University of Arizona vs. NYU please please help!

[zk897]

Hey all, 

 

I was lucky enough to get into some great programs, and about a week ago I accepted my offer to attend to NYU. However, on Saturday I was admitted into University of Arizona with an out of state scholarship and now I don't know which to attend. I love both programs, but feel that they can both offer me different things. Arizona is more highly ranked and would be much less expensive (both in tuition and cost of living), but I was also very excited to live in New York City and to be closer to my family. I'm having a lot of trouble with the decision and any advice anyone could give would be very appreciated! 

[Papaya91]

Congrats on getting in! I'm going to the University of Arizona, so I'm biased (I think you should go to the UA!). But my thoughts are that you should go wherever is the best fit for you personally, and the other important things in your life. If seeing family is important to you, then I think that's a huge factor. For me, climate and musical opportunities were other factors that I weighed heavily. Wherever you go, you'll get the necessary education to become an SLP. Where do you want to work after graduation? If you want to work in New York, or closer to your family, it might make sense to go to school closer to home, because there will be better networking opportunities there. Best of luck in your decision!

Edited April 18, 2014 by Papaya91

[zk897]

Thanks Papaya! I feel like I would be happy either place, but I am from the East Coast and have always lived here, so NYU would most likely be a better fit. I would most likely want to work on the east coast as well after graduation. I guess I am wondering if my job prospects would be better after going to UA because it is such a fantastic program, or if I would get better training there. 

[QS05]

Hi! I didn't apply to either of the schools you are thinking about but just so you know if you would like to work in NY after graduation then you should attend NYU because a NY license is hard to obtain if you do not graduate from a NY school. Either way I would look online to see what Arizona requires for their licensing and what NY requires and then what the state that you might want to work in after graduation requires. I know it doesn't exactly answer your question but its just something to thing about when deciding!

[Papaya91]

The UA really is a great program. I don't know much about the New York program, but the UA has many really great externship opportunities, and lots of cool research to work on. If you're going for your PhD, I think the UA might be the better choice, but otherwise I've heard that rankings don't really matter. As far as whether you'll get a better education - I think it really depends on your interests. All programs are required to give you the basic foundation, so you'll learn all that you need to know wherever you go. Certain schools have special interest areas as well, though, if you want to learn more about a certain disorder. The UA, for example, has some great aphasia research, a bilingual certification program, and some really cool voice research going on. And those are just the ones I remember because they interest me - there are a few others, as well.

Does New York have any research going on that interests you, or any classes on certain disorders that interest you?

[LMZ]

I've just went through a similar dilemma deciding between UW-MedSLP and NYU. Seattle having the better program and being MUCH more affordable, but of course the dream of living and working in New York would be incredible. At the end of the day, for me, the gigantic price tag of NYU was what pushed me towards UW. Is the education and experience really worth taking about 200,000$ Student Line of Credit when I can get a better educational experience for less than half of that? 

 

This is what I keep reminding myself to solidify my decision:

NYU - tuition alone for 2 years - 75,000$ living - roughly 40,000 for two years (modest guess)

UW - tuition PLUS living (in one of the more expensive residences equipped with gym and coffee shop and student lounge/library)- 80,000$ ALL IN for two whole years. 

[ImHis]

I would definitely assess your long-term career goals. Do you plan to work in the schools or medical focus?

 

As far as I know, all NY schools give you an opportunity to get the TSSLD certificate and that would make things easier in terms of paperwork. It's more difficult to get educational track jobs without your TSSLD according to an SLP I know who had trouble finding CFY in the tri-state. She graduated 2 years ago, but I'm not sure if things have changed.

 

If money is a problem, I would take the scholarship offer and that means less payback after graduation. Plus, moving away also helps you focus better in your studies.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Patont

[ImpulsiveNixie]

I say UA!!! I am biased though.  

[daisynic]

I don't know how to go about getting NY certification after graduating, but I'm certain it is doable. When I was student teaching in NY, one of the SLPs in the school got her masters in Massachusetts, and a girl from my undergrad is graduating from that same school. Also, one of my professors from undergrad got her masters in TX and has lived and worked as an SLP in New York for years. I know MA and TX are different states than AZ, but I think it is definitely possible. I will be visiting that professor later this week and I will report back if I find any important information!

[zk897]

Thanks so much to everyone for their responses! NYU is absurdly expensive, and it probably makes no sense to go the lower ranked school that's literally twice as much money, but I didn't feel prepared to accept UA after being given only a week to make the decision. I don't really know if I made the right choice or not and I'm still going back and forth in my mind, but ultimately I'm more excited about the research being done and the electives offered at NYU. Either way I would get a great education and from what I've seen almost all speech path programs have good job prospects, so I just have to trust that I made the right decision for me. Still, thanks for the advice, I really do appreciate it 

[Papaya91]

So you chose NYU? Best of luck with whatever you do - if you think it's the right fit for you, and you'll be happiest there, then you made the right choice.

LMZ - just my $0.02 about the UW cost of attendance - when I was adding it up in my head, I was figuring the total cost would come to about $100,000, not just $80,000. Tuition's about $30,000/year (once you add textbooks), and I was estimating $20,000/year for living expenses (rent at about $1,000/month, utilities (more if you have internet/cable), food, gas, car insurance, cell phone bill, small entertainment budget, etc.). It sounds like you chose the less expensive school of your two choices, but I just don't want you to be surprised if it costs an extra $10,000/year.

[LMZ]

I am planning on living on Campus for UW so I won't have to worry about any utilities, just phone (also no car for me, putting that off until absolutely necessary!!) I'll gladly pay 1000$ a month all in as compared to NYU's 10,000$ per SEMESTER to live in Res, haha - yikes. Of course there are cheaper options living off campus in New York, but at the end of the day I am looking at roughly 1/3 of the cost for the two years, that's still a big difference to me!