American Univ. or Kent State?? Help, please!!

[ugg42]

Please help! I've been accepted to Kent State (OH) and American University (D.C) for my M.A. in public communication with an emphasis on media and I haven't the slightest clue how to decide where to go. I have full assistantships to both so my tuition is paid for to both. Both programs consist of three semesters & Kent has offered me $8,300 for approx. 20 hours of teaching assistance & AU has offered me $4,500 for approx. 15 hours of whatever assistantship I chose (TA, RA etc.).

I have always thought of AU to be the better school, but I think my view may be biased, so PLEASE help! Do any of you know which program is better? My dream job would be working as a media strategist on politcial campaigns--so that's pulling me toward AU since it's in D.C.- but I'm not sure how I would afford Washington D.C. with only a $4500 stipend and the rest in loans. Plus, I dont really think I want to teach as a career, so being able to choose what type of assistantship I commit to is pretty tempting.

However, Kent is a great school and the program allows me to tailor the degree to do what I want with it (I can pretty much decide what I want to emphasize on). As much as I wish it wasn't a factor, the money is also an issue-- is it bad to choose a program just because they've offered you a bigger stipend? I wouldn't have to worry about affording D.C. life, snce Kent is a small city.

Please help! It's greatly appreciated!!

[DCHopeful]

Let me start by saying, that clearly by my name--I'm a little biased!

Having said that, I think that the networking benefits to DC especially in that field (which, incidentally is the same as mine!) outweighs the cost of living in the long run. That is why I'm choosing to go there.

I can't speak specifically to the program comparison, but I have always believed that education is what you make it.

Anyways, would bet it is the internship and network opportunities that will really make the difference.

[TMP]

I can't believe you got an assistantship from AU! They are so hard to come by! I got nothing!

But, yes, you can't really beat DC in terms of job opportunities and networking, especially in this economy.

[mdvlst]

I grew up around Kent and am Currently in doing a masters in D.C. First off, it depends on how big of an issue money is. $4,500 in D.C. will likely pay for between 1/2 and 1/3 of your rent if you live alone (1/3 if you want to live in the city, 1/2 if you opt for somewhere like Silver Spring. Also, that is just rent, not gas, food, books, utilities, etc.) So, if you do not want to get an additional job while going to school, or take out large amounts of loans, AU probably isn't the best choice. You can get a nice 1bd apt in Kent for 600-800, whereas in DC you'll pay 1,200 for a studio or 1 bedroom.

Another thing to take into account is your ambitions. If you want to work for a really big company and your job is going to be your life, then AU might be a better choice, but if you want to settle down and half a family with a good job where reputation isn't necessarily an issue, Kent will do a perfectly good job offering you the types of connections you will need. Yeah, there are a lot of politicians in D.C. if that is what you want to do, but you can easily get involved with one of the congressmen/senators in Ohio and that will provide experience for if you want to move elsewhere later on.

I may be a little bias, as I am currently looking at getting out of D.C. and have actually applied to Kent so that I can start having kids, afford a house, groceries, things like that. I and my peers in the same program as me get a $15,000 stipend (and covered tuition) and we all either take out loans, or have a spouse that makes enough for us to get by on.