<p>I'm looking into getting my Masters in Early Childhood Education and I'm really interested in Bank Street College of Education and Fordham but am having trouble finding much information about them (such as rankings, acceptance rates, etc.). I'm planning on going to the information sessions next month but was wondering which is considered better and what differences there are between the two programs. Thanks!</p>
<p>Bank Street = the Gold Standard, the Cadillac; Fordham = the Cents Off Coupon, the Hyundai. That’s a little facetious, but it pretty much captures the difference. Bank Street is probably the best brand name in the education world for Early Childhood Education, or at least one of them. It has cutting-edge scholars and leaders in the field. Fordham will give you a perfectly good credential that will qualify you for anything that needs the credential, and that’s about it. Bank Street costs about twice as much as Fordham, a difference that is hard to recover in the world of Early Childhood Education. </p>
<p>So it really depends on what you are looking for with your MA. If you are planning eventually to get a PhD, or to work on policy, etc., Bank Street is a name people in those worlds will recognize and respect, and the faculty at Bank Street will have networks to whom they can introduce you if you play your cards right. (Of course, everyone will recognize and respect Fordham, too, but it won’t have any ECE magic.) If you just need an ECE MA to get the job you want, especially in NY, go to Fordham, which does a fine job of punching people’s tickets efficiently.</p>
<p>Thanks! How hard is it to get into Bank Street? I can’t find the acceptance rate anywhere</p>