Graduate School Options - Advice Needed

[stella74]

Yah, I can't realistically afford school A. I don't like the idea of having student loans hanging over my head for 30 years because I chose to go to a more expensive school. I plan to live a minimalistic lifestyle after college, like I did in college, so that I can pay my student loans off in four years. I won't be able to do that if I go to school A. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

It sounds like you already made your decision to attend school B. I think that's wise because it's really not feasible to get yourself $60k into debt for teacher certification, especially these days with so many teacher layoffs and budget cuts. There's long term sub work and part-time work out there, but no guarantee of a permanent full-time teaching job right away. The prestigious private univ. degree may open a few more doors than the public state univ., but I don't think that's worth the risk of getting $35k more in debt (if there's no TA-ship).

 

I think it's more important right now to make sure you get good faculty mentoring and opportunities for networking and doing internships, so you can get a job once you graduate. Good luck!