Free time in grad school?

[topdog17]

Hey everyone, I'm so beyond excited that I've been accepted to two programs.  I'm in the process of trying to decide between them.  One is lower-cost, but it is in a really small isolated rural town a few states away, and the other is much more expensive, but it's in a bustling hip college town.  I'm leaning towards the cheaper option (since I LOVE the program itself), but I'm not sure if I'm feeling the town its in.  Is grad school so busy that you won't even have time to spend off-campus and outside of clinic?  Should I even worry about anything other than the school and program?   Is anyone else going through a similar decision?  I'd love to know everyone's thoughts!  

[ambermarie]

i don't know about free time (or lack thereof), but i'd personally go for the lower cost option!! it's always better to graduate with less debt imo. it'll only be for a few years, and you can always move to an area you really love after you've got your degree!

[Rezzy S.]

What is the price difference?

[topdog17]

6 minutes ago, Rezzy S. said:

What is the price difference?

The price difference is $25k-$30k.  I feel silly even typing out that price difference, but I guess I just have major FOMO about grad student life in a nice college town.  Does that even exist?  Or is everyone everywhere just fully absorbed by their workload?

[Rezzy S.]

38 minutes ago, topdog17 said:

The price difference is $25k-$30k.  I feel silly even typing out that price difference, but I guess I just have major FOMO about grad student life in a nice college town.  Does that even exist?  Or is everyone everywhere just fully absorbed by their workload?

That’s quite a difference! Personally I would go cheaper, but I know its a really individual decision so no judgement here  

[bibliophile222]

I actually laughed when I read the title of the post and thought "free time in grad school"?! It's a bit of an exaggeration since I do have a bit of down time, but you should expect to be working a lot, even if you're good at time management. I live next to a cool college town but rarely spend time downtown. As long as the smaller town has a few amenities and isn't an insanely long drive from a larger city I wouldn't have time to get too bored. Maybe use breaks to take road trips to more exciting places and be a homebody the rest of the year? 

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by bibliophile222

[Bmay80]

Go for the cheaper program?speaking as someone who’s paying off grad school loans as we speak.

[Bookworm111]

I have noticed that most advice on this board is based on going for the cheaper option. However, I may be part of the minority who disagrees with that. If you are based in a part of the country where there is a lot of competition  (larger cities for example), it is my belief that the name of your university carries weight. Even though we are in a field that is in demand, you would be competing with students from other universities and recruiters definitely base their hiring decisions on university names. It is why students at elite universities like the Ivy Leagues tend to have better job prospects and statistically earn more. Now I don't agree with the system - in fact I think it's unfair as we write common exams at the end of it all so you could be getting an equally good education at a lesser known university. But for me personally, I would go for the higher ranked programs (more debt is not necessarily bad if you earn more money over a lifetime to compensate for it). Having said that, I am not an expert on this - my opinion is based on my perceptions and observations of life as I live in a competitive city. If I lived in a small town, my view may be different.

[waffles19]

1 hour ago, Bookworm111 said:

I have noticed that most advice on this board is based on going for the cheaper option. However, I may be part of the minority who disagrees with that. If you are based in a part of the country where there is a lot of competition  (larger cities for example), it is my belief that the name of your university carries weight. Even though we are in a field that is in demand, you would be competing with students from other universities and recruiters definitely base their hiring decisions on university names. It is why students at elite universities like the Ivy Leagues tend to have better job prospects and statistically earn more. Now I don't agree with the system - in fact I think it's unfair as we write common exams at the end of it all so you could be getting an equally good education at a lesser known university. But for me personally, I would go for the higher ranked programs (more debt is not necessarily bad if you earn more money over a lifetime to compensate for it). Having said that, I am not an expert on this - my opinion is based on my perceptions and observations of life as I live in a competitive city. If I lived in a small town, my view may be different.

I somewhat agree with you. It kinda bothers me that everyone just has this blind advice that the cheaper option is the be all end all of picking a school. I understand that at some point employers aren't going to care what school you went to and just care about past work experience but you have to get those first jobs to start with! And your school is obviously going to be something that they look at. It makes sense that maybe you wouldn't care about school name, school networking/resources if you're planning to be a school based SLP in a small town or something like that. But, if you're like me and wanting to get placements in more competitive medical based settings, it may be worth the extra money to go to a school that offers those classes and has all those connections. I didn't join this field to live a life of luxury and if I'm going to pay for school I may as well go to a place I actually want to go that will help me reach my career goals. 

