College Admissions: 3 NE Colleges Where You Can Save $60K or Get Free Master’s Degree

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Monday, July 24, 2017

Cristiana Quinn, GoLocalWorcester College Admissions Expert

Too many students and families today are struggling to afford college and graduate school, drowning in a sea of loans. The sad thing is that it just isn’t necessary. Here in New England, Clark University, Wheaton College and Wesleyan University are leading the way in offering accelerated degrees while minimizing costs for students. It’s not rocket science; all it takes is thinking outside the box and challenging your traditional thoughts on the timeline for higher education.

First, get out of the mindset that college needs to take 4 years. In England, university is 3 years—period! There is no 4th year, and still Oxford and Cambridge rank among the world’s best universities. So clearly a solid undergraduate education can be accomplished in 3 years. When creating your college list, select schools where you can graduate in 3 years instead of 4. Both Wheaton College in Massachusetts and Wesleyan University in Connecticut have embraced this idea and offer students a simple path to obtain their degree in just 3 years. Although these schools provide a supportive environment for early graduation, some private and most public universities will also allow you to do the same thing; they just don’t advertise it. Maximizing your AP credits upon matriculation and testing out of introductory courses via the College Level Examination Program can help.  Then, understand the core requirements for graduation and plan when you will take the courses necessary to complete your major. Finally, you may need to squeeze a couple of courses in over the summers after freshman and sophomore years. Is it worth it? At many private universities, costs now exceed $60,000 per year, and for in-state students at primary campuses of state universities, costs can top $25,000. 

Second, plan to consolidate your Bachelors and Master’s Degrees. If you know you want to get an MBA or Master’s, plan ahead. There are hundreds of accelerated Master’s Degree programs that allow students to graduate with a B.A. or B.S. and Master’s Degree in 5 years. BC, BU, Northeastern, Brown, Brandeis and many other New England universities offer paths for high achieving students to begin Master’s level work in their 4th year of college and graduate with an advanced degree in 5 years. However, only two universities in New England take it one step farther. Clark University in Worcester shattered traditional thinking when they began offering their 5th year FREE. Well, almost; there is no tuition for the 5th year Master’s programs at Clark. Enterprising students can choose from 14 advanced degrees, ranging from an MBA to a Master’s in Teaching or a Master’s in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Given that many Master’s programs last 2 years and tuition alone can exceed $80,000, this is an incredible value. Dovetailing on its’ commitment to flexible degree offerings, Wesleyan University also offers students the ability to graduate in 5 years with a Master’s Degree in Psychology, Natural Sciences or Mathematics, and like Clark, the 5th year is tuition FREE.

We spend a lot of time lamenting about higher education costs in the U.S. It’s time to stop whining and start voting with your actions and checkbook. Select colleges and universities that allow you flexibility in graduation requirements and options for advanced accelerated degrees

Cristiana Quinn, M.Ed. is the founder of College Admission Advisors, LLC which provides strategic college counseling, SAT prep and athletic recruiting services www.collegeadvisorsonline.com.

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