Hey guys,
I have been fortunate to get into multiple graduate programs. Luckily, I've narrowed it down to two: University of Georgia's MS in Kinesiology Non-Thesis and Armstrong State University's MS in Sports Medicine. I'm split 50/50 between the schools and want to make the best choice. Both programs have very similar required courses and electives.
Armstrong's Sports Medicine program is much smaller than UGA's program so the class size would be smaller and I would have the benefit of self-directing my research, meaning I would essentially get to pick my own research. UGA's Kinesiology program is larger and I would be stuck following faculty interests (which isn't a bad thing because I selected the school based on those interests). Armstrong has had alumni go on to open their own gyms and work with professional sports teams as Strength and Conditioning Specialists, whereas with UGA I haven't been able to find those same opportunities (but there were some that have gone on to do research with Gatorade and NASA). UGA definitely has the name credibility and is considered a top ten school in the country for it's program type and research. BUT Armstrong is one of ten schools recognized by the NSCA and is doing a lot of good which is proof in what alumni are doing now. At Armstrong, college life is pretty limited and relaxed so I would have less distractions than UGA since UGA is considered to be a massive party school and has over 25,000 students enrolled at the university. Armstrong has had all of their students for the last couple of years present at ACSM, NSCA, and other conferences, and it's very obvious that students get a lot of attention from the faculty since there is a much smaller class size. Nobody has heard of Armstrong though. Just FYI, Armstrong is in Savannah, GA.
Anyways, it seems like I could wind up with similar paths at either of these schools and be given similar opportunities. I'd like to know, if you were in my shoes, where would you go? And why?
Thanks guys!
I have been fortunate to get into multiple graduate programs. Luckily, I've narrowed it down to two: University of Georgia's MS in Kinesiology Non-Thesis and Armstrong State University's MS in Sports Medicine. I'm split 50/50 between the schools and want to make the best choice. Both programs have very similar required courses and electives.
Armstrong's Sports Medicine program is much smaller than UGA's program so the class size would be smaller and I would have the benefit of self-directing my research, meaning I would essentially get to pick my own research. UGA's Kinesiology program is larger and I would be stuck following faculty interests (which isn't a bad thing because I selected the school based on those interests). Armstrong has had alumni go on to open their own gyms and work with professional sports teams as Strength and Conditioning Specialists, whereas with UGA I haven't been able to find those same opportunities (but there were some that have gone on to do research with Gatorade and NASA). UGA definitely has the name credibility and is considered a top ten school in the country for it's program type and research. BUT Armstrong is one of ten schools recognized by the NSCA and is doing a lot of good which is proof in what alumni are doing now. At Armstrong, college life is pretty limited and relaxed so I would have less distractions than UGA since UGA is considered to be a massive party school and has over 25,000 students enrolled at the university. Armstrong has had all of their students for the last couple of years present at ACSM, NSCA, and other conferences, and it's very obvious that students get a lot of attention from the faculty since there is a much smaller class size. Nobody has heard of Armstrong though. Just FYI, Armstrong is in Savannah, GA.
Anyways, it seems like I could wind up with similar paths at either of these schools and be given similar opportunities. I'd like to know, if you were in my shoes, where would you go? And why?
Thanks guys!
