Woohoo! What to do now...

Well guys and gals I have been officially invited to Penn State's MPS program--> Penn State | Online Master of Professional Studies in Homeland Security | Public Health Preparedness and I'm really excited. I received my acceptance letter yesterday and was relieved that my educational journey will continue.

I still have some doubt because of the other program I'm interested in through St louis University-->Institute for Biosecurity - Saint Louis University - About the Institute (MS in Biosecurity and Disaster Preparedness). Saint Louis also offers a PhD in biosecurity and Disaster preparedness as well which their MS could lead straight into. I just completed the St Louis application and sent it off today so I won't hear from them for a little while.

So here's my dilemma...I still want to see if I get accepted into St Louis but I'm limited in time for accepting entry into Penn State. So I'm looking for last minute thoughts on both programs because I've beat my head against a wall weighing the pros and cons.

If you're reading this Japhy this is why I rule the indecisiveness club.

 

Schools try to hotbox you into committing. I had several MBA programs give me a deadline when I was looking at programs and they all extended the deadlines when I requested it. Call PSU and tell them you're on the fence, trying to get your finances in order, waiting on your inheritance from your great uncle, etc. etc. They'll extend the deadline for you.

 

Can you take one or two courses from both schools before deciding and then transfer completed courses to the school you finally select?

 

Here is a last-minute thought:





Beyond that, I don't have anything useful to contribute. Oh yes, wait! Any school I have talked to so far has had a deferral policy. You should check with Penn State what their policy is.

* Image was gratefully borrowed from http://postbulletin.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451cc8269e20115714d20f5970c-800wi. Hope they don't mind.

 

Hmmm I'll check into that and see. That would be interesting for sure and would allow me to evaluate the programs fairly. Thanks for that idea!

I was unaware of this but I'll be sure and try it. It's taken me forever to narrow it down to these two schools, and it's even harder to choose between them. Thanks!

Haha no doubt Penn State is the more recognized of the two schools plus Penn State has the largest alumni association in the U.S. if I remember correctly. I'll certainly ask if I can at least wait until I find out if St. Louis is going to accept me. I ended up overnighting the application so it will be there sometime tomorrow morning. I'll call St. Louis once I see that it's been delivered and see what sort of time frame I'm looking at. Thanks!

 

That sells me on Penn State.

So does this:



I grew up in northeastern PA. I think we come out of the womb as Penn State fans in that part of the country.

 

I would enjoy being able to say that. I seriously miscalculated the costs of the St. louis program too. It's $935/credit hour which ends up being $39,270 for the program. This is higher than the Tulane one I was considering which was around $38,000!

My internal argument comes from something that may sound ridiculous, but Penn State offers an MPS in Homeland Security (Concentration Public Health preparedness) and St. Louis offers and MS in Biosecurity and Disaster Preparedness.

I debate whether or not the MS is stronger than the MPS and the recognition of their naming. I find the St. Louis degree sounds better. Again I know it sounds ridiculous but I think about things like that. I'm pretty sure even though both programs are considered terminal I can turn them into a PhD if I want to.

 

Erm... I have no advice for you because I know NADA about these programs, but I just wanted to congratulate you on your acceptance.

 

Hey, congrats on your acceptance to PSU! I'm a native of PA, but I'll try to remain unbiased.

I read your later post about your concern regarding the perception of an MPS vs. an MS. I have the same exact concern. Maybe I've been working at a pharma company for too long, but I have a hard time with non-traditional degrees such as the MPS. I much prefer the Master of Science designation. With that said, Penn State is a great school, and I've heard good things about their DL offerings. I have no information regarding St. Louis University. Which programs do you prefer?

 

The OP has mentioned in previous threads that this is a relatively new field. Any idea how many people have earned advanced degrees in the area you're interested in? My thought is, that if there aren't a lot of people with advanced study in the field, then the MS vs. MPS designation is weakened because competition for jobs in the field are limited. How many people with master's level credentials will be competing for a particular job? I agree that the MS may be perceived as a stronger degree in circles where people are aware of the difference, but I bet that you could mention that you have a masters and it wouldn't go any further than that, no one would ask if it was a MA, MS, M.Ed, MPS, etc. etc.
If the SLU program is substantially more money than PSU, go to PSU. It's a stronger brand nationally than SLU. Now if you intend to live in the mid-west and the costs for each program are similar SLU might be the better choice.
From what you have said here my gut says go to PSU.

