Mostly Emory Specific: Public v. Private Tuition?

I generally tell people to do whatever makes them feel most comfortable. Some folks are okay with a large amount of debt, others are not. Cost is obviously something that's a concern to you. So I wouldn't necessarily brush aside that feeling of apprehension you have.

The one major piece of advice I can definitely give is that wherever you end up going for graduate school, you'll find that school has a lot of connections within that immediate area. So for someone who wishes to work at the CDC one day, going to Emory would be an excellent choice. I think it's usually a good choice to pick a school that is also in the city you'd like to end up living because of that accessibility.

That said, if you feel like the cost of having an additional $60k+ of school loan scares you, you could always find other avenues to find employment at CDC (ie. a summer internship or a post-graduate fellowship, for example) if you end up away from the Atlanta-area for school.

I think this is a decision that most people have to make when considering master's programs...I didn't attend Emory, however I did graduate from a very expensive MPH program that was also situated in an area that was equally expensive to live in. Personally, I feel that if you want to continue past a master's degree, going to a 'name' school contributes to making you a more competitive applicant. In terms of getting a job post-graduation, if you stay in the area of the school, the name does help because most people are familiar with the school. For big name schools like Emory- I would think this would help give you an edge getting a job since many people in science/research fields know about this school. I found this was the case with my school, as I stayed in the area post graduation. Not only did people recognize and appreciate the program I graduated from, but I found that I was able to connect with alums like crazy which helped me get job interviews.

If you're choosing between Pitt & Emory, they're both great schools...however if you are bent on working at the CDC, Emory is obviously the better choice given the location & connections you could establish while in school. With any field, you're not going to be making a ridiculous amount right after graduation, so I don't think that's specific to epi...getting your foot in the door & then working your way up is necessary for any field in any job. My point is that even if you're making $40-50k right out of school, you won't be making that amount for the rest of your life so paying off your loans will get easier as the years go on, even if you have a large amount of debt from attending an expensive school like Emory.

Congrats on getting in & good luck!

Although I am going into MCH rather than epi, I appreciate this thread. I looked through Emory's online admitted student magazine for the first time last week, and, even though I already knew the approximate cost of the program, it was a somber moment when I actually added up the numbers.

Unlike CatNoise, at this point I don't have any in-state alternatives. If I did, those savings would be a major factor in my decision-making. But if my only options turn out to be out-of-state or private, I am going to just bite the bullet and take out the loans that I need. I do not believe that the MCH career I could have with my undergraduate degree + experience compares with the career I could have with a master's degree from a top school. (Anyone with a different opinion, please chime in!)

First I'd like to commiserate just a little bit... I've also been accepted into Emory and although I really want to go there I'm trying to decide whether or not the debt will be worth going to Emory over state school. My state school is Georgia State, and although I've only heard good things about their program, it's not Emory. (Speaking of which, anyone have specifics on GA State's program?) At the moment I'm just kind of praying that Emory gives me some money.

Anyhow, I'm in the Peace Corps and recently attended our Close of Service conference where we talk about this sort of stuff. We got to talking about grad school, student loans, and debt and I basically asked this question to a couple of Peace Corps higher-ups. They mentioned the fact that working internationally was really helpful in paying off their student loans. One of them specifically told me that she graduated with her masters in international development and $40k worth of debt, moved overseas to work, and paid it off in 2 years. Having a US salary and not actually needing any of it to live allowed her to just throw money at the debt. So if you think there's a good chance that you'll work overseas in a lower or middle income country after graduating AND still make a US dollar salary, you might be a little more confident taking on that debt.

Now can you tell me if it's worth it?

One thing to keep in mind is that when you sign up to get a master's degree, you're also signing up to spend a good amount of money on getting your degree...most master's programs are notoriously expensive (public health and otherwise) so it does come with the territory. With that said, there are a million and one reasons that you could come up with to justify spending a large amount on obtaining a master's degree. It really comes down to whether you personally feel it is worth it & will help you accomplish what you're trying to do with your career & short/long term goals. Besides the school helping you fund your degree, there are maaaany options out there (loan forgiveness programs, scholarships, fellowships, companies funding your degree, etc) that can help offset your tuition costs. I was fortunate enough to have an undergraduate adviser that was frank with me about the cost of obtaining an MPH, and helped me realize that regardless of what school I attended (public or private), I was going to accumulate some amount of debt. It's a hard decision to make & everyone has different comfort levels when it comes to student loan debt, but do your research on other funding options- this may help make your decision on which school to attend a little easier

I'm having the same internal debate myself, but in regards to staying in Canada (where I'm a citizen) or going to the US. My overall impression is that public health education in the US is much more developed and that schools there have way more connections with other agencies, which would help for securing a good practicum. It seems like the US has many more opportunities in public health, simply because their population is 10 times the size of our. On the other hand, my access to the US job market would be limited post-graduation because of citizenship. And of course there's the whole issue of tuition and health insurance. I've been accepted to some amazing US schools and I would really hate to turn them down.

