Psychology and Counseling Programs Available at the College of the Ozarks
College of the Ozarks appears on our list of 10 Tuition-Free Colleges Where You Can Earn Your Psychology Degree.
The College of the Ozarks is a small college in Missouri that offers a major in psychology for undergrads. Students in the program can join Psi Chi, which is the honor society for psychology majors. This society allows students to meet with those working in the psychology field and to talk about emerging issues in that field. It also allows them to hear about possible internships and to get help when they begin searching for jobs after school.
Psychology majors can earn a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science. The Bachelor of Science program features more research courses and requires that students do more practical work. Majors will take 21 credits of psychology and social science electives, which can include Theories of Counseling, Special Problems in Psychology, Psychology of the Social Self and Psychology of Marriage and Family. Majors will also take 17 credits of required psychology courses and do some type of capstone. The college allows them to take a special topics class to complete a capstone or to do an internship.
Though the college does not offer any traditional counseling programs, it offers majors in family studies and social services and family and consumer sciences. The family and consumer sciences program includes an emphasis in child development, which can help those who want to work with children in a clinical field. Family studies and social services majors can pick an emphasis in social work and learn how to help families and individuals in need. This program includes Introduction to Social Work, Social Work with the Traumatized Child, Critical Concern with Adolescents and Developmental Psychology. The college also offers a minor in psychology.
About the College of the Ozarks
The College of the Ozarks is a private college in Point Lookout, Missouri that offers liberal arts programs. Established in 1906, the college originally served as more of a high school. James Forsyth, the founder of the college, wanted to open a school after learning that many local students couldn’t afford to attend high school. The school offered onsite housing for students and allowed them to work to pay their way through college. This school would later move to Point Lookout where it had more room to expand. In the 1930s, the college added two new kitchens to its campus, which allowed students to make money as they prepared jellies and fruitcakes. The fruitcake kitchen is still open today and employed almost entirely by college students.
Also called COFO and C of O today, the college uses the nickname Hard Work U because it still allows students to work on its campus as a way to pay for college. Most of the positions pay more than would students could earn from local employers. Forsyth was a pastor in the Missouri Presbyterian Church, and the college still has an affiliation with that organization today. C of O only accepts around 12% of the applications sent in each year, which helps it retain a low enrollment rate of just 1,500 students. Though it no longer offers high school classes, it offers many undergraduate programs.
College of the Ozarks Accreditation Details
COFO has the regional accreditation that allows students to use any type of government financial aid once they complete the FAFSA. That accreditation comes from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS). As a division of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the NCACS also gives students the right to transfer their credits from COFO or to the college. The nursing and nutrition programs offered by COFO also have accreditation.
College of the Ozarks Application Requirements
Students applying to the College of the Ozarks should be within the top 20% of their high school classes and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The college also looks at test scores and recommends that students score 20 or higher on the ACT or a minimum of 1030 on the SAT. When students create their admissions account and use the college’s website, it will show them a checklist that identifies which requirements they met and which ones they still need to meet. The college will not process any application until it receives all those requirements, including:
- High school transcript
- Standardized test score
- FAFSA
The college offers reference forms online that students need to print out and give to their references. Those references will fill out the forms and send them back to the college. Each one should explain how the reference is familiar with the student and why that individual believes COFO should accept the applicant. Once the college receives those documents, it will contact the student and arrange for an interview. This is when the student will sign and date a form that shows he or she completed the interview. The college also accepts homeschooled students but asks that they provide home school transcripts, a test score, two reference letters, and the FAFSA. Those students will also need to interview with a COFO representative.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Attending the College of the Ozarks costs students between $18,900 and $19,200 a year. One of the unique features of this college is that it allows students to graduate without any debt though. The college has a very selective admissions process because it offers financial aid packages designed to help students cover all their costs. Incoming students will submit the FAFSA, which helps them get a Pell grant of nearly $6,200 a year and grants of $1,000 or more. Missouri residents can qualify for a $1,500 grant from the state government too.
Once the college processes the financial aid documents, it will add other types of aid to the package to cover any remaining costs. Students can get up to $5,292 per year through C of O work study. The college looks at jobs that match the student’s majors and any interests listed on his or her application. If the student has any additional need, the college will offer a scholarship that covers that total need. The only costs that students need to pay out of their pockets are for room and board, which comes to $3,700 a semester. To help psychology majors pay this amount, the College of the Ozarks allows them to make four equal payments at the beginning of each month.
