@merc81 I’m glad haha, I’ve tried to find the best fit
@bluebayou unfortunately, I’ll be out of college once sibling goes to college, pretty substantial age gap. Maybe if I’m in grad school at the same time sibling is in undergrad, there might be some sort of aid
@colorado_mom incredibly helpful! you were spot on in many ways.
Well darn, I guess that’s out the window now. I’ve heard that tenure (hard to get) track at LAC generally are pretty financially well off. If this is a path one wished to pursue (hypothetically), is it a better idea to be in business/get an MBA and work for a few years to become financially stable before coming back to pursue professorship?
I’ve heard that research in STEM can be lucrative but often unfulfilling. Where can I find more information on STEM research & academic careers?
Haha! Good point. If you don’t mind me asking then, when is it necessary to get a PhD in today’s society? It seems like one could do a lot more with a MBA, MD, MS (anything else for that matter) than focusing on one specific niche in one specific subject.
My in state flagship isn’t UT Austin but in the Southwest, the honors college is pretty well regarded within the state, but still cannot compare to the quality of students/professors/opportunites offered at the likelies I mentioned.
Thank you!
^^nope, sorry no financial need credit for having a sib in grad/professional school.
Any PhD program worth attending will have funding, typically with an offer of research and/or teaching assistantship which gives a tuition waiver and a living expense stipend (but check that the stipend is sufficient for the area that the school is in).
The most obvious related jobs are English college faculty (highly competitive for a tenure-track job after earning a PhD) and English high school teacher (supply/demand varies; also needs whatever teaching credential is specified in the state/region).
Other jobs that English majors aim for tend to be the major-agnostic jobs where a bachelor’s degree is expected or required, but do not require specific majors.
In general (regardless of major), it is best to minimize undergraduate debt. Many would say no more than the federal direct loans ($5,500 first year, increasing slightly later years); some are more conservative than that and recommend no debt if you have such an option. Pre-med is actually a situation where minimizing undergraduate cost and debt is more important, since medical school is enormously expensive, most pre-meds do not get into any medical school, and the most common majors for pre-meds (biological sciences) do not have highly paid job prospects at the bachelor’s degree level.
UChicago is tied for 3rd among national universities on US News, and Williams is the #1 LAC. They are nobody’s “likelies” or even low reaches. Funding for PhD programs should be available. Masters are more hit and miss on funding (but if you enter a funded PhD program, a masters is included in that). And you do NOT have to go to a “top” undergrad college to get into a PhD program.
Cost is a precondition before applying. If your parents can’t afford to send you to a school without taking out a dump truck full of debt, or signing that dump truck of debt over to you…then you can’t afford it. Scratch those schools off your list and move on. Wishing and wanting will never make the school more affordable, especially at hyper-selective colleges. Keep in mind that selective doesn’t mean better. It means that the school is selective. Expensive doesn’t mean better either. It just means expensive.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re stuck in your state. There are plenty of nonresident scholarships available at really good schools. Check out University of Arizona or LSU.
@frozenyyogurht: I do not agree with any of the advice offered in this thread regarding MBA programs.
MBA admissions is concerned primarily with one’s post undergraduate work experience, one’s career goals & with an applicant’s GMAT or GRE scores. There are sources of funding available beyond employer reimbursement for part-time MBA study–especially for females & minorities. Also, some full time 2 year MBA program participants receive funding for their second year of study from their FUTURE employer after a successful internship summer.
For experienced mid-level managers, Executive MBA programs are often fully funded by one’s current employer.
I would say STEM careers are pretty exciting, if you can land in private or government labs, as well as academic labs. this pays well, but I do not mean to discourage you from becoming an LAC professor at all. Do what you love !
In the physical sciences, explore both government and private sector labs like–
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov
https://jila.colorado.edu
http://www.ttic.edu
https://www.ll.mit.edu
https://nationalmaglab.org
https://www.nrel.gov
https://www.noaa.gov
Those include planetary science, atomic physics, computer science, electrical engineering, high magnetic field physics, renewable energy and meteorology and climate change labs.
Also pull up the science departments at your top five college choices you listed, and see what the science departments look like.
You can learn a lot from the internet about science careers. Government websites are in particular very detailed.
If you are more chemistry focused look at EPA, Dow/Dupont Chemical.
Biomedical is a booming field as well, search on genetics, prothesis, artificial skin, drug delivery, pharmaceutical firms.
Larger public schools often have very strong biology, chemistry and physics. Check your in state option carefully.
US news is a rough guide to how strong your public program science and engineering programs are rated. It gives you an idea about research dollars, its not really a rank of the education you will receive in the sciences, but you
can get a good education at public programs.