pangea Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Is anyone else feeling the stress of having to come up with a way to afford an expensive school? I'm trying to make my decision but it is hard to choose when finances play such a key role. How are you justifying your decision to go to a spendy school? I am having major stress over that exact issue. I'm deciding between two schools: one extremely expensive, the other relatively affordable. The expensive school is, of course, my dream school to which I'm thankful to have been admitted. As much as I try to justify the extra cost and as much as I tell myself that I belong at the expensive school, the reality is that I just don't think it is prudent to take on extreme debt to go there. (I have found a student loan debt payment calculator that has been extremely helpful - http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml - check it out) As the Stones say, you can't always get what you want - such is life. I'm extremely fortunate, though, in that my second, more affordable program is excellent in its own right and that I know I can succeed there. That being said...I'm still going to make one more push for some funding at the expensive school. What are your thoughts - are you leaning toward a more expensive school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newyorker1990 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 I WANNA HEAR BACK FROM MERCYYYYYYY lalabooks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snl1472 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 I am having major stress over that exact issue. I'm deciding between two schools: one extremely expensive, the other relatively affordable. The expensive school is, of course, my dream school to which I'm thankful to have been admitted. As much as I try to justify the extra cost and as much as I tell myself that I belong at the expensive school, the reality is that I just don't think it is prudent to take on extreme debt to go there. (I have found a student loan debt payment calculator that has been extremely helpful - http://www.finaid.or...npayments.phtml - check it out) As the Stones say, you can't always get what you want - such is life. I'm extremely fortunate, though, in that my second, more affordable program is excellent in its own right and that I know I can succeed there. That being said...I'm still going to make one more push for some funding at the expensive school. What are your thoughts - are you leaning toward a more expensive school? Gah! I am in the EXACT same boat... although each day it seems less likely I can get funding through the more expensive school. I am touring the more expensive one later this week, but already losing sleep over the decision! Right now, I think I'm leaning towards the cheaper option, even though it kind of sucks that money has to play such an important role in this decision. trina 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorcalSLP Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 My pre-recs for NEU were approved!!! Whew! I will likely be going there in the fall. Anyone else planning on going to Northeastern? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niccig Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Is anyone else feeling the stress of having to come up with a way to afford an expensive school? I'm trying to make my decision but it is hard to choose when finances play such a key role. How are you justifying your decision to go to a spendy school? Advice if you don't mind for someone who's older and having a career change into being a SLP. Don't go into a great amount of debt. SLP does pay decently, but if you one day want a house and a family, and save for your own kids' college, not having huge student loan debt will help with being able to afford everything else that you want. The repayment amount doesn't sound like too much now, but once you try to figure a mortgage, retirement savings, college savings for kids and living expenses, it really does add up. From SLPs I've spoken with, they get paid the same regardless of the school they attended. Do a cost-benefit analysis and work out if the extra years of paying off the loans + interest is worth it for the expensive school. trina and MA-SLP FTW 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eef9 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 For anyone still wondering about Temple, I emailed one of the professors today because I have yet to hear anything and have tried calling the department numerous times. He got back to me this afternoon and said that they are waiting for people to reject their offers before sending out the next batch of acceptances. He said that, of course, it's hard for them to predict how many seats they'll have open without those responses but that they do hope to get a next round of acceptances (not sure how many that will be) by this Thursday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondebomb Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 I am still wondering about Idaho State and Univ of Montana. Hoping to hear that I am in the next round of offers, as I have not heard anything as of yet. Wish I knew - my ability to continue serving as a conditional certificated acting SLP for a rural school district depends on my acceptance to a program. Everyone cross your fingers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtn123 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 (edited) I am still wondering about Idaho State and Univ of Montana. Hoping to hear that I am in the next round of offers, as I have not heard anything as of yet. Wish I knew - my ability to continue serving as a conditional certificated acting SLP for a rural school district depends on my acceptance to a program. Everyone cross your fingers! Those who received acceptance letters on March 23rd from Montana must let the department know by this Friday, April 6th, whether they are attending. I will be declining my spot, so there will be at least one place opening up! Good luck! Edited April 3, 2012 by mtn123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtn123 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Speaking of the University of Montana, has anyone received word about financial aid from the department? My emails have gone unanswered this week and I am planning on declining, but a scholarship or GA position would go a long way in making me reconsider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLP1129 Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 (edited) Speaking of the University of Montana, has anyone received word about financial aid from the department? My emails have gone unanswered this week and I am planning on declining, but a scholarship or GA position would go a long way in making me reconsider. When I talked to the chair, she said that teaching assistant information won't go out till May. Hope that helps! Edited April 3, 2012 by SLP1129 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speechly Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Hi there, I found this board a couple of weeks looking for info about Pacific. I'm headed there too. I'm pretty excited about the program. I think it's going to be great! Hey, jhollyberry! Looking forward to meeting you this fall! As my decision starts to sink in a little more, I find myself getting more and more excited about Pacific. The only potential downside I can see is the newness of the program, but I have a lot of confidence in the department from the contact I've had so far. Did you attend an interview in February? