If all costs and programs are similar, my top places for grad school would probably be Colorado, Arizona, and Massachusetts more or less in that order.
Why CO, MA and AZ? Those might not be lower cost options.
You need to cast a broad net especially if you are looking for full tuition finding as a grad student.
@thumper1 I said all other things being equal. Those are the places I expect to have support in place.
When you receive a grad assistantship (even one that is less than full support), you become an employee of the university. As an employee of the university, you are eligible for instate tuition rates even if you don’t otherwise qualify as a state resident. (But when your employment ends, so does your eligibility for instate tuition rates.)
Check the grad assistantship awards for the universities to which you are applying. One of my kids got a masters, with assistantship and got a stipend, but not a tuition remission of any kind…so YMMV on this.
@thumper1 none of them mention a stipend, only tuition remission.
Well…a tuition remission is for tuition regardless of in or out of state. So if you get tuition remission, it means you won’t have a tuition bill to pay.
@thumper1 it’s partial tuition remissions for some
You will have to clarify with each college exactly what they offer their grad assistants. This varies by school.
@thumper1 yeah that’s why I said it’s partial remission for some. They are all different
You need to be talking to an adviser at your current college, not relying on your mom (however well intended her advice is). And advice from strangers on the internet is great (Thumper knows your field, some of the other posters are quite savvy about how tuition and grad assistance works) but NONE of us know anything about you and your academic record. Find out from your adviser the best way to pull together a list of affordable, accredited programs to which YOU can be admitted.
Then work through the logistics of where they are, where you want to be, etc. Grad school does not work like undergrad. Geography, fit, weather- none of those things are as important as finding an accredited program which has a solid track record of getting its graduates employed in the kind of jobs the students want. If that means sucking it up in a bad location while you get your degree- so be it. Grad school is not for “figuring out life”- it’s for professional training for your career. A friend of mine ended up at her last choice program in SLP- she was shocked how competitive admissions turned out to be. She was busy picking programs based on all the fun stuff- not realizing that at the end of the day, she should have been listening to her professors and dean about where she could get in and targeting her applications there.
She is doing fine professionally but would have preferred to have a choice as to where to go. But you get into one program- that’s where you are heading.
@blossom yeah I will definitely be talking to an adviser about that later on but it’s still early for me and I don’t have this advisor because I can’t transfer into my program until next year. Also I’m still focusing on getting observation/research. Bottom line is right now I don’t have a lot of advising for grad school and I don’t even know if I will be at same undergrad school come fall. A lot going on. I just wanted to know about the tuition thing, because it seemed like something that should be more straight forward.
When did I say an accredited program is not top priority? All I said is, if I have the option, I’d like to go to one of the 3 states mentioned. Is that a problem? It’s not like I can apply to 100 schools anyway. And what does “fun stuff” mean? I wouldn’t pick a school based on anything silly if thats what you mean.
Also my older sister is going through the admissions process of OT grad schools right now and stressing out and telling me she should’ve started planning sooner, so I think I’m maybe taking on some of her stress, though her approach to finances is more like my mother’s.
My daughter applied for Speech Pathology grad programs for fall 2016. She narrowed it down to 6 schools and I suggested two more based on price. She received five acceptances all with some funding at Alabama, UT Dallas, Missouri, UT-Memphis, and Central Arkansas. I had her add Memphis for which we are instate and Central Arkansas for the low COA. She received instate tuition at both Mizzou and Dallas. She was denied at UT-Austin and waitlisted at Emerson and Texas Christian. At the time she applied, TN state schools had tuition of $30,000 for instate for the 2 years, so she had to come in under that number. All acceptances came in below with Central Arkansas being the cheapest which she didn’t choose.
Speech Pathology programs are very competitive. Programs in the Midwest are less competitve than the Northeast. t. Grad cafe is a website which is very helpful in learning about the whole application process, funding, acceptance rates and other useful info. Try to take the GRE this summer. Good luck.
@“Yankee Belle”
Some programs in the Midwest are very competitive…Northwestern, Purdue, Iowa, Michigan. The smaller programs are less competitive.
Great for your daughter!! She must be getting ready to do her clinical fellowship year! Best wishes to her!
Yes some those are very competitive, but in the northeast, it just seems all the schools are lotteries for speech. Yes, she graduated in December, a semester early. Yay! She really loves it. The grad school application process was very stressful.
@Soontobecolleger: Start thinking about your Letter of Intent. That was the most difficult for my D. Oh, and be prepared for the expense of applying. $100 applications are not unusual. $27 to send the score to each school and $200 for the test. It adds up quickly.
@“Yankee Belle” glad to hear admissions isn’t that bad as long as you apply to the right schools. My sister had me thinking it was way harder (she said you don’t get in anywhere the first couple years you apply).