Are there any other Canadian MPH students (or other international students) that have insight on this?

I agree with everyone else on here. While I know there are some scholarships and fellowships out there for master's students, they are few and far between. You will have to take out some loans. You have to decide if the debt is worth it, and it's really only a decision you can make. I personally like to make pros/cons lists, so that might be helpful.

You could also see about doing informational interviews with the types of organizations you would want to work for post graduation and see what they say regarding your school. I think if you want to pursue a PhD/DrPH, it's probably worth the money to go to a top school as that is something I believe is considered in your application. For jobs, some organizations/government jobs care and some don't. I think if you are interested in working post MPH rather than pursuing academia, you have more options. You should also consider what types of internships/volunteer/work opportunities there are in your field at the schools/in the cities you are considering. With more and more people pursuing master's programs, experience is going to become very important and valuable.

Biting the bullet and taking out a huge amount of dead is scary. I'm doing it now, so I know how it feels. That said, there are good repayment programs (if you stick with government loans), that can make it manageable.

ebp said:

I agree with everyone else on here. While I know there are some scholarships and fellowships out there for master's students, they are few and far between. You will have to take out some loans. You have to decide if the debt is worth it, and it's really only a decision you can make. I personally like to make pros/cons lists, so that might be helpful.

You could also see about doing informational interviews with the types of organizations you would want to work for post graduation and see what they say regarding your school. I think if you want to pursue a PhD/DrPH, it's probably worth the money to go to a top school as that is something I believe is considered in your application. For jobs, some organizations/government jobs care and some don't. I think if you are interested in working post MPH rather than pursuing academia, you have more options. You should also consider what types of internships/volunteer/work opportunities there are in your field at the schools/in the cities you are considering. With more and more people pursuing master's programs, experience is going to become very important and valuable.

Biting the bullet and taking out a huge amount of dead is scary. I'm doing it now, so I know how it feels. That said, there are good repayment programs (if you stick with government loans), that can make it manageable.

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This is something that I know is true. Have been confirmed from professors who accepted me.

I also chose between in-state Pitt and Emory. Did they give you a lot of money? Because otherwise, their in-state tuition for GSPH is far from dirt cheap. Ultimately, I decided that a little extra debt for Emory was worth it for the opportunities, quality of education, and good weather.

pgh8011 said:

I also chose between in-state Pitt and Emory. Did they give you a lot of money? Because otherwise, their in-state tuition for GSPH is far from dirt cheap. Ultimately, I decided that a little extra debt for Emory was worth it for the opportunities, quality of education, and good weather.

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Seems many of us have differing opinions on good weather

I think Pitt is the most expensive state school I've looked at . . . $22,000/year for in-state and $36,000/year for out-of-state. Even BU, which I think is the most expensive private school I've seen, is $40,000/year and they seem to give out a lot of scholarship money.

UW and UIC in-state are both about $15,000 and $30,000 (in-state and out-of-state); I know UNC is even less for both . . . on a per-credit basis, Pitt says it's $1400/credit, whereas private schools like Tulane and GW are even cheaper ($900 and $1200 respectively). USF out-of-state is ~$800/credit.

One possible consideration is whether students can qualify for in-state tuition their 2nd year of the program, assuming they take necessary action as soon as they move to the state for school (register to vote, get a new driver's license, change address for bills, etc.) Obviously, paying out-of-state one year but in-state the 2nd year would dramatically decrease the overall cost.

I'm just surprised by Pitt's tuition. I started at the page for 10 minutes thinking I must be reading it wrong! http://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/interior.php?pageID=108

echo1112 said:

I'm just surprised by Pitt's tuition. I started at the page for 10 minutes thinking I must be reading it wrong! http://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/interior.php?pageID=108

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I don't really know why Pitt's tuition is so high! It's semi-private, which explains a little bit, but they don't tend to give out a ton of scholarship money to my knowledge. Maybe some departments are more generous than others, though.

I know that UNC gives you in-state after a year of school there, which is pretty impressive! Pitt definitely doesn't; you have to have lived in PA for 12 months prior to registering as a student. I think that's a pretty standard residency requirement, but yeah, not so forgiving.

Not to rag on my alma mater, though! It's still a good school.

Stories said:

Seems many of us have differing opinions on good weather

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To be fair, it's hard not to beat Pittsburgh on the weather front. I was mostly running for my life from regular snowstorms!