only once a week, and is crammed into a mere 7 week time span. He offers valuable practical experience and insight.