jarenolds

I don't think anyone in your school or at the government institution in charge would really have much of a guess at the future of PSLF. It will really come down to a political decision which at this point is pretty tough to predict. I would guess that it will still exist for a while down the road but I personally would be hesitant to bet $40,000 on it.

Where will you end up going?

It seems like a lot of people were accepted with $12,000 scholarships as I was. I accepted the offer and paid the deposit but I'm pretty nervous about the amount of debt I could accumulate. $24,000 is a lot of money to be awarded but it still leaves a lot of debt to pay off afterwards. Anyone have thoughts on this?

It sounds like it needs some adjustments but I'm not quite sure what the answer is. There needs to be a balance between meeting the needs of students looking to make a difference and not providing people with unlimited funds for degrees that are a poor investment on their part. No offense to lawyers but they are a dime a dozen these days and $200,000 in loans from a poor law school isn't a great idea. I'm far from a total free market guy but I also think that the prices of many of these degrees, social work included, have been artificially inflated because of our governments willingness to pay nearly unlimited amounts of money. We really got on the banks for giving mortgages to people who couldn't realistically pay them back and in many ways I think student loans are turning into the same scenario.

I'm interested what you see as the flaws in this new proposal? From what I've seen most of the changes seem to be pretty legitimate.

For a $22,000 difference over two years I would go to Michigan. I think they will both offer similar opportunities in the end and that is a pretty good amount of money to be saving. The have a lot of similarities but I like the curriculum at Chicago for the maco focus areas. I read through some of the class descriptions, who knows if that's what they are really like in reality though. I also like the global health certificate at Chicago, although you can't apply to it until September so I'm unsure if I would be accepted in the end. I think I might prefer living in Chicago for 2 years. I applied to one of the scholarship programs at Michigan and had an interview but haven't heard back yet. I got similar aid as you for Chicago so if I am accepted into the scholarship program at Michigan I think I will go there. I really don't want to take out more than $30-35,000 in loans. If it's more than that I may put off school for another year or so and find a cheaper state school to go to. I'm not really sure if going for cheaper than that is realistic though.

I am interested in community organization and international social work at both schools, looks like you are too. I guess it might come down to financial aid for me. After doing more research and looking through the programs more I would kind of prefer Chicago now but it may be more expensive. I kind of go back and forth but I would like to decide this coming week and commit to one. Either way I think they are both probably good options. What makes you lean towards Michigan?

Ya she said if I submit by Friday she will respond within a week. Did you just write out something formal? I'm choosing between Michigan and Chicago but I think I might be leaning towards Michigan.

I just heard from one of the special programs that I applied to yesterday. I got invited to an interview next week. Hopefully it means they are starting to get back to people. I haven't heard anything else about financial aid and was accepted almost a month and a half ago.

They have a scholarship reconsideration request? I sent them an email telling them I would really like to attend and would be very grateful for a bigger scholarship. Probably won't work but who knows. It's way too expensive otherwise. I'm just not sure how to justify taking it$60,000+ in loans with a degree in social work. Seems like I'll be stuck working nonstop for 15 years that way.

I also got that email. I wasn't so sure if it meant I was wait listed or they aren't letting anyone know until that date. Either way needing to add a month to their decisions is a long time and I will probably commit to another school within the next month.

When you click on "Application Status" there are 2 links there- application data and credentials. Once they have made your decision a decision one will come up next to those two. I personally got an email before anything ever popped up on there though.

I was accepted to Chicago. I'm very excited and the program looks awesome. I got a $15,000 a year scholarship which I'm just not sure is enough for me to go though. Over $50,000 in debt with a degree in social work seems like way too much for me. Anyone else having that problem?

I emailed them and asked. They said they hope to have the information out as soon as possible. If it is not available by the deadline you have to respond then you can email them a few days in advance and ask for an extension and include the date you think you can decide by. Of course my date would be totally dependent on them but I would probably just ask for a few more weeks. My guess would be that they will have the info before the deadline to avoid causing themselves a headache but I don't really know.

pmelwani- I think I applied around the 21st and heard back about two weeks ago. I applied to 3 schools but Michigan is probably the only one I would go to so if I hear back about financial aid I can commit I just can't otherwise. I applied for the CBI scholarship. If I don't get that $40,000 in tuition is just way too much. I'll find something else fun to do with life maybe.