Comments on The Declassified Adoptee: My Dashed Ivy League Dreams

An old friend of mine is a professor of economics ...

2012-01-27T18:14:30.768-05:00

An old friend of mine is a professor of economics at Harvard. Before that, she taught at University of Chicago's business school. When I was contemplating my MBA, I asked her if it was worth the tuition for me to go to U of Chicago vs. DeVry alternative education. Her answer: It depends on your goals. She explained that the students in her MBA program at U of Chicago wanted high-powered careers where they would be expected to work 60-80 per week. "Gee, I don't want to work that much," I said. I was thinking of just working part time or not at all until my children got older. She advised it wasn't worth the investment in U of Chicago. I went the alternative degree route, got my MBA, eased into the workforce, and now I am making a good salary at the fraction of the investment an Ivy League would have cost me.

One thing I would caution about MSWs is that the salaries do not warrant the Ivy educational expense. I know this because my husband is an LCPC, and has worked a lot of the same jobs that MSWs do. It is a rewarding career in terms of the intangibles though.

From one MSW to a future MSW congratulations. You...

2012-01-27T15:51:07.051-05:00

From one MSW to a future MSW congratulations. You will be a welcome addition to the field of social work. As others have shared, there are scholarship resources you should check out. (My hubby is in academia and is aware that many scholarships go unused. Make sure you find out all you can.) If you still are unable to afford an Ivy League, I know there are many other good MSW programs available. Best of luck to you. You will be an asset to the field of social work.

PS So glad you are in a good internship currently. I admire your ability to juggle so many things...and to do them so well. Just make sure you are looking after yourself, too. :-)

Amanda, I have to reiterate what's been said a...

2012-01-26T23:27:51.099-05:00

Amanda, I have to reiterate what's been said above - please do NOT make the mistake of presuming that the education you will get from said Ivy League school is necessarily better than the one you will get from a less-expensive or less prestigious name counterpart. But if you have your heart set on attending said Ivy League school, do look into scholarship sources that may be available to you both within and outside of that institution. Having read your blog for a while now, I have every reason to believe that you would be quite successful in obtaining scholarship funding - you are such an insightful and highly skilled writer, and I suspect your applications, recommendations and college transcript would show much of the same.

Don't give up your dreams! I happen to know a...

2012-01-26T16:38:54.090-05:00

Don't give up your dreams! I happen to know at least one Ivy (Dartmouth) that provides a full ride to undergrads whose families earn less than 70k/year. Who knows what might be available for your master's? And while it's absolutely true you don't need to go to a certain school to get a good education, you won't know what's available if you don't ask... Kudos to you for following your dreams, Amanda!

Very best of luck, you just never know what will h...

2012-01-26T12:39:47.274-05:00

Very best of luck, you just never know what will happen and you may achieve your dream yet.

Amanda, sometimes we have to look beyond the debt ...

2012-01-26T10:55:13.196-05:00

Amanda, sometimes we have to look beyond the debt to the outcome. In the world in which we move - yes, we - we have to have more education to become more marketable, more employable and overall, more likely to make real money. Hang in, there are tons of ways to pay for college and no, you really don't have to go ivy league to get a good education.

First of all Amanda, congrats on your mission to b...

2012-01-26T09:30:45.446-05:00

First of all Amanda, congrats on your mission to become an MSW. My dad is an MSW and had a very good career. Never made a ton of money but we did fine and it was a rewarding profession. Now in retirement he still does some consulting.

I can relate to much of this post on several levels. First, I went to Penn State and had no idea what I wanted to do. I majored in Health Policy and Administration, one of those majors you can't do much with unless you have an advanced degree or some kind of clinical experience. So after 4 years at PSU I went to Johns Hopkins for their accelerated RN program. The program was 13 months and designed for students who already had a BS in some other field. One year there cost me as much as 4 at PSU!!!!! So we're talking a ton of money at this point and I had yet to have a "real" job. I don't regret getting my RN but it was never something I was dying to do. I did it to get a job (but ended up liking it more than I thought I would!) I am very much an advocate of getting a degree with some sort of real-life skill set like nursing, engineering, social work, education, accounting, etc. I have 2 friends who majored in "management" and ended up getting teaching degrees because they couldn't get a decent job.

On to my kids....I have 4 and no clue how we will pay for all to go to college. It terrifies me. There is simply no way (with our income) to save enough and also be able to live comfortably. Now I know I chose to have 4 kids, I get that. So...our "big" plan (besides saving what we can) is to sell our house.

And don't get me started on the anxiety I feel for my youngest son who has mild special needs and my daughter who is quite behind academically. Today a college degree is almost required and I worry a lot that the two of them may not achieve that. It is just a reality.

So hugs to you and congrats on working toward your goal. I agree with Muzik; with your writing skills and intellect, I bet there is a way to get some scholarship money. Good luck!!

Best wishes to you in pursuing your education. The...

2012-01-26T07:20:24.883-05:00

Best wishes to you in pursuing your education. The cost of education is ridiculous these days-- even state schools. Many young people are starting to opt for a community college to complete their gen ed requirements and then transferring to a 4-year to finish their BS. You can save quite a bit of money that way-- if the classes transfer. I actually went that route and it worked out well for me. You can also look into the possibility of combining your BS and MS requirements so that you are able to get your MS in 5 years instead of 6. Guidance counsellors/professors in your department should be able to help with that.

Regarding the Ivy League schools-- they are beautiful and I am sure the education is tops-- the networks you can make and all that, but it isn't the end all. I work with a couple folks who have advanced degrees from Ivy League Universities and we take home the same paycheck. The big difference is they are still paying off their student loans. I was able to obtain research assistantships at the school I went to and am student loan free.

I am so happy to hear about your dreams to earn yo...

2012-01-26T05:15:27.971-05:00

I am so happy to hear about your dreams to earn your MSW. I hate thinking about the financial setbacks that are involved in earning an education. College can often seem impossible for many people; however, the truth is that there is so much money available for education in scholarships. I will say this, it is a full time job searching for them and writing to compete in a contest with others. Nonetheless, it is not impossible. And you are bright, I know you can handle it. I believe in dreaming big, aiming high, and perfect shots. Dont let anything deter you from your vision. I believe in you. I did not think I was going to earn an education, but after writing my tail off I won over 160,000 in scholarship money to go to school along side with author Felecia Hatcher of www.cstudentsrock.com. She won over 100,000. Even though the book is more or less for high schoolers going to college it can help anyone going to school and figuring out how to pay for it. I know you can do it Amanda! By the way I love your new site look. Thanks for being an inspiration.

Love,

Muzik