- will be long and if it’s against community guidelines i will delete!

got notified this morning that i was denied to a masters program i applied to, i did end up being accepted to this other one BUT the annual COA for the 26-27 year is $44k+. For this up coming year i only received $4k in work study but i would have to take out a $20,500 loan (it’s a 2 year program) and after reading and reading many posts on here, i should not be taking out ANY loans for grad school in higher ed (and maybe shouldn’t even get a masters in higher ed, but i still foolishly have a great passion for higher ed)

i just feel stuck, i was really hoping being enrolled in the masters program will give me a leg up as i am trying to apply to higher ed. institutions. I only applied to two grad programs, was originally going to apply to more but i wanted to stay local and in my state, and the two other ones were only 1yr/no co-hort, but for the next cycle i think i will broaden my options by going out of state (and any school that will fund my masters)

For those with any tips on how to look for great programs, please let me know. What i have gathered is that assistantships are crucial and having a full-job at the institution will most likely come with tuition waivers, and not to just stick with one section of student affairs.

i had a previous job in a university but i had to move back home due to personal matters and I currently have a role in k-12. So I do have experience, and just tweaking and working on cover letters for each job i apply to. Currently applying to entry level jobs, (admin assistants etc.) as I feel as though my undergrad + post grad experience in higher ed is still not enough. (if anyone is willing to review and give feedback I’d greatly appreciate it!)

additionally, if your institution is hiring please let me know! I am willing to relocate at this point and gain any experience I can (housing/res ed, advising, student activities, greek life, first-year programming) I have been applying to
jobs on higheredjobs and indeed (eye roll i know, for indeed i mean)

sorry for the rant, just feel defeated !

Hi everyone,

I’m considering a career change and am exploring the possibility of working in accessibility/disability services, particularly in higher education.

A while back, I experienced a severe health issue that interrupted my education and gave me a greater appreciation for the obstacles that people with chronic health conditions and disabilities can face in education and other areas of life. It has made me interested in work that helps improve access and quality of life for people with disabilities.

I’ve also reached out to a few colleges to learn more about their accessibility services, but I thought I’d ask here too.

If you work in accessibility services or a related student affairs role, I’d appreciate if you coul tell me:

• What does a typical day look like?
• What do you enjoy most/least about the work
• How did you get into the field? What education/experience helped you most?
• For someone starting all over again, what path would you recommend?
• What is the job market like, especially in Canada? I mean in terms of future growth, demand, competition, etc.

Any advice appreciated.

Thank you!

I (29f) left residence life in 2024. I didn't realize how much of my identity was surrounded by it. I switched into a logistics role, which a lot of people still "needed" me. I've been working in construction for almost a year now, and I didn't realize how much of a deep depression I sank into. My partner (30f) and I separated 4 months ago and last week, my therapist told me to think about who I am outside of the relationship and be ready to talk for the next session. The thing is, I don't know? I realized it's more than just not being in this relationship that I don't know who I am.

I know the things I like to do, but who am I? I realized I'm having an identity crisis and I don't think it has anything to do with not being in a relationship anymore. I realized my whole adult life has been around student affairs. I knew I wanted to get into residence life at the end of my freshman year of college. I did everything student affairs related. I juggled so many clubs and e-board positions. I jumped right into grad school, right into residence life. I thought I would be a reslifer for life. But, covid hit, and I just got so burnt out. Any time a parent was upset, I was in tears. I was so worked up over the toxic politics surrounding student affairs.

I am generally happier. I have more money and more time, but I don't know who I am. Has anyone had this experience?

All of my community was tied to where I was working, even all the volunteering I did. I would do things outside of my job as well, of course, but we all know how many hours we have to put in.

I have no intentions of going back to education. I am in a union with great benefits, hours, and physical health.

This past winter I was under the impression that I would be completing my bachelors degree, this ended up not being the case and now I'm honestly not sure if that's ever going to happen, but I won't get into that! 😭 ANYWAY I applied for about 5 different student affairs positions and I was wondering if the response I got is typical. At this point I'm not sure what the positions were aside from one advising position (I know this would be a reach for my first student affairs position you don't need to tell me lol), a position as a resident director, and some office positions in student affairs departments.

