Smith? BU? Salem State? Simmons?

[steve20m]

I am SO torn. Money-wise, Salem State seems the best choice, but it does not offer exactly what I am looking for (coursework specific to serving LGBTQ clients). Simmons gave me money, but like Salem, it does not offer exactly what I am looking for and they seem kind of disorganized. BU seems like a great program and has LGBTQ coursework and there would be the opportunity to get a dual degree in public health, which interests me and might be a smart move for the future employment and salary-wise. Smith has a strong clinical program, a great community feel, LGBTQ coursework, and the practicum might be located anywhere in the country (good for adventure, maybe stressful/expensive to move). Any thoughts or insights that might help me decide?! 

[Purplescarves]

I'm in a similar boat, that's why I started the pro's & con's thread here:  needed a definitive list of what I stand to gain and lose at each school. I'm also interested in knowing what factors other people are considering at their schools.

 

Have you done a complete cost breakdown? That helped me completely cross off one school, it was just too expensive.

 

What are you hoping to do once you graduate? If it's clinical, the public health degree might not be as useful for future employment. More degrees doesn't always mean better. If your interest is not clinical, Smith might not be the best fit. A place like BU or Salem State probably would be a better choice.

 

I had the same feeling from Simmons when I visited and decided to not apply for that reason.

[MSDubbs]

I am SO torn. Money-wise, Salem State seems the best choice, but it does not offer exactly what I am looking for (coursework specific to serving LGBTQ clients). Simmons gave me money, but like Salem, it does not offer exactly what I am looking for and they seem kind of disorganized. BU seems like a great program and has LGBTQ coursework and there would be the opportunity to get a dual degree in public health, which interests me and might be a smart move for the future employment and salary-wise. Smith has a strong clinical program, a great community feel, LGBTQ coursework, and the practicum might be located anywhere in the country (good for adventure, maybe stressful/expensive to move). Any thoughts or insights that might help me decide?! 

I'm in a very similar situation, in that I am looking to work with LGBTQ populations afterwards. This is very important to me and BU is appealing for this reason. I was less impressed when I visited the school with the program itself, but I have heard time and time again that it really is all about the field placement experiences, connections you make, and being able to live there for a bit afterwards to take advantage of the connections and find jobs. This is making the decision tricky for me as well, because it means having to weigh cities (some of which offer similar things) as well as the program, costs, etc. When you know the kind of work you want to do, if all other things are similar, I would say take that into consideration. It's much easier to find work in your desired area if you have been cultivating that for years before you're applying for jobs. Good luck! Perhaps I'll see you at BU, who knows!