School choice- Ivy or not?

[Tony12]

I have a tough choice to make. I applied to two Doctorate programs and I was accepted into both. This is a good problem to have; but nonetheless, I have to make a hard choice. I am accepted into Northeastern University CPS Doctorate program for Law and Policy and UPENN Ed.D. program. Differing focus aside, one main factors is the cost. NEU is approx. 60k versus UPENN's 120k. So, UPENN is double the cost. However, UPENN is Ivy League and has a stellar reputation. I guess my concern is whether it really will be worth double the education cost over what I would receive from NE? Does a Doctorate from an Ivy league really provide that much more benefit? I actually am leaning towards Penn, because I do think a degree from an Ivy League school carries a lot of weight, especially in academics. I already have a great career but I want to start teaching college as an adjunct, then maybe eventually full time as I wind down my career with the government. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks

[LLajax]

You can ask the programs for statistics about job placements for grads, they'll usually make that sort of information available for you. Alternately, you could look at a directory of people in the field(s) you want to go into and do a quick survey to see which school name comes up more. If you're still stuck, you could ask a trusted advisor/professor about it (maybe one who's sat on a hiring/job search committee and knows what they're looking for).

Are either programs offering you funding? Do you know how much you can expect to make in your career post-degree? There's been a lot of discussion on this board about "value" of a degree.

Also, congrats on getting in!!

Edited October 29, 2011 by LLajax

[carpecc]

I agree with LLajax. I'm 90% sure they're very similar, but I don't know much about PhD programs in this field. You should really consider the field that's most important. But from everything I've seen, and assuming that Northeastern's program is great, there's no way double cost for an Ivy league education is worth it. It's 5-7 years of your life. Do you want to pay 700USD of every pay check a month for 7 years or 14? The pay is most likely the same, since you're interest is in academic job either way.

[flyers29]

Wait, are you going to be a full-time student? You shouldn't be having to pay anything if so. And regardless, 120k for a degree is NOT worth it.