Decision Making Time-choosing the right school

[elb316]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi all,
I should start by saying I am not a great decision maker in most aspects of life but am now really struggling with the bigger choice of where to spend the next three years. A little background about me to help...I grew up in Atlanta and still have family living there, I live in Charleston where my boyfriend and I own a home, but I am not necessarily against moving. SO I have been accepted to Emory and will hopefully hear back from St. Augustine and MUSC in the next week or two. As my top choices I am finding it very difficult to choose between the three as my top runner. Any advice or tips about choosing the right school? Great or bad experiences with any? What are really the most important things to keep in mind? Is it cost, reputation, class size, location, etc?

 

[PTMattI]

Emory is expensive.....Ive heard that the education is great but that price... I would prioritize it the following ways: 1. cost 2. current and former student satisfaction 3 class size (faculty / student ratio) 4. location 5. reputation

 

[jblil]

I agree, cost should be your #1 consideration. Just make sure you include living costs, moving costs, taxes, etc in your comparisons. Focusing solely on tuition costs may give you a skewed picture.

 

[MCWills]

I tend to disagree. Although I do see cost as a major factor, I see happiness as a much larger factor. Make sure you like the location, program, etc otherwise the lower cost isn't going to be worth it and the stress of the program will just weigh you down. If you're factoring in moving somewhere with your bf you'll want to look at job markets/possibilities for him and definitely factor that in. You'll also need to make sure you're moving to a location that he can be happy in because dragging a significant other to a new location for you to go to school can be very lonely for him since you'll be so caught up in school. So I guess what I'm saying is don't disregard other factors beyond cost especially when there's another person involved in the decision process. Good luck!