Hi everyone! I am having a difficult time choosing between two schools, my state flagship (UCONN) and Hofstra University. My current goal is to become a physician assistant, but I am torn between taking the opportunity of a 5 year B.S./M.S. program at Hofstra or taking the traditional route of 4 years undergrad and 2 masters at UCONN (I was admitted as a Biology major).
Financially, my parents have agreed to pay the equivalent of 4 years at my state flagship (~$128,000 total) toward my education. Any remaining costs must be covered by money I have earned, loans, and a college savings account my grandparents have for me (which I cannot rely on, as they will not disclose how much is in it even to my parents). The breakdown of costs for the two schools are as follows:
UCONN: ~$32,000 per year = ~128,000 total
Hofstra: ~$29,000 per year for 3 years (undergrad) + ~$98,000 grad program cost = ~$185,000 total
Basically, I will be responsible for covering $57,000 of my tuition if I attend Hofstra. If I attend UCONN, my entire tuition will be covered but I will have to cover whatever grad school costs I have afterwards. Is it reasonable to commit to $57,000 of debt? My fears are starting a 5 year program without a definite means of paying for the entirety it. However, by being in this program I am guaranteed a seat in the masters PA program at Hofstra (as long as I retain a 3.3 gpa). I am aware that I would probably need a far higher gpa at UCONN to be a competitive applicant for PA school. There is also no guarantee I will be accepted to a less expensive PA program after attending UCONN (and therefore have less than $57,000 in debt), but I have the opportunity to take time to work after finishing my undergrad and earn money. It seems that the better choice would be Hofstra, but I am still torn between the two.
Does anyone have advice/personal experience with PA school or 5 year B.S./M.S. programs? Or advice on paying for grad school/PA school? Thank you!
You’re obviously a great student to have been admitted to the 5-year program, but
did I miss something in your cost calculations?
While you’ve included PA costs within the 5-year $185K Hostra scenario, you’ve not included the additional projected two-years of grad costs after UCONN. I would estimate a two-year certified PA degree to be in the neighborhood of $180k total, calculating for an average cost of around $98k for tuition alone.
When you add that into the $128k total, you’re likely to double your overall debt.
As such, Hofstra is more cost effective.
The other thing that you’re not factoring realistically is the extreme difficulty of PA admission these days.
In addition to your grades, almost all programs will need to see at minimum 2500 hours of direct patient care, which may be hard to do when you’re an undergrad. If you’re willing to take a year or so off after UCONN, then you’d be in a better situation to apply to the competitive programs.
My feeling is that Hofstra is a great deal – bird-in-the-hand, as well as lower overall cost.
UConn doesn’t seem to have a PA program, OP. You’d have to go somewhere else for that.
Combined BS/MS PA programs are one of the few combined professional programs I’m actually a fan of, because otherwise (as was pointed out) the road to becoming a PA becomes a lot longer. Hofstra means that 5 years from now you’ll be certified as a PA. Going the traditional route potentially adds at least 2-3 additional years on. First you’d have to get certified as some kind of health professional - a nurse, a certified nursing assistant, or an EMT/paramedic. Then add one year in the master’s program, but also 1-2 years of direct clinical experience you need. Some students who work really hard could theoretically get certified as an EMT in their freshman year and then rack up enough hours before senior year to apply, but you’d have to be really focus. And the total cost at Hofstra actually ends up being less, it sounds like, because a PA program is likely going to cost you at least $100K all told.
Why won’t your grandparents tell you how much money is in the savings account? IT seems kind of useless to tell you they will help you with college but then not tell you how much they can actually help you.
@hop Thank you for your advice. You’re right, I didn’t directly factor in the cost of PA school after UCONN. I wasn’t sure how much to estimate for the cost of PA school in general. I will look into the cost of other programs. The 2,500 patient care hours is definitely difficult, especially considering I would only need 50 for Hofstra’s program.
@juillet I am already certified as an EMT, so it would be possible to get a head start on my hours. It seems like by going to UCONN I’d only be increasing my debt and time in school though, even if I have a head start. Thank you for your opinion on the direct entry programs, I’ve had a hard time determining how beneficial they are. As for my grandparents, I wasn’t aware they were contributing anything to my college tuition until a few months ago when we were filing for financial aid and my parents mentioned it. The money they had put aside was supposed to be a surprise and they weren’t very happy that I knew about it. They were even less happy to talk about the specifics of it, so I have no idea what to expect.
@mom2collegekids Thank you for the advice, I will look into other programs and compare them to the cost of Hofstra.