<p>This is still plaguing my brain! I did not expect to get accepted by both PennGSE and TC-Columbia. At both schools, I would get a degree in TESOL. I've been accepted to some great public schools too...Pitt, Penn State, Indiana, and Illinois-Chicago. One of the public schools offered me full funding. I'm still waiting to here from other schools about funding, but I'm not expecting anything. My EFC is 0, but that doesn't mean anything except that I can get all the stafford loans I want.....lol.</p>
<p>I want to teach ADULTS...first dealing with immigrants or international students here in the US, then going abroad to teach for a few years. I ultimately would like to either become an administrator at an English langauge institute OR teach business English for a company...preferably abroad.</p>
<p>Do you think that it would be worth the addiitonal debt to go to an Ivy school of education? Do you think that having a name like that on my r?sum? will help me to get a higher paid position in a university setting or at a business? Do you think that I would have an easier time getting placed internationally in? Thanks!</p>
<p>as luck would have it, i'm RIGHT NOW editing a resume of a friend who got her MS TESOL from UPenn.</p>
<p>University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, Philadelphia, PA.
Master's Degree of Science in Education, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), December 2004</p>
<p>she's from taiwan. oddly enough, she comes back to taiwan and doesn't qualify for teaching license here (u need teaching credits for that), so she can't even teach english in high schools here.</p>
<p>i think ur asking a very difficult question. obviously, everyone wants the brand name univ diploma, but i really don't think it makes a difference where u got it. to get any job, u'll have to interview well - i don't think the univ. brand name, particularly in this field, will add much, if anything. </p>
<p>tough one. but i don't think it matters. definitely go to a school that offers u a full ride, over one that doesn't.</p>
<p>Apple,</p>
<p>Something alot of CC posters don't want to admit (until they get rejected by Harvard, MIT and Co.) is that for many jobs, you don't need a brand name degree. Sure, a degree from Columbia looks good and will follow you around for the rest of your life. But as far as actually getting a JOB, its your degree and experience/hard work/drive that count more than anything. Go look at the Bopard of Directors for alot of Fortune 500 companies. Sure there are people from harvard and Wharton in there, but there are also people from the University of Houston (Actually, wasn't Ken Lay from the University of Houston? Hahaha!) or any number of State Universities.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm afraid I just may have to make my decision based on finances....I hope I won't regret it later......maybe one of the other publics will give me some money. Don't get me wrong, I love the school that offered me money, but it defintely was not my first choice....</p>
<p>Apple,</p>
<p>I doubt you will regret it. What if you go to Columbia, or wherever, take out a 70K loan to go to school there, than when you graduate you cant even take a TESOL job because it doesnt pay you enough to repay your graduate school loans comfortably. This type of scenario happens alot more than you think. When picking a Grad school, I think its important to look at what you NEED and what you can AFFORD. To teach TESOL, you dont NEED to go to an Ivy, and I'm pretty sure you can't afford it either.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, though: Money isn't everything. Go where you will have the best experience and go where you think the best education is-- interviewing skills are largely derived from the atmosphere you expose yourself to in undergrad and grad school.</p>
<p>werd,</p>
<p>Although its good advice to go where the best education is, that usualy tends to also be where the priciest schools are. I truly believe that it is not worth it to drop 60K on loans for a degree (in this case TESOL) which will never make you that much money. I think teaching English as a Second language is a wonderful job. It is both very much needed and, from what I have heard, an extremely rewarding and enjoyable job. However, telling Apple to go "where the best education is" ignores the fact that in her case "the best education" will also be the priciest, and that to teach TESOL, you don't really need "The best education" either.</p>
<p>jmleadpipe, I very much respect your point of view. I guess I didn't really explain what I meant by "best education," though. To me, and education is all about what you get out of it, so when I ponder where I, or someone else, would get the best education, I take into consideration things like the ability to interact with professors, the resources of a library or other facilities helpful in your major (sure, probably at the priciest universities), the atmosphere-- am I compatible with the people I meet on the campus...would I fit in?, the ability to cope with the academic challenge (or lack thereof) involved in the coursework, the connections afforded by the alum network (not necessarily at a pricier university-- many state schools have great alum networks, though, admittedly and obviously, name brand can go a long way in the U.S.... though, as 14 spades said, this may be untrue where applelinguist might want to work), and the aptitude of career services (again, not necessarily at the priciest universities). Anyways ,I wasn't trying to say "go ivy," I was just trying to suggest (and this is only my opinion) that it may be well worth spending 70k to get the most out of your education for reasons entirely unrelated to the "name brand."
