How Did You Choose Your Graduate School?

[monarch64]

Curious.

Did you attend a traditional school aka physical campus, or an online school?

What were your criteria?

 

[AGBF]

Curious.

Did you attend a traditional school aka physical campus, or an online school?

What were your criteria?

HaHaHa. There was no Internet when I got any of my university degrees!

 

[KristinTech]

I applied to all Big 10 schools. I wanted to be within driving distance to home and still at a strong program. I chose to stay at my undergrad university since I was assured tuition waiver and a monthly stipend as a lab assistant with my favorite professor!

I graduated grad school in 1999. We just got online registration two years prior, I think. None of my classes were online, let alone entire degrees!

 

[missy]

I knew what I wanted to do from a pretty young age so that part was easy for me. At that time (1980s) I only had 12 graduate schools in the country to choose from and I wanted to go to the graduate school in Berkeley Ca but my dad said if I wanted them to pay for school I had to go to the one in NYC. As a NYC resident we paid a lot less than what it would be for the California school. Loving NYC too and knowing that the NYC school was #1 at that time as well it was a relatively easy choice. Sure I would have loved to live in California but I made the best decision for me. Got to graduate from the top school without being in debt. That was more than worth it. Thanks to my generous parents.

And it did not suck living in Manhattan for 8 plus years in my late teens and twenties. Not a bad place to live ever but a pretty sweet place to live when one is young and has friends and classmates living nearby. College was a traditional campus but my graduate school had no campus and I lived in a studio apartment right near school as did many of my classmates.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

I'm old, so online only was unimaginable in those ancient times (graduated 2002)

The best national program happened to be in my hometown, so I stayed there. But made up for it by going abroad for one year. Since I'm not American, financial aspects were secondary. University is free. The Erasmus program was also nearly free tuition-wise. My parents were generous enough to pay for living and travel expenses. Had they not been able to, I could have applied for an interest free loan from the state.

 

[BlingBlingLova]

This sounds very shallow but I first looked at the city and then I applied. I knew grad school was going to be long and stressful, esp going straight from b.s. to PhD (Or Poor Hungry Doctor). It was a 6 year program! I figured I needed an exciting city as an outlet for the more woe to me times, and there was plenty let me tell you! I remember sitting on the steps of the Lincoln memorial one time and just bawling my eyes out! But I am glad I went that route because I survived and looking back, I have a lot of fond memories living in DC

 

[missy]

This sounds very shallow but I first looked at the city and then I applied. I knew grad school was going to be long and stressful, esp going straight from b.s. to PhD (Or Poor Hungry Doctor). It was a 6 year program! I figured I needed an exciting city as an outlet for the more woe to me times, and there was plenty let me tell you! I remember sitting on the steps of the Lincoln memorial one time and just bawling my eyes out! But I am glad I went that route because I survived and looking back, I have a lot of fond memories living in DC

That does not sound shallow at all. I agree location *is* an important part of the equation especially when one has years to spend at a specific school. It was an important factor in my decision as well. And I agree...DC is a wonderful place to be.

 

[bludiva]

I regretted not being able to study abroad in undergrad so chose an international school for grad school. I am glad to have had that experience but if i had to do ot all over again I'd make very different school and career choices.

 

[AV_]

I am facing that choice again now: a bit of research has outgrown its secondary place in my life, so there is serious temptation & every opportunity to turn it into a doctorate. My work relies on many outside contacts, to the extent that there is hardly an obvious place to be, so I a hoping to stay put. If this sounds as if all the fundamnetals of life are back on the drawing board, is because it is so - and very right indeed...

 

[baby monster]

I did my grad degree at night because my employer paid for it. It had to be within reasonable commute from the office as there weren't online classes then. There were several options available and I chose the program with most up-to-date classes for my field. Took 3 years of nights and weekends but it was free. Well, except for taxes on value of tuition.

 

[elliefire99]

I feel like this depends SO much on the discipline, as programs and options and priorities are so different from field to field. Is it research or practice focused? Do you plan on going into academia/a PhD? Does school notoriety matter in your discipline? What are your funding options? Will you be working throughout the program?

I ended up choosing the program that offered me the LEAST financial support, but as a graduate student I would say funding is the most important consideration. There are so many more funding options (and room for negotiation) as a graduate student.

I ended up choosing by first selecting top-tier programs in the field and then focused on those that emphasized the research, topics, and overall approach the the discipline that best aligned with my own interests and priorities. I made a pro-con spreadsheet with various categories (Location, Ranking, Faculty, Capstone/Thesis, Classes, Concentrations, Price/year, Cost of living, Research positions, Internships, Fellowships, Jobs, Job Prospects/network, Students, Culture, Class Size, Cohort, Personal social support), but in the end, what swayed me were the welcome events. Meeting the other students in the cohort and really seeing what the departments' approaches were to the discipline and their priorities.

In terms of online vs traditional... I have found that I have learned the most from my fellow classmates/cohort, rather than the classes themselves. That interaction is something you lose with an online format. But again, it all depends on your discipline and priorities! A full-time, physical program can be difficult with a family and a job, etc....

Good luck!

 

[Indylady]

I had a dream school in mind that was a great fit in terms of culture, and it also has a top program in my discipline. I was a little young and totally idealistic. If I were to do it again, I might have stayed close to family because grad school was challenging and it would have some more support.

