UCF vs MGH

[AVG244]

Hey everyone! I'm having such a tough time making this decision and I would appreciate any information/help/input from fellow SLP hopefuls or current students or anyone who has any knowledge of these programs. I was accepted into Massachusetts General Hospital Institute back in the beginning of March. It was my first and only acceptance for months! However, this program is ranked # 7 in the country and i was thrilled and I considered myself extremely fortunate and lucky to have the opportunity to study there. I also went to the open house for admitted students and saw the school in person. I can honestly say i fell in LOVE with the program. The professors are SO nice and supportive, all the current students and alumni I spoke with were SUPER happy, the program offers so many opportunities and specialty concentrations, truly the quality of the program is unbelievable! Graduating from there would look as if i'm graduating from Harvard to be frank! Here is the problem: although i was accepted i was offered NO funding or scholarship or funding of any sort and this happens to be the most EXPENSIVE program I applied to. the total cost for the two years would be almost $90,000...86,000 if you don't do a specialty concentration. BUT this is not factoring in cost of living. and cost of living in a city such as Boston as you all must know is very HIGH. About a month and a half later I have just been accepted to my first school that is in state. I live in South Florida. UCF is located in Orlando, FL therefore I would be paying the In-state tuition rate since I am a FL resident and UCF is a public University. total tuition for the two years would be around 26,000-30,000. 86-90,000 vs 26-30,000...HUGE difference, I KNOW! Most would say go to the cheaper one...HOWEVER, here are the pros to UCF: in state, 3 and a half hour drive from home so thats a huge comfort. LOVE the city of Orlando. Huge Disney addict so I can say when grad school gets stressful i would be a short drive from my happy place, in state tuition...thats a massive PRO...cost of living in orlando is nowhere near as high as Boston, the move wouldn't be as bad and as stressful since I currently live in Miami. Heres what I'm worried about: I know VERY little about UCF's program. I know its not as highly ranked as Massachusetts General BUT it may still be an excellent program, I just don't know enough about it. I know the Orlando area is full of good schools and hospitals so there must be a lot of good clinical opportunities. Can any current students or UCF hopefuls share what they know about the program? Are you happy? Do you feel like you are getting a good education? Classes? Faculty? I can really use any information about the program as possible because since i was accepted into such an amazing program as Mass General, if I end up picking UCF instead because it makes more financial sense I want to at least make sure I'm going to be awarded the same or close to the same amazing opportunities as I would have gotten at Mass Gen. I do not want to regret my decision. PLEASE HELP! thanks everyone and good luck to all who are still waiting or deciding  

[plume]

I can't really answer your questions because I have not attended these schools but I wanted to contribute since you haven't heard anything back yet! I have a friend at MGH and visited their facilities, and it looks amazing. I know nothing about UCF. I hope you were able to visit UCF because I feel like that would help you immensely! Just from the information you've stated here, unless there is something really wrong with the program, it sounds like UCF if going to be a GREAT school for you. MGH is excellent, but Orlando would have access to great clinical experiences as well. And the in-state tuition.... wow! But we all have different backgrounds and motivations, so my input can only be so helpful. I hope you have been able to get some more information on UCF!

[VitaSineLitterisMorsEst]

I was also accepted to UCF although they weren't my first choice. I have heard mixed things about their program, but I could say the same about almost all the programs in Florida. Positives have included excellent work in AAC if you are interested in that - and of course Aphasia House. The negatives (just hear say, students with more experience with the program can feel free to contradict me) are the extremely large cohort, and some students coming out of the program feeling less prepared, but again I didn't know those students personally. I would encourage you to look at their student outcomes and compare to other programs, especially in the same state.

I was in a somewhat similar situation to you - since I had the opportunity to attend UF for $30,000 if I lived at home. Then I was accepted to Vanderbilt, which is somewhat comparable in price to MGH. I chose Vanderbilt because I liked it for a lot of the same reasons as you; I went to the school and fell in love with it, I loved the unique opportunities, etc. It was the only school that I visited because of time constraints. I got a lot of conflicting advice - but mostly all the people close to me told me to pick Vanderbilt, despite the price. I think everyone has to make the decision about cost on their own and with people they trust, basing off their future living situation/background. I am willing to move back home for a few years to compensate for the cost of an awesome program; not everyone can or is willing to do that. I am interested in pursuing a Ph.D someday, and Vanderbilt is a well-known school; I have also been finding that it is extremely well-respected in the medical field, which is where I hope to work. Also, freshman year of college, I chose my school based off of cost alone, and I ended up regretting it and transferring out.

All of these factors went into my decision, and I am happy with it - at least so far! I think the question is always more complex than, "Choose the cheapest," or "Choose the highest ranked," because everyone has different goals. That said, it sounds like you lean towards UCF. I agree with Plume; visiting would help to solidify your decision, and Miami isn't that far away!

 

[AVG244]

Thanks @plume and @VitaSineLitterisMorsEst!! Both of your advice is truly very helpful and comforting! As of now I am indeed leaning towards UCF and quite content with that choice. I'll probably always dream of attending MGH because I know I would have loved it but I think I'll love UCF too with less sacrifice than I would have had to make to attend MGH. Besides, I think grad school is also somewhat what you make it so I can always shape my own experience no matter where I attend, hopefully! (Oh also, Mgh has a very large cohort as well so there's rly no diff with MGH and UCF in terms of the size of the class. Not entirely sure how many are in UCFs but I know MGH enrolls 60 per class where most other programs cap it at 30)  good luck to you both in your future endeavors and thanks for responding!!