Greetings all,
For sometime now I have had much anxiety about choosing between grad schools. I want to peruse a masters in IR, particularly in Security Studies with the hopes of becoming an intelligence analyst. The two schools that I have been struggling to decide over are Georgetown and Cal State San Bernardino.
Now anybody reading this may think that the obvious answer is a no brainier: go to Georgetown! However, there a lot of personal issues that I have to contend with when choosing a school and I want to be able to make the best possible choice. For starters, let me list the positive attributes about myself. I am a recent grade from a prestigious UC. I completed two degrees, one in History, and another in Political Science. I also graduated with a 3.8 GPA, and completed an undergraduate honors thesis. I also work full time at a really good company so I have steady work experience under my belt, and from the looks of it, staying with this company seems to show a chance of success as my manager is a 29 year old with no education making 60k a year.
However, now let me lay out the bad attributes about myself. I grew up in a broken and violent household. My mother was abusive so when I got into my teens, I started abusing her. This lead to a criminal record where in 2008 I was charged with two counts of battery (misdemeanor) and in 2012 an assault with a deadly weapon (misdemeanor) (when I flipped a lamp that landed on my mom as she was laying on the couch.) Also, I should add that in 2008 I joined the Marines and could not hack it, and lied to the drill instructor that I was going to kill myself. This lead to an entry level separation as a fraudulent enlistment as I told them that I had a history of mental illness just to get out.
In addition, both my mother and my father have now passed away and I also have no siblings for support. Most of my family also live on the east coast and they are of little to no help either. Fortunately my mother left me a house with a really low mortgage and I am now supporting myself, but the situation seems to be a double edged sword as I now also have property to manage which could become stressful if I were to move to the east coast.
As you can see, with my past, things can go either way, so here is my analysis of the choices I’m looking to make bare and simple
Georgetown
Pros: The pros I feel about going to Georgetown are that it would be a ticket to success. At Georgetown, I would be able to connect with people of influence and land my dream job of becoming an intelligence analyst. However, if my record got in the way of me becoming an intelligence analyst, I figured that there might be other opportunities to join an IR field such as working for a private corporation as an analyst, or something that I don’t already know of yet. Because of the ban the box initiative and my record being sealed, a private corporation may overlook my background. On top of that, If for example I still can’t get a job related to IR, I may be able to get a job in something close such as international banking or finance given that I have a degree from Georgetown.
Cons: I fear that a degree from Georgetown may be overrated, and that if my record did get in the way, and I was not able to secure a successful job because of the two reasons mentioned, then I would be strapped with $70,000 of graduate debt along with my $30,000 of undergraduate debt leaving me with an accumulated debt of $90,000 to $100,000 and not a decent job to pay it back with. That would be a crushing debt burden for the rest of my life and who knows in what other ways that my translate too (liens, bad credit, poverty, ect)
Cal State San Bernardion
Pros: CSUSB is 1/4th the price of Georgetown with a degree in national security studies costing $14,000. With the addition of my undergrad debt, that would be an accumulated debt of $45,000 which would be manageable. In addition, CSUSB is just 15 minutes away from my current job, therefore; I could grow in the company I’m already in while also working on my degree part time. Therefore, if a job in security studies didn’t work out, I could at least move up in the company that I’m in now and possibly find success that way. And lastly, having sturdy job experience in the company I’m at now, along with a sub par degree in a the field of Security Studies seems to be better than having a prestigious degree in security studies and having a two year gap of work experience on my resume. Or am I wrong?
Cons: I could possibly miss out on a golden opportunity to become one of the elite of America. Growing old, I could regret that I passed up the opportunity and now I have wasted my youth chasing something subpar instead of going for number one. Also, at this age when I am the most energetic and young, I could have taken an opportunity to delve into something new and step out of my comfort zone that could have resulted in a big pay out. In addition, I’m sure the connections at CSUSB are not on the level of Georgetown, and I would have missed out on that opportunity as well.
I appreciate it if you got this far in my long ramble, but what would you make of all this? Please let me know as it would be much appreciated and give me much ease in a time of anxiety?