What I'm trying to say is that money wouldn't be the only thing that would make me go to a certain university-- I'd need to feel very comfortable in msot of the considerations I stated before. For undergrad, anyways, I could have gone to UVM for undergrad virtually for free, and I painstakingly mulled over whether or not I should go to a much more expensive LAC that I felt more comfortable at and felt I could get much more out of my education at. I'm in debt over my ears-- my parents are average middle class and I don't have a rich grandparent (I guess that's a bad metaphor and there's definitely nothing wrong with being able to pay for your education, that's for sure, but you get the point?), so a good majority of the burden falls on me and my FAFSA, and I don't regret it for one second. </p>
<p>I guess all I'm trying to say is that fiscal return isn't the only way to measure the worth of a degree. To some people it may be the most important, and I'm not saying that's bad, I'm just saying that if you feel so inclined, don't forget that there are other reasons to go to schools that don't give you muchos cash (not that you did, heh =) ).</p>
<p>werd,</p>
<p>You have explained your position very well and I think alot of what you say is valid. I too believe that when students are looking for a grad school (or even an undergrad, for that matter) they should be looking for schools that they feel they have a good "fit" with. However, the school you have th best"fit" with may very well be one that it is out of your price range. Hence, I think its important to look at more than just price for several reasons.
As I said before, you don't want to go somewhere that will put you so far in debt that when you get out, you cant even puruse the career you have trained for. This happens fairly often and I think its really too bad when kids get penalized for picking a school that is too costly. On the flip side, however, I think you also need to consider paying a bit more (as you have done) in order to be somewhere that fits your student profile. So in essence, there is a cost/enefit analysis that has to be done when picking schools where quality and price needs to be considered.</p>
<p>The key term here is "opportunity cost". The top tier, most expensive schools need to be evaluated from the lense of a discerning buyer rather than an emotional applicant (we've all been there!).</p>
<p>Blazingson,</p>
<p>So true. Unless you are the type of person who lives just to be able to say, "Well, when I was a graduate at HAAAAAAHHHHVVVVVAAAAARRDDDD...." and wait for everyones reaction, the fact of the matter it aht your career goals can often be served by lesser known but still very competitive programs. When applying for Grad school, applicants need tot ake a long, hard look at their career goals and their pocketbooks and make educated decisions.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for all the intelligent responses you guys! I am typing this to you from the library at Teacher's College. I must say that I am LOVING it here...I also did not realize that we have the oppertunity to get practical teaching experience immediately after begining the program by participating in a novice practicum...and there are also other practicum reqs....most of the other schools i've been admitted to only have one teaching component that would be completed later on. I like the structure of this program a lot.......I must say also that I LOVED Penn's program, though there is not as much practical experience involved. This is really a toughy and visiting TC hasn't made it any easier....lol. You all raise very very valid points and I think what it will come down to is whether or not I think I can handle the financial burden afterwards AND will it be worth the first few years of struggling....I guess that's a q only I can answer, but it's definitely a difficult decision. Hoepfully my fincnail aid information will be released soon and I can at least have an idea of what I will be looking at in terms of funding from the more expensive schools.</p>
<p>I was also thinking of defering admission to one of the pricier schools and trying to come up with alternative funding (applying for grants, or other scholarships...I know of one in particular, but the deadline passed before I submitted my applications.....OR I could try attending part-time at one of the pricier schools and just take it slow. I don't know! At any rate, I will make my decision prior to APril 15th.......thanks again to all!!!!!</p>