To wait or not to wait

[Daisy7200]

Hello all...

 

I have myself in a tricky situation. I was admitted to my local state university, on the condition that I finish my last 2 prerequisites. Unfortunately, I ended up with a D in one of the classes... I had a medical issue at the beginning of the semester, and couldn't catch up. I already gave notice to my job and they have hired a replacement for me, and I also moved to a new apartment to be closer to this university. The state school is now telling me that I will have to retake the course in the fall, and then reapply for next year....they are unwilling to be flexible at all........I was supposed to start grad school in 3 weeks, and now everything is ruined. 

I reached out to one of the private universities that accepted me in March, and they said that I could still enroll. However, the private university costs double the price of the public one........

should i wait and risk reapplying to the public one? or should i accept the offer at the private one?

I dont really want to wait a whole year to start school. I feel like I will lose motivation. I also won't have a job, so I would have to get another job if I wanted to wait a year. 

[Cece93]

Wow I can’t believe they wouldn’t allow you to add that course to the fall especially during a time like this. I would personally go with the private school and start. theres no guarantee the state school would accept you again next year. Do amazing your first year and then see if you can get an assistantship or fellowship and get free tuition the following year. If you can take on the debt and you know you would lose motivation if you didn’t start, start now. If I didn’t get into a state school I would’ve gone to a private school in or out of state. I just want to be a SLP already and I knew if I didn’t get in it would be hard for me to keep trying. 

[SLPA2021]

I'm so sorry you have that on your plate on top of all the other overwhelming current issues ? I would personally choose to go to the private university. Although I wouldn't be too happy about the price and debt, I would think of it as allowing myself to attain a career as an SLP one year sooner, which would allow me to pay back that debt with my SLP salary anyway. (This might be different for you as everyone has their own financial priorities) There is no guarantee your local university would accept you again, and if you feel that a gap year is not for you then I would go ahead and continue with school if it's somewhat feasible. I hope that helps!

[nęm0]

Getting into more debt is not worth it. Wait a year and reapply. Try to get a new job but it will be hard due to current economy. TBH your situation is messed up but perseverance is key. Be well!

[Daisy7200]

23 hours ago, Daisy7200 said:

Hello all...

 

I have myself in a tricky situation. I was admitted to my local state university, on the condition that I finish my last 2 prerequisites. Unfortunately, I ended up with a D in one of the classes... I had a medical issue at the beginning of the semester, and couldn't catch up. I already gave notice to my job and they have hired a replacement for me, and I also moved to a new apartment to be closer to this university. The state school is now telling me that I will have to retake the course in the fall, and then reapply for next year....they are unwilling to be flexible at all........I was supposed to start grad school in 3 weeks, and now everything is ruined. 

I reached out to one of the private universities that accepted me in March, and they said that I could still enroll. However, the private university costs double the price of the public one........

should i wait and risk reapplying to the public one? or should i accept the offer at the private one?

I dont really want to wait a whole year to start school. I feel like I will lose motivation. I also won't have a job, so I would have to get another job if I wanted to wait a year. 

Update: they said  I wouldn't have to reapply, I can retake the class and I can defer admission, and start 2021... just still not sure its worth the wait. I was really looking forward to getting started with my career. 

[gigislp]

Since you have guaranteed admission for 2021, I would ask myself whether waiting a year would be wasting a year of time or not. In a way I have to wait a year too, while I get prerequisites done and school starts for 2021 (hopefully not 2022). I was upset when I realized this but then I started looking for things related to speech pathology like working at a lab or getting a job as an ABA technician and this made the wait feel much more worthwhile. Your situation is very different, so there may not be anything that will make the wait not feel like you are waisting time. If waiting a year won't help you in any way besides helping you pay less for school, I would go with the private school. If during this year you are able to do something that will benefit you in someway, whether it's relevant experience, traveling, or raising your quality of life, why not wait a year? As cheesy as it is, it's about the journey, not just the destination)) But if this year is going to be hell for you, then is it really worth going through that just to save money? You applied there so I'm assuming you were ready to pay that sum if it was the only school that accepted you, so why hesitate now? Hope these thoughts help!))

[Cece93]

On 8/5/2020 at 8:47 PM, gigislp said:

Since you have guaranteed admission for 2021, I would ask myself whether waiting a year would be wasting a year of time or not. In a way I have to wait a year too, while I get prerequisites done and school starts for 2021 (hopefully not 2022). I was upset when I realized this but then I started looking for things related to speech pathology like working at a lab or getting a job as an ABA technician and this made the wait feel much more worthwhile. Your situation is very different, so there may not be anything that will make the wait not feel like you are waisting time. If waiting a year won't help you in any way besides helping you pay less for school, I would go with the private school. If during this year you are able to do something that will benefit you in someway, whether it's relevant experience, traveling, or raising your quality of life, why not wait a year? As cheesy as it is, it's about the journey, not just the destination)) But if this year is going to be hell for you, then is it really worth going through that just to save money? You applied there so I'm assuming you were ready to pay that sum if it was the only school that accepted you, so why hesitate now? Hope these thoughts help!))

I completely agree. Knowing they have a place next fall changes things and makes the decision more challenging. I’ve already I had time to gain experience, travel some and live. So I was READY to start school. I think it’s hard when you are ready right now to start. I agree it’s about the journey but also the ending. The ending is a new beginning and the finality of being done with the schooling aspect. Op has a lot to think about.

[AnneSmith60]

private ones are usually better than public ones, don't you think?

[bibliophile222]

18 hours ago, AnneSmith60 said:

private ones are usually better than public ones, don't you think?

Nope, not in our field. Check the US News rankings. There are just as many public schools mixed into the top 20 as there are private schools. I went to a state school ranked in the top 40 with excellent graduate outcomes, good research opportunities, well-organized, and a wonderfully supportive faculty.