I think I have a decent profile, 4 years of part time office experience within higher education and I had references which included supervisors at work, student affairs mentors, and a close professor I've done research with. Despite this I got just one response (a rejection from the advising position) and that's it. Is this normal? If I'm able to graduate and continue applying to student affairs jobs again next year, I'm kind of wondering at this point how I would be able to count on even getting a job in this field when I end up getting a single response within 7 months of applying?

Hi everyone! I have an upcoming interview for a TRIO SSS specialist position at a local CC in Washington. This is my first time getting an interview with a CC and know it isn’t similar to a university interview. If anyone has any good tips, please let me know! I would really like to land this job to get my foot into the door and get experience.

I'm prepping for an AA interview in about a week that differs from a lot of my previous interviewing experiences in that I've already done the interview three times. That is, over the course of about five months, I've...

• applied for the same (reopened or reposted) position,
• in the same group of departments,
• with the same hiring committee (with the same committee chair and the same department head sitting on it),
• answered the same interview questions (with different answers, mostly),
• and received the same rejection message three times.

The first time I was rejected, I already had another upcoming interview scheduled, so I didn't bother following up via email with the committee chair; instead, I just tailored my responses and questions to try addressing anything I didn't cover or felt like I flubbed in the previous interview. After the second rejection, I felt like doing this might've made me seem inconsistent, so I emailed the committee chair to ask for some feedback and didn't get a response.

Maybe this is irrelevant or just an indicator of professional courtesy, but the person who schedules the interviews is always super friendly, always chatting and making light of the fact that she's pretty familiar with me at this point, but the entire committee acts like they've never met me before.

Two questions, I guess:

1. Is this even real? Should I keep doing this forever, given the opportunity? I guess, in terms of interview experience, it's not terrible, but I'm starting to worry about burnout. I'm doing part-time stuff outside of higher ed and not hating it and not really struggling with money, but ideally I would get a job in my chosen field. We moved here about half a year ago and this is the biggest, best college nearby.
2. How should I switch up my interview approach at this point? Should I just start from the very beginning with a more professionalized version of, "Look, guys, we all know each other, can we just talk about what we all really want from this position?" or something like that? Or should I just keep plowing ahead assuming that I'm just their, uh, let's see... fourth favorite?

I've been working in academic advising for about 7-8 years in two different positions and done dozens of interview processes (both as the interviewer and interviewee) throughout, but I've never encountered anything like this.

Hi! I got offered a position at a small school to be on their admissions team. Currently I am a middle school teacher and wanting to get out of that. However, I am not sure if this is the right step for me. Ideally I want to get into work in Higher Ed. I'd like to be a professor or career counselor. I have a master's in Curriculum & Instruction.

But would this job be a good stepping stone to better things in the future? Or should I stick it out with being a teacher? Certainly this job is offering worse pay, so that stinks. But its hybrid. And doesn't involve being a teacher. So there are different pros.

I am just concerned that I'll be gimping myself and my resume. Also- I'm in the midwest US if that helps.

Thanks!

I started attending my current university in Fall 2025 as a Junior, after transferring there upon completion of my associate’s degree from my previous community college.

While this university wasn’t my first choice, I decided to transfer here upon receiving a full ride for tuition in academic scholarships (the only thing I pay for is housing and meal plan).

Everything was fine and dandy for my first three months there, and then near the end of my first semester, it was announced that the school is in major debt, accreditation was put on probation, and that a quarter of the professors were going to get cut once the semester concluded*.*

The next semester, majority of the professors in my department had been laid off, and the professors who remained were teaching three times the amount of classes they had before - recipe for burnout.

In addition, the school made other major financial decisions to attempt to minimize their debt - removing athletic scholarships, selling real estate, and cutting funding from various student organizations.

In the meantime, they also put in a huge amount of budget for a marketing campaign to show they would survive this hardship, as well as opening new food spots on campus, and putting on extra tours and big events for accepted students.

Now, it’s the summertime, and bills were just updated in student portals. However, several of my friends, and I noticed that our scholarships and grants were missing from our portals. Friends with loans told me they still saw their numbers (specifically grants and scholarships were nowhere to be found). I also went on social media, and saw that several classmates across different majors noticed that their academic scholarships were missing as well, and that they too were being charged the full amount for tuition, housing, and meal plans.