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbw2815 Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Still have not heard anything from Northeastern and LSU New Orleans...should I call...email...wait another week? Does this mean I am waitlisted at both schools? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhollyberry Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Hey, jhollyberry! Looking forward to meeting you this fall! As my decision starts to sink in a little more, I find myself getting more and more excited about Pacific. The only potential downside I can see is the newness of the program, but I have a lot of confidence in the department from the contact I've had so far. Did you attend an interview in February? Yes, I was at the interview, and when I left I liked it, but really didn't think I would be attending. Slowly I've found out more about it, and have become more excited about it. I agree about the newness, but it really helped me to have the faculty join from Portland State. That gave me a lot more confidence. Congrats on your decision, looks like you had a lot of great choices! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeeperson Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Still have not heard anything from Northeastern and LSU New Orleans...should I call...email...wait another week? Does this mean I am waitlisted at both schools? I would probably wait a couple more weeks and let the process play out for those schools before getting overly concerned. Have you gotten in elsewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoquierocafe Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I just finished notifying schools of my decision to decline admission...whew! I've heard people mention that it's difficult to do, but I hadn't really thought about it until I had to sit down and do it. It was rough! I do hope I've been able to make a couple waitlisted people happy, though! And now I get to look forward and officially feel excited about grad school this fall! Will anyone else be attending Pacific University's program? I was also accepted to Pacific University and I have been seriously considering accepting. I really loved the faculty and campus when I went to visit. It seemed as though everyone was really invested in creating an outstanding program, plus the addition of the staff from PSU. My only concern is the issue with their pending candidacy, I am somewhat worried about that. Is anyone else concerned about that? I will be visiting CU Boulder on Friday to help me make my decision, but Pacific does have a little place in my heart, so it will be hard to decline their offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speechly Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I was also accepted to Pacific University and I have been seriously considering accepting. I really loved the faculty and campus when I went to visit. It seemed as though everyone was really invested in creating an outstanding program, plus the addition of the staff from PSU. My only concern is the issue with their pending candidacy, I am somewhat worried about that. Is anyone else concerned about that? I will be visiting CU Boulder on Friday to help me make my decision, but Pacific does have a little place in my heart, so it will be hard to decline their offer. Pacific's pending candidacy isn't ideal, but I looked through the CAA information on ASHA's website, and from what I can tell, an education from a program with candidacy status (vs. accredited) is for all intents and purposes the same as you'd get from any other. If anything, the program will be watched MORE closely to ensure that we're getting all of the information and experiences we need. That, combined with what I've seen from the school so far, and the added endorsement from the two PSU professors heading there, makes me feel pretty confident that Pacific will be a quality program. Plus, we as the first class will have the added benefit of being the only cohort in the program. At no other time will the professors' attention be split between fewer students, since there's not a second year cohort. That's obviously not the reason to choose Pacific's program, but it's kind of neat! In any case, good luck with your decision, mcmanelberry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyWade Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Anyone know anything about Nevada-Reno? I heard all of their letters were mailed out last week, but I've yet to see anything in my mailbox... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyWade Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Anyone know anything about Nevada-Reno? I heard all of their letters were mailed out last week, but I've yet to see anything in my mailbox... Called them-found out they never forwarded my app for review because they thought it was missing a transcript that was actually indeed there (they called and told me it was underneath something with my maiden name) so they never saw my app and have already made decisions. I was holding out a little hope with them...but not so much now. They did suggest I call the department to see if they would review it and possibly put me on the wait list. I'm so angry and feel that I deserve a chance, but not much I can do. Newyorker1990 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudioEnvy Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Called them-found out they never forwarded my app for review because they thought it was missing a transcript that was actually indeed there (they called and told me it was underneath something with my maiden name) so they never saw my app and have already made decisions. I was holding out a little hope with them...but not so much now. They did suggest I call the department to see if they would review it and possibly put me on the wait list. I'm so angry and feel that I deserve a chance, but not much I can do. Oh no, that's awful :/ I'm sorry. Hopefully they are able to do something for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorcalSLP Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Finally got my letter from Redlands. I was wait listed. But thats okay because if had been accepted it would have been hard to turn down going to school close(er) to home but I like Boston SO much more than SoCal...glad it's a decision I won't have to make haha. For those waiting to hear they sent out letters on Friday and Monday and I live near SF so yours should be on its way. Anyone know what is going on with St. Johns? I know that they starting