Kennesaw State or UGA? (Atlanta: credit, schools, live in)

[Larry X]

I've decided to go back to school for my graduate degree, I've narrowed it down between UGA and Kennesaw State because of their 100 percent online IT Masters programs which are similar. The biggest difference is the cost, UGA cost over twice as much per credit hour than KS. Is paying for a name like UGA worth it? Or will I be fine paying less for a lesser known name like Kennesaw State? I do plan on staying and working in the Atlanta area for the foreseeable future.

[DreamerD]

If it were me, I'd go to KSU due to the cost and the two schools having similar master's programs. I have a feeling though that when employers look at your resume, having UGA on there would make you stand out more. You see...before you even mentioned that UGA and KSU have similar programs, I already made the assumption that UGA's is way better quality. I didn't mean to make that assumption but I did and pretty sure other people will too.

Where did you get your bachelor's? Do you find that employers talk about which school you went to for your bachelor's? Not necessarily a conversation but at least mention it?

[brown_dog_us]

UGA's name carries out of the region a lot better than KSU, but twice the money is probably not worth it.

[pinetreelover]

One of the benefits of a UGA degree would be the networking and opportunity to make some potential job connections. I'm not sure if that is applicable to an on-line IT Master's or not.

Overall, if the curriculum and quality of both programs is comparable, I'd go with the most affordable option and take full advantage of everything that Kennesaw has to offer.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by pinetreelover

One of the benefits of a UGA degree would be the networking and opportunity to make some potential job connections. I'm not sure if that is applicable to an on-line IT Master's or not.

Overall, if the curriculum and quality of both programs is comparable, I'd go with the most affordable option and take full advantage of everything that Kennesaw has to offer.

I didn't even think of that. Good thoughts!

LarryX...perhaps you will be able to network online? I know sometimes students create a groupme account for certain classes and that could be a good way of getting to know your classmates; perhaps you could meet them in person for something to eat/drinks eventually.

[Larry X]

I'm in my mid-30s, been working in corporate IT for a number of years, from my experience in my field I don't think what school you went too matters that much, it's more about work experience, who you know, reputation, timing & opportunity. I think I've made my decision; UGA may be more popular and maybe even a better program but it's not worth more than double the cost.

[Big L]

If you are in your mid-30s, have corporate IT experience, and plan to stay in the A for a minute, then Kennesaw State would be just fine.

[LTCM]

I have a personal standard that I believe everyone should stick to.

You generally only get one degree at each level. So make them count. Say with MBAs, a degree from a school ranked 50 isn't worth half of a school ranked 25...it's much less than that.

Although it pains me to say it, get the U(sic)GA degree. It's not double the overall cost and the U(sic)GA name is worth orders of magnitude more than KSU outside of Atlanta. You think you will live in Atlanta your entire life untill the day you don't live in Atlanta anymore.

[Larry X]

Originally Posted by LTCM

I have a personal standard that I believe everyone should stick to.

You generally only get one degree at each level. So make them count. Say with MBAs, a degree from a school ranked 50 isn't worth half of a school ranked 25...it's much less than that.

Although it pains me to say it, get the U(sic)GA degree. It's not double the overall cost and the U(sic)GA name is worth orders of magnitude more than KSU outside of Atlanta. You think you will live in Atlanta your entire life untill the day you don't live in Atlanta anymore.

I don't plan on moving from Atlanta and if I have to one day by that time I'll have enough work experience to where what school my Degree is from won't matter.

[Ric 0_0]

I would go with UGA. The name carries much better than KSU even in Atlanta. Also, the networking would be much better as well.