Higher Education: Your Experiences, Your Questions

That is really good news. I wish you luck, an MBA in one year means your spouse will be an academic widow. It will pay off for you in the long run, handsomely. Best of luck!!

Thank you. Yes, we had many discussions about that, especially since we have a newborn as well. We survived me taking 18 credit hour semesters amd working full time, I should think we are pros at this by now.
 
Just received some news I didn't want to hear. The MBA program I have been accepted to is a yearlong (3 semesters) program and offers the ability to bill all up front for the entire program ($70k) or by semester. I questioned the VA when I was first applying and was told that since it's a public institution there is no cap on what amount they would pay out and even though it is a yearlong, the VA will cover it if billed up front. The school though has decided that it will not request payment from the VA this way and instead will bill the VA by semester (roughly $23k per semester). So now I'm left scrambling to find about $40k before January. I'm not willing to go that far into debt for an MBA that is not required in my career field to make it up to as high as a GS 14. I have found that the William and Mary can be covered 100% by AWTAP ($10k per but I would owe the Navy 3 years starting the last year from which I would use the money), but I'm not necessarily ready to make that commitment , yet. Time to hit the ground running in applications for scholarships.
 
Just received some news I didn't want to hear. The MBA program I have been accepted to is a yearlong (3 semesters) program and offers the ability to bill all up front for the entire program ($70k) or by semester. I questioned the VA when I was first applying and was told that since it's a public institution there is no cap on what amount they would pay out and even though it is a yearlong, the VA will cover it if billed up front. The school though has decided that it will not request payment from the VA this way and instead will bill the VA by semester (roughly $23k per semester). So now I'm left scrambling to find about $40k before January. I'm not willing to go that far into debt for an MBA that is not required in my career field to make it up to as high as a GS 14. I have found that the William and Mary can be covered 100% by AWTAP ($10k per but I would owe the Navy 3 years starting the last year from which I would use the money), but I'm not necessarily ready to make that commitment , yet. Time to hit the ground running in applications for scholarships.

Sorry to hear about that; that's very tough. Few of us can pony up that kinda scratch. That's why I was in grad school at Duke for only a year. I am very fortunate in that the grad school in I attend now is about a grand for a three hour course.

Best of luck to you.
 
Just received some news I didn't want to hear. The MBA program I have been accepted to is a yearlong (3 semesters) program and offers the ability to bill all up front for the entire program ($70k) or by semester. I questioned the VA when I was first applying and was told that since it's a public institution there is no cap on what amount they would pay out and even though it is a yearlong, the VA will cover it if billed up front. The school though has decided that it will not request payment from the VA this way and instead will bill the VA by semester (roughly $23k per semester). So now I'm left scrambling to find about $40k before January. I'm not willing to go that far into debt for an MBA that is not required in my career field to make it up to as high as a GS 14. I have found that the William and Mary can be covered 100% by AWTAP ($10k per but I would owe the Navy 3 years starting the last year from which I would use the money), but I'm not necessarily ready to make that commitment , yet. Time to hit the ground running in applications for scholarships.

I would call the VA back. They should cover a very large portion per semester. If they would cover it up front they should cover it on a per semester basis.
 
I would call the VA back. They should cover a very large portion per semester. If they would cover it up front they should cover it on a per semester basis.

Agreed, my one remaining semester would cover $23k, plus the $1k enrollment fee (down payment). If I take on the $10k AWTAP funding and then a few thousand from NAVSUP, I'm left around $40k. I'm going to see if thr VA can provide something for me in writing about covering the full amount if UT will bill all at once.

NAVSUP and UNC used to have some kind of agreement offering discounted semester rates but I haven't been able to find anything other than the LoG MBA, but that's $90k. :blkeye:
 
Agreed, my one remaining semester would cover $23k, plus the $1k enrollment fee (down payment). If I take on the $10k AWTAP funding and then a few thousand from NAVSUP, I'm left around $40k. I'm going to see if thr VA can provide something for me in writing about covering the full amount if UT will bill all at once.

NAVSUP and UNC used to have some kind of agreement offering discounted semester rates but I haven't been able to find anything other than the LoG MBA, but that's $90k. :blkeye:

Ok. So you only have one semesters worth of remaining VA benefits? I am surprised they said they would pay the balance up front, particularly considering that the balance would be more than an entire GI bills worth of benefits.
 
It's surprising how many officers are in high-level graduate schools compared to undergraduate veterans. I have been trying to recruit people for admissions into top-level schools. There seems to be a lot of "I don't care about liberal arts, I just want a job" in the veteran community.

I'd love my doctorate to come from an Ivy but as I near the end of my master's I really haven't been able to find an Ivy that either offers what I want or is convenient.

Very annoying.
 
I'd love my doctorate to come from an Ivy but as I near the end of my master's I really haven't been able to find an Ivy that either offers what I want or is convenient.

Very annoying.
At least at the graduate level, the Ivies aren't necessarily the best choices. When it comes to undergraduate education you can generally assume that they are generally very good, but that maxim doesn't hold as you start getting into more and more specific subjects. If you're looking to become a quantum physics researcher, you'd be better off going to a Berkeley or MIT as opposed to Yale. And as you said, they may not even offer your particular subject.

I mean, I guess there's some appeal to saying "Oh yes, I did go to an Ivy League school" as you gently swirl your brandy snifter, adjust your ascot, and dust off your monocle, but it's not really worth the cost and frustration just for that. Besides, the Ivy mystique wears off after about three weeks when you realize just how much work you have to do :ack:
 
At least at the graduate level, the Ivies aren't necessarily the best choices. When it comes to undergraduate education you can generally assume that they are generally very good, but that maxim doesn't hold as you start getting into more and more specific subjects. If you're looking to become a quantum physics researcher, you'd be better off going to a Berkeley or MIT as opposed to Yale. And as you said, they may not even offer your particular subject.

I mean, I guess there's some appeal to saying "Oh yes, I did go to an Ivy League school" as you gently swirl your brandy snifter, adjust your ascot, and dust off your monocle, but it's not really worth the cost and frustration just for that. Besides, the Ivy mystique wears off after about three weeks when you realize just how much work you have to do :ack:

...and how much it costs....
 
...and how much it costs....

At the Ph.D level most people are funded either by the school or by grants. You don't really use loans to get a Ph.D.

But for undergrad, or a Masters? Hell yeah expensive as fuck.
 
At the Ph.D level most people are funded either by the school or by grants. You don't really use loans to get a Ph.D.

But for undergrad, or a Masters? Hell yeah expensive as fuck.

For sure. It really helps if you are poor.
 
Just completed my first semester towards my MBA. Sadly I am going to have to take a break at this time due to my command not approving my leave for one of the on campus residency periods for third semester. I am happy to report a 3.87 GPA and look forward to getting at it again next year, where I'll hopefully be at a new command.

Has anyone ever switched schools while perusing a graduate degree? I have considered switching to a school closer to home and it is also considerably cheaper, from almost $1,900 a credit hour to just over $800. I know switching will very from school to school, but I'm curious how it went for anyone else.
 
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