Reviews of Graduate Schools

Yesterday I went to visit two graduate schools: UNC and UNC Greensboro. The pros and cons of each:

UNC Pros: Stunning environment, I was swooning in the car at the architecture, great reputation. The professor I met was very talkative and talked about how she couldn’t remember the last time a student had graduated w/o a job lined up already.
UNC Cons: School seems a little cult-ish which is probably to be expected, some of the classrooms I saw were very dowdy. Dad kept commenting that its mostly female (the visitor guy told me its roughly 60:40). Dad also commented that most of the students looked like young teenagers. Not sure if its a con but…

UNCG Pros: The three professors I met were fantastic. They were very open, honest, wiley, and told great stories who share a true passion about their work. They were eager to pass on any knowledge they had. The school is very eager to get students. Rent is cheaper.
UNCG Cons: The rough part of town has grown up around the school. A couple blocks over, a gas station’s windows were completely barred and the cashier was behind bulletproof glass. The school itself didn’t attract my attention at all. The library (I’m considering librarian science) is windowless and undergound. Then the books are actually in a windowless tower. Very creepy. The students looked more “normal” like UNCA variety minus the long-haired hippies.

I didn’t feel any magic for either school though. I guess that nothing can compare to the familiarity of home when you’re looking at a college location, but before undergraduate school, everyone I knew kept going on about the “magic” they felt when they stepped onto their desired campus. This was it, etc. I never felt a thing for UNCA and nothing for these two schools.

I have a whole list of fields I’ve been trying to go through with no luck on choosing. I had crossed out librarian science but dad thinks I’d be happy doing it since its not nearly as stressful as any of the other jobs. I don’t think I’d hate it but its not as glamourous as other occupations I’ve looked into (graphic design teases me, interior design, historic preservation, midwifery, animation, etc). In a way, I guess I feel that being a librarian will be “settling.” Then again, the director of librarian science at UNCG told me that only 5% of librarians from his school are unemployed a year after graduation. Starting wages is $35-40k which beats my dad’s best earnings ever.

Bleeh. I’m just unsure. I need to go back to school and I want a master’s degree to add to my name next. The criteria I’m looking for in a job is: (some) travel, variety, responsibility, job security, time later for children, and opportunities to make a difference. I should not be looking so heavily into the children aspect, but when that time comes, I don’t want anyone else to raise my kids. But anyways, the other aspect to make a difference has only creeped into my personality these last few years along with the surprise gift that I’m damn good at interacting with the public. I am also incredibly patient when dealing with the public. Oh, and I’ve been assisting in a class to teach the elderly basic computer skills. I enjoy this work.

So that’s all I’m thinking about right now. Do you have any insights on how to decide? If it wasn’t for those awesome teachers at UNCG, I probably wouldn’t even be considering the school. But thanks to UNCA, I know that professors can make a world of difference about your education…