tayfray
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Posts posted by tayfray
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Yay for MGH!!
Tayfray, same Emerson thing happened to me. I got the letter in the mail yesterday saying I qualified for the $20,500/year in Stafford loans (wtf at not qualifying for Perkins) but no word on anything else.
I just came back from an info meeting at Emerson (seriously, LA --> Boston and Boston --> LA in 24 hours is crazy. Never again.) and they said the merit aid is not awarded until they know who's accepted the offer of admission. Therefore, people who want to know what merit aid is being offered at Emerson BEFORE submitting the enrollment deposit -- no such luck.
I am sort of in love with the program (and location!) right now. I think I'm going to accept, regardless of merit aid, since they've got good FWS opportunities.
You're going to accept Emerson or MGH?
Emerson's just not for me. I was holding out just in case something came through, but now I really don't have an excuse not to go with MGH.
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I'm pretty sure I've made my final decision, guys. I didn't end up with any funding from Emerson (just loan offers), so I'm defaulting to my top choice, MGH!
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When anyone found anything from Emerson, was it online first or did you get the letter?
I had the "enrollment deposit" link, which was a clue, but they didn't post the decision on eCommons until after they sent me the letter.
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Hi, I did turn in my FAFSA since the recommended date to do that was I think in February. However, no schools have let me know any financial aid information and it is highly unlikely that they will. My sister began her M.S. last year and it wasn't until the summer that her financial aid information arrived from her school.
Yeah, I called some programs to ask and that stuff comes in during the summer.
I did my FAFSA in January.
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Have you decided on a school just yet?
I'm about 80% sure it's going to be MGH, but there's a slim chance I could choose Emerson if they come through with some funding.
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I am looking into BU and MGH as my final two I have just decided... although even deciding to say no to any of the schools is hard. Have you visited either BU or MGH yet?
Unfortunately I won't be able to visit. Too far away, too much work and school. I did have a really good phone conversation with a current second year student at MGH, and that was really helpful. I'm trying to find someone at Emerson who might do the same.
I ALMOST sent in my 'decline' card to BU today, but I couldn't bring myself to do it yet. I officially declined my offer from Rush, and it was hard even though I knew moving to Chicago isn't even an option anymore.
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Yeah, I agree with the investment in education for sure. It is just irritating because my tightwad father (whom I really do love dearly...except on this issue) is convinced that the cheapest program=the best program. And it doesn't help when my doctor mother points out that yearly tuition for med school "in her day" was just over $2,000.
For my dream, I'm probably looking at $70-80k. I'm not completely sure about cost of living right now though. I might be able to save a few pennies if I choose to live in a cardboard box and eat ramen and Spam for two years...
There's a part of me that, even though I'm disappointed that I didn't get funding, is glad that I don't have to make the difficult decision between a more expensive program with a better reputation and a lower cost program that I might not think was as good a fit for me.
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How DO people afford this stuff? I was just doing some estimates and it looks like it's going to cost an arm and a leg for the next 2 years. I have a bit of money saved up but it's still steep.
For U of Washington, I still need $83,740. For Boston U, $58,828 (including their scholarship). For Portland St, $51,588.
None of the schools have mentioned anything about TAships or anything like that yet. But will that even make a dent on those staggering figures?
On top of that, some schools say the financial aid package won't be finalized until after I accept their offer. For me, accepting their offer = taking on this debt. That's tough!
Please share any insights you have on grad school finances. What is your tolerance for debt? What will you pay an arm and a leg for?
I'm looking at ~$70k, total cost of attendance. I've already committed to choosing one of the Boston schools because my husband accepted a job there and we're already making the moving preparations. I'm eliminating BU because it was super expensive, I didn't get a scholarship, and I'm just not really attracted to that program. I really want to do MGH, but if by some miracle a significant amount of funding came through for Emerson, I could be swayed.
I'm just accepting that there will be debt, and that's what happens when you do a professional program that leads into a career. Doctors have debt, lawyers have debt, PTs have debt... it's an investment. (That's not to say I wouldn't love to NOT have to pay this huge amount.)
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The people who posted their results on here had good, but not astronomical, scores. If they chose the top students, they must be weighing experience, SOPs, and references very heavily. Congrats to the people who got in!
Scores are not everything. From what I understand, letters and essays make a much bigger difference.
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Did anyone here get a phone call from Portland State University? Their website says notices will go out in April due to the CSDCAS delay but I see on the results page that a couple of people were called today (!). I wonder if they're calling out-of-state applicants first? Or maybe those who had their materials in to CSDCAS earlier?