To the original poster, I think that the program itself should take priority and if it costs less than that a huge benefit! Grad students I've talked to seem to not have enough free time for it to weigh so much into a decision. But, if you're going to be sad and feel suffocated the whole time in the rural area then maybe that's not the best idea? 

Edited March 19, 2019 by cakcak

[Rezzy S.]

26 minutes ago, cakcak said:

I agree with you. It kinda bothers me that everyone just has this blind advice that the cheaper option is the be all end all of picking a school. I understand that at some point employers aren't going to care what school you went to and just care about past work experience but you have to get those first jobs to start with! And your school is obviously going to be something that they look at. It makes sense that maybe you wouldn't care about school name, school networking/resources if you're planning to be a school based SLP in a small town or something like that. But, if you're like me and wanting to get placements in more competitive medical based settings, it may be worth the extra money to go to a school that offers those classes and has all those connections. I also, unlike many people, am okay with having some debt. If SLPs make as much ASHA reports they make, the debt shouldn't cause me to live a lifestyle of squalor. I didn't join this field to live a life of luxury and if I'm going to pay for school I may as well go to a place I actually want to go that will help me reach my career goals. 

To the original poster, I think that the program itself should take priority and if it costs less than that a huge benefit! Grad students I've talked to seem to not have enough free time for it to weigh so much into a decision. But, if you're going to be sad and feel suffocated the whole time in the rural area then maybe that's not the best idea? 

I don't think those advocating for the cheaper option see it as the be all end all of picking a school. Since OP really liked the program in the smaller town, cost becomes a lot more relevant. I started in a different field and acquired a lot of debt and it was less than fun to pay off. I'm certainly not seeking a life of luxury either, but independence is expensive (especially in California! ). This time around I'm going about things differently. Again, it's a personal, not one-size fits all choice. I can only speak to my experience. 

I think you make great points. If networking is a concern and OP sees herself eventually settling in the town of the more expensive program, I definitely see pros and financial benefit to that. In my dream scenario I get to be in a great city and limit my debt, but it's still too early to tell.

Edited March 19, 2019 by Rezzy S.
typo

[waffles19]

3 minutes ago, Rezzy S. said:

I don't think those advocating for the cheaper option see it as the be all end all of picking a school. Since OP really liked the program in the smaller town, cost becomes a lot more relevant. I started in a different field and acquired a lot of debt and it was less than fun to pay off. I'm certainly not seeking a life of luxury either, but independence is expensive (especially in California! ). This time around I'm going about things differently. Again, it's a personal, not one-size fits all choice. I can only speak to my experience. 

I think you make great points. If networking is a concern and OP sees herself eventually settling in the town of the more expensive program, I definitely see pros and financial benefit to that. In my dream scenario I get to be in a great city and limit my debt, but its still too early to tell.

Yes! And there are certainly parts of the country that make this harder than others. "Not on-size fits all choice" is a good way to put it. Different people have different priorities!

[AlwaysaFalcon]

I agree with what people have been saying and go with the cheaper option. Since you mentioned that you really liked the set up of the program itself the fact that it is cheaper is the icing on top of the cake in my opinion. But it also depends on your priorities and goals. For example one of my goals is to try and be debt free as soon as possible. So I chose the cheaper program because I wanted to save money. I really like the program I chose so it worked out for me

[bibliophile222]

58 minutes ago, Rezzy S. said:

I don't think those advocating for the cheaper option see it as the be all end all of picking a school. Since OP really liked the program in the smaller town, cost becomes a lot more relevant. I started in a different field and acquired a lot of debt and it was less than fun to pay off. I'm certainly not seeking a life of luxury either, but independence is expensive (especially in California! ). This time around I'm going about things differently. Again, it's a personal, not one-size fits all choice. I can only speak to my experience. 

I think you make great points. If networking is a concern and OP sees herself eventually settling in the town of the more expensive program, I definitely see pros and financial benefit to that. In my dream scenario I get to be in a great city and limit my debt, but it's still too early to tell.

Yeah, I can see how connections would be helpful if someone's main goal is to settle in a city with more competition. Cities with multiple programs can be oversaturated with SLPs, which may make it harder to compete with grads from that area. Of course, getting placements in a saturated area can also be more challenging--many in my cohort are doing their summer placements in their home states, but they've been having a tough time competing against students from all the other programs.