I was set on ASU until I got my financial aid notification, which showed a significantly higher cost than expected: 17k a year, way more than ASU’s net price calculators suggested. American University, on the other hand, would cost 11k a year. While I know living expenses in DC might bump up AU’s total cost, I’m not sure if it would exceed ASU’s. My parents can’t contribute much, so I need to make a smart choice. I’m looking at Communication at ASU and Public Relations at AU. Any advice?
ASU is great. If your total cost is less at American, go there.
This is probably good advice. A couple of questions:
Is that 17k tuition only? You might consider if Barrett is the issue.
A com degree isn’t a PR degree. These are cognate, but if you are sure you want to do PR, go with a program that focuses on PR.
If you are going to American, your first job is going to likely be in DC or nearby.
In all, if American costs less, I would go there. ASU has some strong programs, but I pound think for PR AU wins out.
no, that 17k would include housing, tuition, food and all additional expenses. and yes, i’m sure that i want to go into PR. thank you for the advice. i think you’re right, AU is definitely going to have a better program for me and will be a better deal
thank you for the advice!
Where do you want to end up, DC or PHX? How do you feel about humidity? American is notorious for decreasing aid as you earn more credits and it gets harder to transfer fyi. Are you headed towards a business career where debt would be manageable or do you want to do communications for a nonprofit? Are there American or ASU students you can talk to ? Would you feel comfortable on the east coast and with American students ?
i had no idea that American decreased aid as you move forward, that's messed up! thank you for letting me know that, i'll definitely take that into account. does ASU do anything similar to that, or is the aid pretty consistent from year to year? as for the questions: 1) i would much rather end up in DC, i would like to move out of arizona eventually. 2) i don't really mind humidity, i used to live in a humid area before i moved here. 3) regardless of where i go to school, i definitely would go the business route in PR. 4) yes, i have a friend who's attending the tempe campus right now, and a sibling who graduated from ASU a couple years ago. i've been talking to both during this process. 5) i've never been to the east coast but i've always wanted to go. the architecture, history, and culture have always appealed to me. i don't really know what American students are like though.
Go for the cheaper university and work on getting work experience or extracurricular experience. An internship would be great. But, unless you’re in the top 20 universities for your program, no interviewer cares about your college’s name.