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Defer acceptance and potentially lose merit scholarship and take job offer?


ra455

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Hi guys,

I'm just gonna give this a shot even though I have no idea if I'll get helpful responses.

Just a bit of background. I am a 22 y/o recent college grad who applied for the MPH program and got into the Boston University School of Public Health with a merit scholarship of about ~20k for this Fall 2019. However, because of some compelling circumstances, I am also currently in the middle of a job search (I had to resign from my previous job). I applied for an MPH with an intention of studying Mental Health Policy. However, I also got a job offer at a pharmaceutical company. I am deciding whether or not I should accept the job offer. If so, I'd have to defer my acceptance to BU until next semester or next year. If I defer, my merit scholarship will be reconsidered. I am torn about what to do.

The pharma job will give me more experience in the adult world and entering the workforce (I just graduated and have little work experience) before I go to graduate school. However, it does not align or tailor to my interests or field I want to go into with the MPH. Should I postpone my education and risk losing my scholarship to gain real world experience and save up a little more money? Or should I forego this opportunity and continue to waitress and do customer service jobs until Fall when I can start the program at BU?

I really don't see an obvious answer as to what is the smart thing to do and I need all the advice I can get!!!!

thanks :) 

 

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I guess the biggest thing in my mind would be is would you be able to save an amount of money equal to the merit scholarship. If you are planning to go back to school regardless, a year of work experience in an unrelated field isn't necessarily going to make you stand out significantly, especially since you have work experience (part time work is still work experience). 

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How much does the pharma job pay and do they offer tuition benefits? 

Given the plethora of drugs available for mental health, I don't think pharma experience will be irrelevant to your research interests. In any case, it isn't bad to get more work experience before starting grad school (and to save some money). 

I was admitted to MPH programs straight out of undergrad, but deferred my acceptance and worked at a think tank for a bit before skipping the MPH to get a PhD. My work experience taught me really valuable skills (like statistical programming) that set me up for success later.

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haha I totally botched it though because I spoke with the agency earlier today and let it slip that I'm considering graduate school and their tone completely changed and said well they don't want someone who is only going to be there for a year or so. They want to retain talent. So I think they are going to rescind their offer so that's fun. So I guess I'm going to grad school directly! Yay. 

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