 

[cmd2014]

I went through a very competitive degree program, so I applied to all of the accredited programs available that offered the training that I was hoping to complete, saw which ones made me offers, and weighed the pros and cons of each offer. Things to consider include the school's reputation, proposed vs. actual timelines to complete the program (some schools have terrible reputations for getting students through in a timely manner), funding, how well the program matches your training needs, and location. Also, considering how well you fit with your proposed academic advisor is huge. This is the longest relationship in graduate school and can make or break your experience and career. This will also determine how eligible for grant money you will be, as bigger name researchers draw more grant money and their students are disproportionately represented in receiving grant funding as well. My undergraduate thesis advisor was invaluable in providing guidance regarding school reputations and strengths/weaknesses in addition to information regarding the reputations of the specific advisors in question.

I would not go to an online school. I have interviewed job candidates who have, and they have not measured up well (in my field) to those who have done traditional programs. And those who have attended programs with good reputations typically show better than those who do not. Don't judge this based on the school as a whole - base this on the specific graduate program. Some big name schools are not known to show well in certain areas of study...

 

[qubitasaurus]

It is funny, we were having a very similar conversation just before christmas. The university I was visiting wanted its PhD candidates to be enroled remotely. So the candidate did a PhD by correspondance, and came in at regular intervals or whenever there was a problem. The topic came up because it was already being test run, with a remote PhD student who came in once a month. There was a lot of akward shuffling, as people tried not to say what they were thinking -- recipee for disaster.

When I went through completion rates were some where arround the 60-66% mark, and the university got money from the government when you completed. So there was a strong incentive for the university to ensure as many people completed as possible. This eventually trickled down so that tenure and continuing appointment for the staff was contingent on having a certain number of PhDs graduate (which is a can of worms in itself). Nevertheless there was some positive presure for each student to graduate or be moved into an alternate pathway -- i.e. graduate with a masters instead.

Ofcourse if they all become remote, then this could really change and you could see a scatter shot approach in which more PhDs are enroled (beyond current capacity) and there are lower rates of completion, but total number of awarded PhDs is not impacted or perhaps climbs.

 

[LaylaR]

Badly. I chose badly. I went to the highest ranked school I got into. And ignored every other aspect of the school. I thought highest ranked meant best. That was a mistake. I was 20. I had no idea that "best" was a subjective not an objective measurement.

There are any number of factors you would consider: your personality -- what works best for the way you learn, your finances: my top choice cost 3 times my second choice. And it was by no means 3x better. Location: what works best for you commute/cost of living. The personalities and reputations of the educators. And the job placement efficacy of their programs for graduates. Not just the numbers-- but like what they actually DO to help their graduates. Especially those who are not in the top 5%. Just in case.

I wish someone had told me to consider these factors and others. I would have made a very different decision.

 

[AGBF]

I'm old, so online only was unimaginable in those ancient times (graduated 2002)

Gee, kipari, how old were you when I got my BA in 1973?

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Gee, kipari, how old were you when I got my BA in 1973?

minus three

But it's the mental age that really counts - you sound younger than most people my age!

 

[missy]

Gee, kipari, how old were you when I got my BA in 1973?

Haha yes there are a lot of youngsters in this thread @AGBF.

It is all relative isn't it. And they (whoever they are but I like in this case what "they" have to say) say 50 is the new 30 and I am going with that. By that scale I am a mere 33. Aww shucks.

I was born an old soul but the good news is I haven't aged a day since then.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

was born an old soul but the good news is I haven't aged a day since then.

LOVE this. Might need a poster

 

[eapj]

I earned a masters degree at the institution where I worked. It was free and made sense so I didn’t do much looking. For a doctorate, I also had to find a school where I could go online and that had limited on-campus residencies. It’s a practioner doctorate (an Ed.D.) and I wasn’t as concerned with going to a top school but with a decent school that was flexible.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Online isn’t an option for medical grad school, but I chose based on:
1. Financial packages
2. City (as a minority, immigrant, queer identified,atheist, feminist with a strong non conforming streak I realized I feel safer and happier in more liberally slanted metropolitan cities).
3. How supported students seemed to be
4. Reputation (like it or not, in academia it matters)

So with those criteria I picked a school ....aaaand then my parents guilted/bribed me into going to an Ivy League. Basically said they’d make up the cost difference, and I couldn’t say no to that. Everyone turned out happy in the end.

 

[MonkeysInk]

I’m in gradual school for the second time and am doing it online. The first time, I chose a school that had an agreement with my office about tuition reimbursement.

This time, I chose a school that had a PhD program I am considering and I wanted to do an MS to get a feel for the faculty and support staff and technology since it’s cohort-style with limited time on campus.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Personally I didn't like the few classes I took online. I liked being on campus and forming relationships with my cohort. I got lucky. I chose the school I went to because that's where I lived. It turned out to be a really great program for the field I was studying.

 

[monarch64]

Thanks, everyone for your input!

 

[Nikki1415]

I'm in graduate school currently.
I chose based on:
1. Which college has the most beneficial program
2. Price
3. Location (NYC has a lot of colleges thankfully)-->I take the train to Manhattan and get to go to Grad school & hangout in the city.
I like having physical classes but I also take online courses when they are available so that I have time for work.