notifying people forever ago and I have yet to hear anything (other than invites to tour the school and encouragement to apply there...which I'm pretty sure I already did haha). Should I just assume I am wait listed? Same with UVA. I heard someone say, either here or on the results board that we should hear soon but it seems really late. It is the only school I would consider bumping NEU for (other than Marquette) but I would want to visit first (been to the school not the department) and I wouldn't have the chance to do that before the April 15th deadline. These schools really need to get their act together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorcalSLP Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Called them-found out they never forwarded my app for review because they thought it was missing a transcript that was actually indeed there (they called and told me it was underneath something with my maiden name) so they never saw my app and have already made decisions. I was holding out a little hope with them...but not so much now. They did suggest I call the department to see if they would review it and possibly put me on the wait list. I'm so angry and feel that I deserve a chance, but not much I can do. sorry for the double post but since this is totally unrelated to my above rant... That's horrible!! A similar thing happened to me with SJSU last go round but they never admitted fault. I would certainly take them up on their offer, especially since it sounds like they are taking the blame. You never know what could happen, especially if they were going to admit you had they been organized. If that was the case you would likely be towards the top of the wait list. Unless you have your heart set on another school and are more comfortable with applying again than attending UN-R it's worth a shot. Good luck and sorry you have to go through that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudioEnvy Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 NorcalSLP...I saw your sig and I just wanted to let you know that I just recently turned down my Marquette offer...I hope that helps you!! NorcalSLP 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLP1129 Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 (edited) I am having major stress over that exact issue. I'm deciding between two schools: one extremely expensive, the other relatively affordable. The expensive school is, of course, my dream school to which I'm thankful to have been admitted. As much as I try to justify the extra cost and as much as I tell myself that I belong at the expensive school, the reality is that I just don't think it is prudent to take on extreme debt to go there. (I have found a student loan debt payment calculator that has been extremely helpful - http://www.finaid.or...npayments.phtml - check it out) As the Stones say, you can't always get what you want - such is life. I'm extremely fortunate, though, in that my second, more affordable program is excellent in its own right and that I know I can succeed there. That being said...I'm still going to make one more push for some funding at the expensive school. What are your thoughts - are you leaning toward a more expensive school? Isn't it dumb that finances play such a key role? The loan calculator is what has made me realize that there is no way that I can go to my expensive school without some sort of funding. But I want to go so badly that I have been applying for every scholarship/fellowship possible. At this point I am going to do everything I can to afford it, but if nothing happens I'll just have to accept that it is not meant to be. I'm going to visit next week and hopefully that will help me make up my mind. Let me know if you decide to attend the expensive school and, if you're successful at getting funding, let me know how you did it good luck! Edited April 5, 2012 by SLP1129 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysanthemum Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Called them-found out they never forwarded my app for review because they thought it was missing a transcript that was actually indeed there (they called and told me it was underneath something with my maiden name) so they never saw my app and have already made decisions. I was holding out a little hope with them...but not so much now. They did suggest I call the department to see if they would review it and possibly put me on the wait list. I'm so angry and feel that I deserve a chance, but not much I can do. omg I am so sorry!! It just seems so unfair that we pay all this money and they don't even bother letting you know if they're missing (or think they're missing) something from your application. Seriously, that's so messed up. Maybe they'll be able to do something, though? I truly wish you the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyWade Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 sorry for the double post but since this is totally unrelated to my above rant... That's horrible!! A similar thing happened to me with SJSU last go round but they never admitted fault. I would certainly take them up on their offer, especially since it sounds like they are taking the blame. You never know what could happen, especially if they were going to admit you had they been organized. If that was the case you would likely be towards the top of the wait list. Unless you have your heart set on another school and are more comfortable with applying again than attending UN-R it's worth a shot. Good luck and sorry you have to go through that. omg I am so sorry!! It just seems so unfair that we pay all this money and they don't even bother letting you know if they're missing (or think they're missing) something from your application. Seriously, that's so messed up. Maybe they'll be able to do something, though? I truly wish you the best! Thanks guys. I'm so disheartened and frustrated with this entire process. Only a handful of students from my program now got admitted to grad school-I've always had a hunch that my undergrad wasn't the best, but I feel that this sort of cements that theory. Its very difficult to accept how hard you have worked for this degree, to only be shot down when you're trying to continue. I'm really hoping I have some sort of chance with UNR. The transcript in question was actually late (but I called and they said it was fine since they hadn't started reviewing apps yet) because I didn't submit it to any of my schools-it was from one semester in 1997 that I didn't do well in. I never used any of the credits and it was a completely different program. But...UNR insisted that they needed it before they reviewed my app so I had to send it in and it got there late...then this whole mess happened (when they actually received it but didn't realize it (I still don't get this) so they didn't forward my app). Sorry about the ranting and major over-use of parenthesis. I'll update you all after I speak with the department tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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