I haven't been at home today, so I don't know, but don't let that make you nervous. Word on the street is that they do rolling admissions, so they do start snatching up a FEW top students early and then do everyone else later. They're in fierce competition every year with UO, and won't want UO (whose letters are going out on Friday) to get to the best students first. UO is getting the leading edge on this market this year because they're not using CSDCAS.
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Has anyone heard from UGA or UC-Boulder? and has anyone NOT heard from Northwestern?
No news from Northwestern here.
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Haha, I am so impartial to this, I don't know anything about any college athletics. The only sports that I care about are the New York Yankees
I was, too, before I started working at a big sports university. I don't like the politics of it.
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Thanks, thats exactly what I was asking! I've emailed one professor personally to ask her about the deaf specialty at Nazareth but I want to do everything possible to show that I am interested so I am definitely going to save up for a trip out there.
For the person who asked about college basketball-I'm rooting for St. John's and my Gators (Even if they are in the same bracket)! Only applying to St. John's for grad. Though as someone who comes from a undergrad program with amazing athletics I have to say it really adds to your college experience if you love sports. Its going to be an adjustment if I get into a school up North where theres no football and Division II sports teams.
That's funny-- one of my favorite things about the school that I'm leaning toward is that there ISN'T an athletics program.
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Hey guys..so im new to this forum. Been reading through the posts and its so good to hear from people out there tgoing through the same nerve wracking process of waiting for replies!!
I got admits from Northwestern, SUNY Buffalo and Ohio University... Any inputs on these programs?? Especially SUNY cuz ive heard very little about them...Im loving Nowrthwestern but they're gonna burn a hole in my pockets! I need to take most of the pre reqs for all these programs as well so...really confused!! Also Northwestern hasnt said anything bout scholarships in the letter...
Still waiting to hear from BU,TC,UIUC, and Vandy...
It really helps to have the company of other people going through the same thing!
Are you planning on taking the pre-reqs over the summer?
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I've had a phone call, snail mail, email, and the next one is arriving FedEx!
I'm just waiting for one of them to text me, or send a singing telegram.
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And in my opinion, if you made it to MGH you would be crazy not to accept it coz I've heard nothing but just amazing reviews on their program. I am more inclined to work with kids, I worked two years with kids and I just loved it
You're a sweetie.
I'll definitely let you know which I end up choosing. -
Yes, right in the acceptance letter. Does anyone know anything about negotiation funding with grad schools? I know it is normal to do for undergrad but I have no idea about grad school. Would it be strange or presumptuous to ask a school is they would match my offer at another school?
I'm curious about this too. I'm wondering who to contact-- head of the department? Financial aid office?
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Hey, no need to apologize for the ramble, that is exactly what we need to be doing to sort this all out in our heads! I haven't had the first hand experiences that you have with each school but have also heard the same thing about the helpfulness and approachability of MGH. And I think that is a great point about a change of scenery and getting away from the large university setting and into a more professional, graduate student one (although I have never had either so I guess I can only think which I would prefer). I also have felt the draw because of the research at BU since it aligns perfectly with my specific interest (bilingualism) but I also don't know if I really want to focus on research versus focus on working with bilingual clients and in multicultural settings.
The main thing that is stopping me from definitely thinking I want to go to MGH is that I know they have a reputation as "medically" and "clinically" focused and I am not sure I definitely want to follow that path. I would love to explore all options and clinical environments and have always had a draw to kids so I know that working in an educational setting would be a great fit for me at some point in my career. But that being said I also haven't even started grad school yet (I was a Linguistics, Education and Spanish under grad) and would love to have the chance of working in a medical setting. AH I am so confused and I think I should definitely get out there to visit the schools at their open houses but it is nice to talk it out with other people now too.... I am just so excited and want to get it figured out!
Oh and a side note, BU has many more prereqs (I only have 2 so far) and since MGH only has 3 that I have yet to complete I could do those this summer online (I can't go to Boston until the start of the fall semester) and then be right on tract to finish in 2 years.... which means less money over all.
Yeah, I definitely know I want to be in the medical setting. I'm not that interested in peds, but I love adult neurogenics.