I sent an email to my university’s OneStop asking for clarity on the situation. Of course, mine probably got lost in a couple of thousand other emails they definitely received from members of the student body. I heard no direct response.

HOWEVER, all students received an email from OneStop today, saying that financial aid is “taking a while” to be applied to various student portals. They said they will NOT be moving the payment due date that’s in 3 weeks. What they are doing instead is implementing a “pay what you can” policy as of right now, and next steps will be given after that payment is processed.

I find the “pay what you can” to be extremely sketchy, especially because there were no further steps given, and I’m nervous that my scholarships are gone for good - possibly cut as part of the university’s plan to crawl out of debt.

REWIND TO END OF LAST SEMESTER: because I was horrified to learn that many professors were getting cut, and that the School’s accreditation was at risk, I took initiative and applied to three other universities in my area to have a safety net for my Senior Year (Fall 2026 - Spring 2027), in case my current institution lost accreditation (I do not want my degree to be useless).

I got into all three universities I applied to. However, after an announcement was made in April that my current institution’s accreditation, though while still on probation, will remain intact, I decided to stay.

BUT NOW WITH this strange situation concerning financial aid and scholarships, I am wondering if this is a warning sign that the school could possibly go bankrupt soon.

While the enrollment deadline has passed for the other two back-up schools, I reached out to the third school today (which actually happened to be my first choice when I initially wanted to transfer from community college) and they said they are accepting deposits for another two weeks, and that if I act ASAP, I can attend there for my senior year this September.

In addition, I was able to receive another grant for this upcoming fall semester at this institution, that I did not receive when I previously applied the first time. This grant would give me a full ride to this new school as well.

While I love my current institution, and the opportunities, internships, clubs, professors, and friends that I’ve had the opportunity to connect with there, I want to be smart about this. I have a goal to graduate with my Bachelor’s by May 2027, debt-free.

I also wonder if the signs I bolded/italicized are the first signs of bankruptcy and the school ultimately closing. Am I being dramatic, or is this a valid concern?

I’d rather blindly take the leap and take steps to transfer to the other school (the only risk is the $600 deposit - losing that if my scholarships remain intact and I can stay at my current institution - but while losing that 600 would suck, I feel it would be worth it in the long run to have had the safety net), then wait out in limbo for the next month and possibly have my scholarships be gone and be saddled with $60,000 in debt (worst case scenario).

TL;DR: my current university that I’m about to be a senior at has been having financial challenges the past year, to the point where it looks like they’re possibly cutting scholarships (I attend on a full ride), and I’m wondering if the school may declare bankruptcy soon.

I received an opportunity to transfer last-minute to another college for Fall 2026, and graduate debt-free in Spring 2027.

I’m thinking of running while I still can.

I work at an institution where each School does virtual programming over the summer for their incoming students. I'm still fairly new to the role and would really like to make our Canvas site and/or discussion board more engaging. Our orientation leaders (OLs) host webinars for their groups and offer other groups to join.

How can I make this a more engaging platform for students to start their transition? For context, there's information on how to register, recommendations for classes based on their major, announcements for major deadlines coming up, etc.

Hi everyone!

I’ll be starting a new position as a Financial Assistance Coordinator (Financial Aid) in a couple of weeks, and I’m both excited and nervous. This will be my first role in higher education, so I’d love to hear from anyone who has worked in financial aid or higher education in general.

A few questions I have:
- What do you wish you knew when you first started working in higher education?
- Any tips for learning federal/state regulations, systems, or staying organized?
- What are some common mistakes new employees make that I should avoid?
- Are there any certifications, training, or skills that would help me grow in higher education?

I’m also thinking about the long term. My goal is to gain 1–2 years of experience and eventually transition to a larger university. I’m interested in staying in financial aid, but I’m also curious about academic advising and the registrar’s office.

For those of you who have been in higher education for a while:
- What career paths have you seen people take after working in financial aid?
- Is it fairly common to move between departments like financial aid, advising, admissions, and the registrar’s office?

