I have been agonizing over this decision for the past few months, and I'm completely torn apart and exhausted. I've received offers of admission from U of T's Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health for the MPH in Epidemiology program, but I cannot decide between the two.
Columbia PROS- brand name, ivy league, amazing network, living in nyc, better job opportunities (?) if i choose to pursue a career right after my degree, better support from career services, program has a thesis project which will be good if i choose to pursue a phd afterwards, independence/learning how to live by myself
Columbia CONS- costs $150k CAD over two years including living expenses, the exchange rate USD/CAD is horrible so everything will be more expensive, higher cost of living, being away from home, cost of plane tickets to and from parents' place, no $$$ left to enjoy nyc after spending money on tuition, no $$$ left if i want to do law afterwards (i've recently been attracted to law because i've been paying more attention to my options), new country and school system will take time to get used to, program has only one practicum
U of T PROS- costs 50k canadian, close to home, family support, easy to get used to because i did my undergrad at uoft too, saving $$$ so will be able to do unpaid internships and pursue law afterwards, program has an option to do one practicum or two practica, best mph program in canada
U of T CONS- did my undergrad at uoft too, no master's thesis project (bad if i wanna do a phd afterwards), fewer support services from university, worse job opportunities (?) upon graduation, the thought that i might regret turning down columbia for the rest of my life
I'm not sure which program will open more doors for me, or provide better job prospects upon graduation, and I don't know if I'm using the right metrics to judge the two schools, and regardless of the aforementioned issue, I'm not sure which to pick. HELP?!