 

Penn State has obvious name recognition and quite frankly I had never heard of St. Louis before I found this specific program. I also understand that PSU has the largest alumni association in the U.S. which helps with that name recognition. I prefer the title of the St. Louis degree, but the curriculums of both look very solid. The professors from both schools also appear to be very good. With that being said PSU kills St. Louis in time of completion (33 hours versus 42 hours) and cost ($25,000 versus $39,720). That will probably push me toward PSU...thanks for your opinion!

As always thanks for your thoughts. You've made it a point to comment on just about most of my confusing threads and I appreciate it. You made a valid point that I really don't need to explain what type of masters it is plus the fact that people will probably never ask. The SLU program costs $39,720 and PSU is around $25,000 so there is a definite cost difference. The reason why I was strongly leaning toward SLU is because I had mistakenly calculated the cost at around $28,000. Obviously that's a lot closer in price but again it was an error I made.

One thing I keep thinking about though is that over the span of paying back student loans 25K vs. 39K may not make all that much difference (monthly notes). Thanks again for your thoughts!

 

$14k would make a significant difference in your monthly student loan payment. Between $120-$150 per month.

 

Due to reputation and price difference, I would lead toward Penn State. I would consider the difference of 14K rather than the difference in monthly payment. It is actually a 14K difference that you will pay (or more with interest), so that is the right number to use in a cost benefit analysis. And that is a pretty big difference...

You mention the Ph.D program at St Louis and it sounds like that is part of the interest. I would inquire as to whether or not the distance masters credits could be applied toward the Ph.D. While it is certainly reasonable that they could, I would verify, because most Ph.D programs at brick and mortar schools seem very against any part of the degree being earned online.

 

BTW, congrats on the Penn State acceptance!

 

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I know nothing about either, I'm just giving you a high five for your acceptance! WAY TO GO!

 

I'm going to explore my options for a PhD and see how they match up. Do I simply ask the PhD programs I'm interested in if they would take the Penn State Master's as the degree requirement for entry? I've leaned about 75% toward Penn State simply because of cost and name recognition. Thanks!

Thank you Jenn!

 

I was actually more saying would St Louis count there own online courses toward the Ph.D. than would another school accept them. But, thinking about it more, I think either would probably be okay with waiving credits due to a masters degree (if they were normally willing to do this for someone with a masters) no matter what the deliver method. However, I am not sure.

I think it would be fine (and wise) to ask Ph.D programs how they would consider the Penn State program if you are seriously considering a Ph.D..

 

Well as life always does I've been thrown for a complete loop. The MPS program is still under federal review for student financial aid. It may be granted prior to the start of the semester but there really is no timeline. The reason for this is that my class is literally the first class of these concentrations so they are being reviewed to make sure they fit the criteria.

I wish I had known about this a few weeks ago. I did find it odd that after receiving and processing ym information I had not heard back from Penn State's Student Aid office and now I know why.

So here are my options:

1. Pay out of pocket for my courses ($735/hour plus books) and if the feds approve the program I would get reimbursed. I honestly don't have that kind of money laying around.

2. Wait and see if the feds approve it. This option stinks because I may completely miss out on my courses due to other students being allowed to schedule them. Also, if I do it this way and the feds don't approve it I'm left with nothing. No school to attend, no courses, and pretty much a loss of a semester.

3. Take out personal loans to cover the courses. Again if they don't approve the program then i would have to try and find a school that would accept these courses in transfer.

This is highly irritating and I don't understand why we weren't voluntarily told about this. Anyone know the agency responsible for reviewing programs for financial aid? I would call them if I knew who to talk to.

 

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It's almost as if.....as if "something else" may be meant to be for you. <smile> I was "this" close to enrolling in a MA program that closed down the same term I would have started. Funny how things work out. It'll all work out.

 

Haha!

I've had everything work out so far so I guess this will hopefully be another example. I had no problems saving for and paying for my undergrad courses out of pocket but I can't do it with grad school unless I find a cheaper option. I'm paying out of pocket for my wife's MSW so I just can't afford it. Luckily for me she finishes this December.

I just don't understand how this wasn't mentioned until I called and asked what was going on. I don't mind being in a starting class (it's actually kind of cool) but if I can't pay for it what's the point? How many of the 250 students over the 5 concentrations have that kind of money laying around?