Graduate Institute, and GI vs. Undergrad

SeeBothSides
Wed, 09 Jul 2014 21:04:09 +0000

I’m a St. John’s staffer who starts grad school here in the fall. The program is outstanding, and you certainly wouldn’t be unsatisfied if you just did the Master’s program. There would be too much overlap in the curriculum for someone that’s not an admissions staffer to do both.

My advice is, finish your degree and do NOT go into more debt unless you are certain the job you have lined up after graduation carries a six-figure paycheck. (You’re probably not one of those people who knows now they’re going to work at daddy’s company and make bank, so you probably don’t know what kind of job you’ll get after graduation. Play it safe and take out a manageable level of debt.) I have 69k in principal, and my student loan payments are more than rent per month. It’s difficult to be a young person without a high-paying job and swing that kind of balance without sacrificing a lot.

Undergrads and GI’s mix some, like at concerts, lectures and movie showings etc., but I gather that the “party scenes” are mostly separate, if that’s more the social life you were asking about. The quirkiness can be summed up mostly by saying this school just attracts intellectual individualists. (And those hippy kids with ukeleles who don’t wear shoes.) That stereotype is true much more in the undergrad division than the GI. Many GI’s have professional experience, and most aren’t of the age where uniquely expressing themselves is paramount. They still think outside the box though!

Hope that helps.