Yale vs Drexel vs SUNY

[Poppy Fields]

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Hello, I've been lurking for a while, but decided to post because I am having a little/HUGE problem. I applied to 12 schools for behavioral sciences/health education (GW, BU, UAB, Pitt, Drexel, UT Austin, Yale, SUNY Albany, SUNY Buffalo, CUNY Hunter, Tulane, Emory). Surprisingly enough I was accepted to all 12 schools.

From the beginning I was set on Drexel, really loved all the hands on work. However I no longer want to do behavioral sciences. I currently work in the biotech industry making viral PCR standards, and I really like viruses (especially respiratory), but I have had enough of growing them in the lab and I want to work more on surveillance or prevention, leading me to epidemiology. I applied to Yale for s&g, not thinking I would get in, but I did and the financial aid they are offering me is the same as the scholarship I got from Drexel, making it about the same price. I really like the small size of Yale, everyone has been so nice and it seems like a really good environment, and I have been told by several people I can switch to EMD no problem (though it would not be a problem to go to epi at Drexel either).

So this seems like a no-brainer Yale over Drexel, however the amount of debt I am going to gain is absolutely disgusting. I am debt free right now and make a comfortable living, so going like $80k+++ into debt is really scary, especially when I consider that with loan payments I might have the same amount of money I have now, or maybe even less. SUNY Albany would be much more affordable, and would be a good idea if I was to stay in NY permanently and stop after the MPH, but I want out of NY and am not ruling out a doctorate in the future. Last night I was all set to mail the deposit to Yale, but the thought of graduating and possibly having a job paying what I would be making if I stayed at my current position, or worse no job at all and huge loan payments... it's just a lot to justify to myself.

So is Yale going to be worth it? I really like Yale, I think the program, the school, everything is a perfect fit for me... except the cost. Any/all insight is appreciated, thanks 🙂

 

[golgol]

Hi Poppy Fields! First post here, too. I am in a similar position- I'm deciding between SUNY Albany and Emory. I had my heart set on Emory, but the amount of debt I would have to take on is really getting to me. Because I don't expect a huge salary after my degree, it's hard for me to justify taking out loans when there is a loan-free option at Albany. I have been going back and forth on this for ages now, but over the past couple days I've been leaning toward Albany.

I think personality plays into this a lot. It seems like plenty of folks don't have much of a problem taking on loans, but for me, just thinking about taking on loans is really stressful. I'm also not really convinced that graduating from a more well-known school will help me that much, salary-wise. It may help in finding a good job, but plenty of people from lesser-known schools do well, too. I'm curious what other people have to say on the subject, though. How much does prestige really matter in the long run?

 

[enox0485]

I am in a similar position myself, where I am between Texas A&M, UT Houston, and Emory. I am waiting on scholarships from Texas A&M and UT Houston, however per the administration I have a pretty good shot, which would make my tuition about 8K a year as opposed to Emory where I have no scholarships and is about 27.5k a year. I figure the Texas schools will leverage me with about 30k debt or around a $300 a month payment whereas Emory is going to be 65k in total debt and about $500 a month payment on my loans. I am HPM and am looking on doing healthcare consulting or administration when I finish so I am torn because name does play a role in these industries, yet there are many successful professionals without the big names attached. It's that ever present quandary, a great name at a high price or less name recognition at a lower price?

 

[Poppy Fields]

I'm glad I am not the only one facing this dilemma! My friends in public health seem to act like debt is no big deal, like everything will work out. Then you see all those poor kids on the news holding up signs with their student loan debts and I don't want that to be me.

I think I would strongly consider an in-state school if I had applied for epi in the first place. I'm trying to find out if I can switch concentrations at UB, Albany, and Hunter. I'm thinking it probably will be a no at Albany b/c it's so small, and the other two I'm not too crazy about.

I am speaking with the director of admissions at Yale tomorrow and hopefully she will answer a lot of my questions about this and give me a better idea of job placement, salaries, etc of Yale grads.

If I choose Yale, I think I'd be ok, especially with the experience I already have. I won't be jobless and living under an overpass, or even struggling to get by. However the student loan payments will be significantly more, and there are lots of extras I could lose out on like buying a house, traveling, etc. Tough choice 🙂