kenz

The price difference is certainly quite a gap; however, you know your financial position and interests best. The most helpful advice I was given while making my decision was to simplify the choices as much as I could, no pros and cons list, and just think about what I would regret. Which one would you regret more: taking out over $60k of loans, or missing the internship opportunities at Pitt? I know it's not the most thorough advice lol, but it helped me make a decision and feel good about it, so I hope it helps you a bit! Good luck on your decision! 

Keep in mind - the program that ranked (#1) above my current program (#2) in the "global ranking" I posted was Cal State San Diego. Very inexpensive for Cal State grads such as myself. That said, UW was still less expensive than another lower-ranked program I almost attended.  Please do not assume that ranking dictates price. 
It is also not about saying "I worked amongst the best." Aside from my previous points, and perhaps more importantly (in a general sense) - it is about how relevant the program is in terms of your own interests.  It is about whether you are comfortable with the demographics of the new city you are moving to. It is about the diversity of the client/patient population that you will be serving in grad school and how you feel about it. It is about the the cohort you will be a part of for two years (or more) and how well you mesh with them.  
Just some food for thought - signing out for a while as my grad student load is pretty heavy at this point! 
Best of luck to you all - take a deep breath...don't forget to exhale!
 

I'm not. This particular question comes up a lot in any field, though. What I was passing on is pretty broadly applicable, and though I've acknowledged that the situation will differ from field to field, I don't see that anything I've said is that out of the norm compared to any of the other replies.

If you pay a $500 dollar deposit and then lose it because you withdraw and go to a school that's $10,000 less a year -you will still come out ahead in the end.  I would pay your deposit somewhere so you don't lose your spot and then email your first choice wait-list school.  Tell them why they are your first choice and recent accomplishments, activities, basically why are are awesome.  

Here is US News's explanation: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/health-schools-methodology
It looks like they send out a survey to administration and faculty of programs to rank other programs. For SLP programs, they received a 33% response rate. That doesn't sound very accurate to me.
However, I am not against choosing a more expensive program.... everyone has different priorities for school and everyone's financial situation is different. I think choosing the school you feel you can succeed the most in (based on faculty support, clinical and research opportunities, location, individual interests, etc) is completely reasonable. I also think it is reasonable to choose the cheapest school if you find you will be able to excel in that environment, and I guess a lot of people will argue that you can excel in any program. And I don't think, based on the methodology of the rankings, we can make many conclusions about programs—they may or may not be a reflection of each one (especially with programs that are close in ranking).
I will be paying a lot for my education, and I am happy with my choice! (The cheaper option would be to do a post-bacc next year and reapply, and that is just not worth it to me!)

In general I get the impression that there are advantages to going to a top ~10/15/20 school in a given field. (The threshold can depend on the field). After that point, rankings become gradually less important - unless it's something really drastic like choosing between #30 and #100. The 33% response rate in SLP can indicate that the field isn't as ranking-sensitive as other fields, though.
Overall, in your situation, I'd weigh the programs on their own merits: what do you know about faculty? course offerings? financial support? professional development/networking opportunities? Sometimes higher-ranked programs get there for very tangible reasons. Other times, those reasons have nothing to do with your needs, and you're better off going to a lower-ranked school that offers what you're looking for.

@kenz
 I feel like rankings can matter, but they aren't the only thing that matters. Look at what the programs offer: curriculum, faculty, specialty tracks, class size, etc. See which you feel will give you the better education based on your wants. At that point if they are about the same, then the ranking may matter - or finances. It's more important to be at a school that is a good fit for you rather than the rankings. 

I just put in a deposit at Ithaca yesterday, and just now I got an email saying I got off the waitlist at UNCG and I would be notified if I've received funding by April 15th. I realize I am in a very fortunate position right now, but this is still so stressful. 

I mailed my deposit for Ithaca College today!! I'm super excited and pleased with my decision but also super nervous to be moving over a thousand miles away from home! 

Congratulations!!!! I am feeling the same way but I'm sure we will be so happy with our decisions!

Thank you! Best of luck to you as well!!

Congratulations!! That must be such a relief to hear back. I'm actually 6th on the waitlist so I feel like it could really go either way. Best of luck to you!

They actually emailed me today offering an assistantship and said a letter should be arriving in the mail soon! I will likely be accepting the offer. I had emailed them a couple of days ago asking about assistantships, and they said I was second on the wait list. If you email and ask, I'm sure they will tell you where you are on the list as well! I hope you hear some good news soon!!

I'm also an INFJ! (And a little bit obsessed with Myers Briggs) I also agree that the INFJ's function stack is really suited to the different aspects of speech pathology.

I am an INFJs and I think my functions can explain why I'm here. Ni manifests a lot during therapy where I can't explain why my client is doing what but I follow it and it seems to work. My auxiliary Fe attempts to maintain harmony in the world and to make meaningful connections. I truly believe this is one reason I entered the field. My dominant function is my Ni and I think the field allows me to use it to my advantage especially those who have difficulty to communicate. I am at a phase in my life where I am starting to balance my Ti, my tertiary function and I find the science aspect of the field allows me to exercise this function. I think this explains it all  

I JUST GOT IN TO UMASS AMHERST!!! I'm so torn because it's one of my top choices, but I'm not sure I'll be able to afford it. 

Just out of curiosity, as it stands right now, what will each of you have to pay in tuition and what is the cost of living at each school you're seriously considering attending?

Congratulations!

Thank you for the advice! I agree that attending a different school could broaden my connections and perspective and possibly lead to better opportunities later down the road. I'm leaning towards the new school, even though it is a little more expensive. I'm not sure if 2-3k a year makes much of a difference in the end.

In my personal opinion, I feel it would be best to attend graduate school somewhere other than your undergraduate institution because you would build additional connections, develop new techniques, gain knowledge and opinions from a wider range of professionals in the field, etc. I think it's good to have that separation between undergrad and grad school so you don't get burned out as easily and continue to gain fresh perspectives, if that makes sense. That being said, I could easily see how going to the same school would be a much more comfortable choice. Ultimately, I doubt you could go wrong either way! 

In my personal opinion, I feel it would be best to attend graduate school somewhere other than your undergraduate institution because you would build additional connections, develop new techniques, gain knowledge and opinions from a wider range of professionals in the field, etc. I think it's good to have that separation between undergrad and grad school so you don't get burned out as easily and continue to gain fresh perspectives, if that makes sense. That being said, I could easily see how going to the same school would be a much more comfortable choice. Ultimately, I doubt you could go wrong either way! 

In my personal opinion, I feel it would be best to attend graduate school somewhere other than your undergraduate institution because you would build additional connections, develop new techniques, gain knowledge and opinions from a wider range of professionals in the field, etc. I think it's good to have that separation between undergrad and grad school so you don't get burned out as easily and continue to gain fresh perspectives, if that makes sense. That being said, I could easily see how going to the same school would be a much more comfortable choice. Ultimately, I doubt you could go wrong either way! 

Got my first acceptance from Ambrose. So relieved!

So relieved!! Just got my first acceptance from Milwaukee!

Got rejected at both Maryland and JMU today. Oh well.
*Sings "Tubthumping to self*