You're right about the pre-reqs. That's another thing that was kind of turning me off from BU. I had a problem with getting the Intro to CD requirement, and MGH and Emerson are willing to accept a combination of classes that I already have plus one extra, which I can take here before I move to Boston. I have a faculty tuition reduction since I work at a university, so I take classes for cheap. Plus, I was really looking forward to have the summer open to ease the transition, and it would be real bummer to be taking a class, especially since I've spent the last year and a half taking all these pre-reqs (9 of them).
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Emerson might give merit aid based on numbers, but ALL of their faculty have the funds to take on grad students as either teaching or research assistants. So even if you don't get merit aid, it is easy to approach a professor about working with them for the semester. Friends of mine that went to Emerson all said it was pretty easy to get paid to work with a professor, and it alleviates some of the cost.
From what I have heard, MGH has limited types of options. Which is infortunate, because I would LOVE to go there, but am not willing to drown myself in student loan debt.
Wow, that's an interesting thing to consider...
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Congrats!!! I'm also stuck between Emerson and MGH. Emerson is significantly cheaper and I like what I hear about the program but it's hard up MGH. My friend's two cents were "If you're looking to work in the medical setting, placements don't get better than MGH."
I'm still waiting for my MGH envelope (I only got the phone call) to see if maybe, just maybe, I might get some financial help. Emerson hasn't offered anything yet.
Yep, me too. I don't think the chances for me are good in either case, but that's okay. I read that Emerson gives their merit aid based only on numbers (GRE and GPA). My GRE is okay, and I don't have a real GPA, so I don't think I'm really in the running.
I'm holding out hope for the MGH envelope... but so many people have reported finding out about the merit aid by phone that I'm just, you know, trying to stay positive.
-T
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Have you visited MGH or BU? I'm kind of in the same boat but don't know why I have this gut reaction to want to go to MGH when BU has kind of been at the top of the list in my head the whole time...
Unfortunately, no. I haven't had the time or funds to make the trip from Oregon.
I like the idea of BU in theory, since it's certainly a very good program, but there's something about MGH that I'm really drawn to. The people I've spoken to there are very friendly and really helpful, and I always had much more trouble making contact with people at BU. I had some complicated issues with my application, and the MGH faculty were always willing to go out of their way to help me out, and I always got to speak with professors and not a secretary or a work study student. Also, this is just a personal thing, but I'm sick of being at a full university, since I've been working in a large university setting since I graduated in 2008, and I'm wanting to be in the the more professional, grad-student only, setting. Change of scenery.
The research being done at BU is really excited to me, but to be honest I'm really ready to bring the research chapter of my life to a close and focus on the clinic. The reason I switched to SLP was that I decided that I didn't want to do research anymore. From what I understand, MGH is great for medical placements, which is what I want.
Sorry for the ramble...
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That's awesome! Between MGH, Emerson and BU, you have a tough choice ahead of you!
Thanks! It feels really good! I'm 75% sure it's going to be MGH. Emerson is my second choice, and I planned to only accept BU (if I got into the other Boston schools) if they offered me money, which they didn't. Since they were my third choice (and also happen to be the most expensive), it doesn't make sense to go there without financial incentive.
I'm still not sure about the aid situation with Emerson and MGH, but a good package could sway me.
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Got the big envelope from BU this morning. I'm in Oregon.
SLP/Communication Disorders Masters Applicants
in Speech-Language Pathology Forum
Posted
Mainly the medical practicum options and the choices in classes. I also don't have a lower cost alternative at this point.
My husband took a job in Boston, which allowed me to narrow it down to the three Boston schools that I applied to:
BU:
Definitely a good program with a good reputation, but I don't like the large university setting. I've had experiences with both very large and very small schools, and I prefer a smaller one for a variety of reasons. I also never felt like I got very friendly or personal responses to my phone calls and emails to the faculty and administrative staff. They do have great aphasia options (which is what I'm mainly interested in), but so does MGH. Since it was the most expensive option, I felt comfortable eliminating it.
Emerson:
I did get a very friendly impression from the program, and I think I would be happy there on a social level, but it doesn't have the medical emphasis that I want. They have a heavy peds focus, and that's just not what I'm looking for. Although this certainly isn't a deal-breaker of mine, I did notice that the program doesn't have name recognition. The cost is comparable to MGH, so I decided that unless a really good funding opportunity came through for Emerson, I could also eliminate it.
MGH:
I didn't get to visit, but I did get to have a really good conversation with a current second year student, and I've corresponded with faculty. It has all the right elements for me: top faculty who are accessible to the students, great medical placements, lots of elective options, and it's not a big university.