etaktac

Hi everybody, About me: I did my undergrad at an Ivy, graduate school in elementary education at the same Ivy. I left school before completing an MAT, thus forfeiting my scholarship. Am currently $56K in debt, mostly from grad program #1. I have acceptances for 3-year (just over half-time) MSW programs at BC, Bridgewater (MA) State, Salem (MA) State, and Simmons. I am deciding between Simmons and Salem (yes, Bridgewater is higher ranked, but I live north of Boston, and the commute is a concern). At Simmons, I'd do the clinical focus on Health and Aging. At Salem State, I'd be concentrating in Older Adults and End-of-Life care. After graduation, I'd hope to get a job at a hospital or a hospice, and later transition into private practice. The total cost of Simmons is $63,050, but I have been offered a $30K merit scholarship, so the total cost would be $33,050 - about $9500 the first year (3 6-credit semesters) about $17,000 the second year (10 credits fall, 11 credits spring, 6 credits summer), and about $6,400 in the third year (2 6-credit semesters). 65 credits at what ends up being $508/credit (full price is $970/credit). The total cost of Salem State is $22,816, based on 62 credits at $338/credit. I believe that it will be easier for me to continue working if I do the Salem State program - it's part time during the year with two full-time summers (for which I might be able to take short-term educational leave from my job) whereas at Simmons, only the first year is part-time. This definitely skews the numbers game a little bit towards Salem. I don't make very much money at my current job (in the neighborhood of $30K), but every little bit counts. As you might imagine, I'm reluctant to go into a whole lot more debt. This is why I've turned down BC, despite its being the #10 ranked MSW program in US News. Sigh. But Simmons is ranked #33, and Salem is ranked #104, and is the difference between $23K and $33K so huge, if $33K gets me better opportunities? I'd love to hear from students and alumni from both programs, and from people who hire MSW graduates. Thanks!