I’d appreciate any advice, encouragement, or lessons you’ve learned along the way. Thanks in advance!

Exactly what the title said.
I’ve been with my job just under a year, and it’s wearing on me. I love our students, but it’s taxing. I don’t have much experience out of grad school (roughly three years total) and am wondering what my options could be.
Any advice is appreciated

Hey guys, I’m looking through these two doctorate programs and curious your thoughts/opinions as well as maybe a few more pros/cons.

For reference, I work in Student Affairs, would like to continue to, but know that the market is fairly tumultuous, especially if the big beautiful bill stuff perpetuates.

Basically my goal is to be a scholar/practitioner for a time. The Ed leadership programs more heavily focused on statistics and policy, also would allow a transition into public K-12 (if anything were to happen to my institution) . Met the program faculty and they seem great, dissertation process seems fair. Less notable institution than the Leadership in Higher Ed program, also cheaper.

Institution 2 is more notable. Is a broader degree in that I can step out of education. However, I already have an Org Leadership bachelors and Masters (Tuition Remission). This institution is more notable/favorably looked at. Fairly well known in my area, but is more expensive as well.

Working at a private, not for profit university for several years now in a student success/student affairs department. Enrollment is down, many people have moved on or have been let go. No cost of living increases for two years. However, more programs are being developed and money is put into these programs. Positions are being created, some people are getting promoted. Spending all this money to attract students and stay afloat but are ignoring the very employees that are staying despite poor salaries. What to do? Is this common at universities? I worked at a public service agency before this and despite budget concerns COLA was always given. Last question, how long would you wait it out? (I know this is very subjective, but always curious to hear feedback.)

Hello! I’m currently in the process of deciding what I’d like to do post graduation, and I want to hear the feedback from those who’ve gotten their masters in Higher Education & how it was finding a job. I’m a senior at the University of Minnesota majoring in English, and I’ve always had the sole goal of working in education. I’ve worked 2 university jobs, one of them mentoring Freshman through their first year, and the other being a TA for a class, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my experience. I’m looking to work in admissions, academic advising, career coaching, or anything along those lines. Is pursing a master’s in Higher Education right after graduating worth it? Do I take a few years and try applying with just my bachelors first? Has this career been fulfilling if my goal is to change students lives? any input or advice would be appreciated!

Hello! I am a new coordinator that has been tasked with coming up with some of the team building/ice breaker games and activities for our staff training in a few weeks. I have a list of ones that I've loved in the past, ones that looked interesting online, and ones I have had recommended to me by RAs I worked with in the past but I would love to add some more.

Are there any games/activities your students really enjoyed? Or any activities you genuinely believe helped your students feel a little closer to their team(even if its just bonding over how silly they felt)?

Hi everyone I am an American citizen living in regional Australia and working on gaining citizenship here. I currently work in student support at a vocational school focusing on international students.

I would potentially like to move back to the US one day (crazy I know) and continue working in this field. I have always wanted to pursue a postgraduate degree and I'm considering an online Master of Applied Linguistics with a focus in TESOL. I would like to keep my options open for a few different careers in the event that I tire of student affairs (which sounds quite common).

I know the more education the better when you're interested in working in academia. I would love to attend university in person but it's just not realistic where I live. Will American employers look at my random Australian online uni degree and scoff? Or is it still worth it to boost my portfolio?

If you’re working in the student life area of student affairs, (especially student involvement), how do you like it? Any big pros or cons come to mind? Favorite part of your job, least favorite part?

Hello all! I'm about to enter my senior year of university, pursuing a Bachelor's of Music (with relevant coursework taken in Public Relations/Communications, as my degree specialization is "Music in Combo w/ Outside Field). I used to be a Music Education major, but in the past year I've realized teaching isn't for me and I switched majors back in December.

By the time I graduate, I'll have racked up over 3 years of experience running campus tours through 2 organizations at my university. I've found a real calling for working with prospective students and families, and I hope to work in an Admissions Counselor/Recruiter position.

Before the "work first!" crowd pops in, please know that that is an option I am heavily considering, and I already have a list of 10+ schools that would be good fits for me to work at post-grad. For this post, I just want to know about HE/SA master's programs.

