I was fortunate enough to be accepted to all of these great programs but am now facing the dilemma of having to choose between them. They're all ridiculously expensive and unfortunately I haven't received any scholarships so I'm already prepared to go into debt, which I already expected, but I believe that going to one of these programs will help me in the long run, or even just the beginning of my career, despite people saying that the ranking doesn't matter. I used to be pre-med but switched to the speech track because I truly enjoyed the material more.
That being said, I'm definitely interested in med SLP and aphasia but don't know if I want to do that forever because I am also really interested in voice disorders, transgender voicing, and accent modification. I also definitely want to be a part of some sort of research in grad school, but as of right now I'm not sure if I will pursue writing a thesis. I feel like I'm already leaning towards BU vs. MGH just because I really love the Boston area, but I know that UPitt also has a really good program.
However, I've only visited BU for the interview and really loved the campus and how it was right in the city as opposed to MGH, but hopefully I'll be able to attend the open house to get a better sense of MGH as well. Do students going to MGH live in the city or near the school? And how would that work for transportation with early classes/staying late on campus?
I'm also worried about the fact that I heard you only work mainly with peds your first year at MGH and I want to get some experience with adults as well. Another thing is that MGH has an extra semester so I heard it is harder to get a CF because of that.
Has anyone been in this position choosing between any of these schools?? If so, how did you make the decision? Any and all info from current/past grad students would be greatly appreciated.