How to choose between money and opportunities?

[oliviafrank]

Hi everyone!

How do we feel about choosing a school based on the money they offer you (like scholarships/financial aid etc.) and the school that may offer the most opportunity but significantly less money? I am a Canadian who will be doing their Masters in the States so money matters but so does the city/opportunities that a school can provide. All opinions and experiences are helpful, thank you!

[Sigaba]

4 hours ago, oliviafrank said:

Hi everyone!

How do we feel about choosing a school based on the money they offer you (like scholarships/financial aid etc.) and the school that may offer the most opportunity but significantly less money? I am a Canadian who will be doing their Masters in the States so money matters but so does the city/opportunities that a school can provide. All opinions and experiences are helpful, thank you!

FWIW, my standard recommendation for this dilemma is to see how attending school A (more money) and school B (more opportunity+ has played out for recent graduates by reverse engineering the career paths of individuals who have the kinds of jobs you will want down the line. So if you want Job 1, Job 2, or Job 3, figure if school B produces graduates who end up getting hired for those jobs.

Another approach is to plan budgets for both schools so one can understand better the kinds of sacrifices one will have to make to attend school B, and then to see if there are ways to mitigate those sacrifices. For example, attending school B may require one to have a longer commute to campus because of the cost of housing. Can one mitigate the increased commute time by finding places to live that are close to multiple transit lines?