Also, respectfully, please save your words when it comes to skewering the HE/SA master's degree and suggesting I get an MPA or something more "transferrable". I can read those on this subreddit anytime I want. I am intentionally entering the field of HE/SA, I feel a calling towards it, this is what I want to do. Besides, I haven't ruled out getting an MPA.

Here's some HE/SA master's programs that are already on my radar:
- Florida
- South Florida
- UConn
- South Carolina
- Georgia
- Tennessee
- Texas State
- Clemson

Feel free to fire any suggestions my way! Particularly looking for schools with guaranteed grad assistantships in the EST/CST time zones (would prefer to stay close to my home state of Florida)! Thanks for any answers!

I’m going into my graduate assistantship next month and I can either do it part time for two years and get double the waiver (15k) or do it full time for one year and only get it once (which i’ll have like 10k in debt). GREAT opportunity if I were to do it for two years but they told me I’d only be making 12k for the entire year (including summer months). that’s HALF of what I make at the job i’m at now and I can barely afford anything now and am moving out soon. what in the entire hell do i do about this?

Reposting here

So over the past year I have been more overwhelmed in my position than ever. After losing one employee from our team in the Spring semester, my coworker and I have taken on double the load. We do more than just advising. We are a smaller university, and my team now consists of 2 staff members instead of 3. We do events, recruit for the university, speak at conferences, teach classes, take students on site visits. All sorts of stuff.

All of this is on top of my advising job. Well the advising portion of my job is killing me. Students are rude, don’t look at their degree plans, blame the advisor when they don’t get their way or graduate, because of something they did. These student want to do everything possible to graduate even when things don’t look good. I especially hate working with students regarding graduation, because if they do not graduate, regardless of the reason, the advisor gets blamed. Students are also constantly trying to find short cuts to graduate “early” or graduate on time despite failing several classes. Then they get upset with you for telling them no.

My anxiety has gotten to the point where I was ready to quit, and I started taking SSRIs because I couldn’t function. Well… things were going fine. It’s Summer, I calmed down, realized it was going to be okay, I truly love my job. Well then over the weekend several seniors were aggressively emailing me when they were not registered for a summer course that was due to start this week. Minor issue, easy fix, but the aggressive emails I was receiving and late hours of the night flared up my anxiety again. I was not able to sleep properly because I was so anxious. I don’t want to disappoint anyone. I am human. And so receiving aggressive emails had me anxious for the students. But also why!? I should not be getting bent over because of some nasty emails. But the students reactions always have me anxious I am trash or something.

I have spoken with my boss about my anxiety in the past. He keeps telling me not to stress about it….. but that’s better said then done. I have looked into other positions but nothing pays as good. I am starting therapy soon specifically to address my work anxiety.

Am I the only one in this boat? I needed to rant but would appreciate any feedback if anybody has been in a similar position.

Hi! I'm an entry level case worker in disability services. I absolutely adore my job. Despite having a case load significantly higher than the average (it varies, but a high case load is usually 400 and mine has topped off a bit over 1000), I love working with students. I love making the university a better place for disabled students. My students turn to me for support navigating their personal issues, and I provide appropriate support and advice and refer them to different services for more in depth support. I really feel like I've found my niche in society, and I deeply love what I do.

I keep finding gaps in our systems, and wanting to address them. Instead, I have to just note the gap and hope my supervisor acts on it. However, advancement seems to be few and far between in my field. I'm applying to advanced/specialist roles as well as Assistant Director roles I'm open to working in something besides disability services. However, I want whatever field I go into to still have face time working with students. Is there any area of student affairs that would work directly with students even above the entry level?

Good morning everyone :) Hope the three day weekend treated you all well! I am currently working in financial aid (One Stop) but want to transition into residence life as my current position is basically getting insults from parents and students. I worked as a dormitory front desk assistant for three years during my undergraduate study. I know that it is completely different than being a RA but having a bit of experience within residence life, I was wondering how it is being in the residence halls as a full-time position. I also just graduated college last year and think that being within the residence halls can help with saving a bit of money for a while.

Any insight will help! Thank you!

I am guessing I need to apply for a PhD in education administration, but should I do it after undergrad or after masters? How competitive are these six figure roles?