Cost vs. Interests vs. Ranking: How do you weigh them?

[K8eCastle]

36 minutes ago, kenz said:

Just out of curiosity, as it stands right now, what will each of you have to pay in tuition and what is the cost of living at each school you're seriously considering attending?

My top choice (Missouri State) is about $7,000 a year thanks to a scholarship for out-of-state students and rent is $500-$700 a month depending on location/number of rooms. It's not great, but it could be a lot worse.

[JcSLP]

37 minutes ago, kenz said:

Just out of curiosity, as it stands right now, what will each of you have to pay in tuition and what is the cost of living at each school you're seriously considering attending?

 

If I chose in-state tuition, which I most likely will unless I get a GA offer (at Ithaca, but I'm not banking on it), SUNY Fredonia is 11k (with a grant) per academic year, UB is 14k, not including summer tuition. At Fredonia you can pay anywhere from 2,000-3,100 per semester for rent. UBuffalo is a bit different since it's in a city, so I haven't found any student rentals that let you pay per semester. It looks like I'd pay anywhere from 600-900/month for a one bedroom, but it can be like 300 a month if you live in a 3-4 bdrm house with roomates.

[plume]

Emerson is about $30,000 per year. And Boston living expenses... eek. Thankfully, I will be living with my partner, so I will be able to split rent. It's looking like we will spend anywhere from $500-$700 each per month living in an itty bitty place and possibly having roommates. Still not 100% on this decision... if I am admitted to Redlands I could move in with my parents for the two years and save a lot of money. I am jealous of the people reporting tuition under $10,000! If only...

[tvl]

West Texas A&M is more or less 10k a year and rent is looking to be around $500-600 for a 1 bedroom which I will split with my boyfriend. Not too shabby but then again I am moving from Los Angeles to the middle of nowhere in TX. Pros and cons I guess.

Edited March 30, 2017 by tvl

[Callen]

13 hours ago, plume said:

Emerson is about $30,000 per year. And Boston living expenses... eek. Thankfully, I will be living with my partner, so I will be able to split rent. It's looking like we will spend anywhere from $500-$700 each per month living in an itty bitty place and possibly having roommates. Still not 100% on this decision... if I am admitted to Redlands I could move in with my parents for the two years and save a lot of money. I am jealous of the people reporting tuition under $10,000! If only...

I'm also jealous haha considering I could be paying around 40k per year (summer classes why).

[plume]

3 hours ago, Callen said:

I'm also jealous haha considering I could be paying around 40k per year (summer classes why).

Now that you say that, I am realizing I wasn't even counting the classes I would be taking this summer....! I just keep reminding myself that in two years I will be an SLP!

[Callen]

1 minute ago, plume said:

Now that you say that, I am realizing I wasn't even counting the classes I would be taking this summer....! I just keep reminding myself that in two years I will be an SLP!

I know - only thing that makes it bearable!! 

[helenaaa]

@JcSLP Hi, I am debating between SUNY Fredonia and Mercy College. Did you go to Fredonia as an undergrad? If so what did you like and dislike about the school and program? I am currently leaning towards Fredonia mainly because the tuition is a lot cheaper than Mercy. 

[Jordyn_M463]

I think that it all depends on what you want out of the next 2 years of your life. 

For me, it was about money. I already owe a hefty amount of money for my undergrad because I chose to go to a large state university with one of the highest tuitions. ? (I loved every second of it though) For graduate school, I chose smaller, less expensive programs, in areas that aren't very pricey to live in either. My program gives every first year SLP grad student a GA position (you can turn it down if you want) and it covers 3/4 of your tuition and equates to about $500 a month in paychecks/stipends. 

That being said, the program is definitely "higher ranked" than the other schools I was accepted to, but in the end if they would have costed less I would have chosen them. My thoughts at this point are to owe as little as possible for graduate school. 

As for your special interests, if multilingual/cultural is something that is incredibly important to you and you love the program, and money is not an issue then I say go for it. Something else to think about is ASHA special interest groups. One of my professors for undergrad talked highly about getting involved in special interest groups for pretty much anything you can think of. The professionals all share research and ideas and it is a good way to stay connected to something you are passionate about. So if you chose to do the cheaper route, without the multilingual/cultural focus, this might be something you could look into and do research on. 

In the end, it is all about what you want out of your last 2 years of education. Do what makes you happy and what makes the most sense for you! 

Edited May 1, 2018 by Jordyn_M463

[snoves]

For me cost was the biggest thing, followed by interests. Unless you're planning to go on to get a PhD, ranking doesn't matter! When it came down to it the school I picked offered me the specialized training I wanted in multilingualism and a really nice grant package that will pay for a good chunk of my schooling. It also happens to be relatively high ranked, but that wasn't really a factor in my decision! I think for our field it's more of a balance between cost, interests, and ensuring you get the training you need (i.e. how hard is it to get a hospital placement, is there a good balance between patients in certain age groups, etc.)

As an answer to @kenz with the grant I have I'll be paying about 12K for my first year of school, 6K for the second (provided I get to keep my grant!!) for tuition/other school costs. Rent is around $500 but the grant will also provide me about $7,500/year for housing!

Edited May 1, 2018 by snoves

[JcSLP]

On 5/1/2018 at 12:38 PM, helenaaa said:

@JcSLP Hi, I am debating between SUNY Fredonia and Mercy College. Did you go to Fredonia as an undergrad? If so what did you like and dislike about the school and program? I am currently leaning towards Fredonia mainly because the tuition is a lot cheaper than Mercy. 

Yes I went there for undergrad and I currently am there for grad school  

Likes: The program is very tight-knit. Professors care about you, the clinic director is great and very accommodating. My favorite thing is that you can go off-campus or be in the on-campus clinic any given semester (you don't choose, though.) Right know I'm at an off-campus placement, and over the summer I'll be on campus. Also they have an extensive list of affiliations for externships, so if you want to back to where you're from for an externship you likely can. Another thing (this could be seen as a pro or con depending on your personal preference,) is that classes are at night, usually around 5-7:30. If you want to work during the day when you don't have clinic you could, you just have to make sure you have a flexible job.

Dislikes: The town itself is a little bland. In undergrad it was really fun (lots of parties, bars, etc.) But now, not so much. About 1/3 of the people in my program commute from Buffalo.

Hope this helps! Message me if you have more questions  

[thespeechblog.com]

Just out of curiosity, where did you end up going - A or B? What are your thoughts now?