Public university? Private university? Program fit vs. location? Help!!!

[breeze1220]

Hello everyone,

I'm having an incredibly difficult time choosing between two professional Masters programs, which essentially means the degree is taught and terminal. The main issue that's clouding my judgement is that I'm not entirely sure in which area I'd like to specialize within the broad field that is this graduate program.

Case A:

- Very large but very highly regarded public research university with in-state tuition.

- Masters program has a particular strength in my potential area of interest, and the professors I've spoken to seem approachable.

- Seems to have a lot of opportunities for students to get involved with "Centers" of research and work associated with the program

- My graduate advisor here is also in my perceived area of interest and recently won a "Mentor of the Year" award, but because this is a professional masters, the advisor-student relationship doesn't necessarily need to be as strong as it would for a PhD ship, for example, so I'm not sure how important this is.

BUT

-The program has a LOT of required courses, so there's less flexibility to take other classes within my interest.

- I literally cannot stand the city/area that it's in.

- I've lived in this state my entire life, so a part of me is yearning to branch out and explore a completely new area.

Case B:

- Smaller but very highly regarded private university out of state whose name has something of a "wow" factor, deserved or not. A part of me has always dreamed of going to this school.

- I love the campus. I love the area.

- The degree is incredibly flexible and doesn't have many prerequisites, and I'd also be able to take even more classes at highly-regarded public university nearby.

BUT

- The specialization I THINK I may be interested in is an admitted weakness of the program.

- Despite this, seems to have a lot of opportunities available in a variety of other focal areas I may decide I'm more interested in, but not necessarily a whole lot of faculty are available to support these areas, either - in other words, I'd have to work much harder than at [Case A] to seek out and make opportunities, but I've been assured that it can be and commonly is done.

- Some of the professors I spoke to didn't seem as approachable, and involvement in "Research Centers" don't appear to be as inclusive to students / as strongly developed as [Case A.]

My funding for both is pretty similar, so money is thankfully not an issue here. Both programs are approximately equally ranked, share the same size and claim to have a massive alumni network to support employment and internship opportunities post-graduation.

What seems most important to my deliberations have been "Where do I want to live" vs. "Program fit," which I'm not entirely sure should be weighed equally, but in my mind currently are. At the same time, I don't want to choose [Case A] because it seems to have a strength in what I think I'm interested in, only to find out that what I thought I'd wanted to study isn't, in fact, what I'm really interested in and regret that I didn't try to strike it out on my own at [Case B].

Any thoughts? Any advice on what factors may be more important than others?

I would appreciate any advice you can give - seeing this from several points of view would be very helpful! Thanks and cheers!

Edited April 7, 2010 by breeze1220

[shakespearebro]

Wel, right off the bat I'd say you might want to discount location. This is a terminal Masters, so you're there for a year or two, three at the most. For a PhD where you have to live there for 5-7 years, I could see weighing location a little more heavily. I have three masters degrees from three different kinds of schools all over the country. Believe me, you're gone before all the professors even know your name.

As to area of research interest, again, it's a Masters not a PhD. I don't think this is as important a consideration either. It's not as though you really need to have that good-fit dissertation advisor with whom you'll be sweating for years and years. This is a chance to make some god connections, get some great LOR's from three or four profs working in your field and move on up in your career.

Classes as nearby public university is less of an issue. Everyone always lists that as an asset, but no one I know ever takes advantage of the consortiums and cross-listings between universities. Most grad students are too busy in their home departments to really get a lot out of a nearby university. So I'd discount that advantage for Option B.

Your specialization is likely to change as you dig into interesting classes and professors. Since you don;t sound deeply committed to a particular field, I'd say, again, let that roll as well.

All that said, then, funding is equal so not an issue. You'd work with the mentor of the year in Option A or get the goosebumps you've always wanted from Option B. It sounds to me as though you want to choose Option B.

[breeze1220]

Shakespearebro, thank you so much for your response. Your background in philosophy was probably perfect to help you make sense of all my above musings! This is my first go at graduate school, so the feedback on what in actuality will be most important vs. what I imagine would be most important was extremely helpful - especially from someone who's gotten a few masters degrees.

I guess the only reason I listed the nearby public university is because I could potentially get a joint degree there in another field I'm interested in (if I decide I want my time at graduate school to get REALLY crazy). It's kind of a relief to hear that two factors I was really concerned about and I think have been holding me back from openly leaning toward option B - good mentor and preconceived specialization area - aren't as much of an issue in the long run.

Thank you!!!

Edited April 7, 2010 by breeze1220

[breeze1220]

Wel, right off the bat I'd say you might want to discount location. This is a terminal Masters, so you're there for a year or two, three at the most. For a PhD where you have to live there for 5-7 years, I could see weighing location a little more heavily. I have three masters degrees from three different kinds of schools all over the country. Believe me, you're gone before all the professors even know your name.

Actually, Shakespearebro, I was a bit curious as to why you've accumulated so many masters. Did you just go where your interests led you, or did you find you needed several for marketability?

[shakespearebro]

Actually, Shakespearebro, I was a bit curious as to why you've accumulated so many masters. Did you just go where your interests led you, or did you find you needed several for marketability?

I just followed my interests. My degrees only enhanced my career after the fact. What I mean is, I was able to drift into doing other things with my masters, but I did not need them for what I was doing at the time, nor did I really know what I wanted to DO in those other areas.