u/Jaded-Factor5139

Hi everyone! I’m trying to decide whether pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography at a tech university is actually worth it, or if I should look into getting a sonography certificate instead.

The university I’m considering originally costs $80k+ per year, which obviously sounds insane. However, after my grants, scholarships, and FAFSA financial aid, my actual cost would be around $10k per year, including the overall college expenses I’m being quoted.

So now I’m wondering: Is the bachelor’s degree worth spending ~$10k/year on, or would I be better off going the certificate route and saving even more money?

My program is basically a 4 year program and during my last year, I have to do clinical. I just want to know if this can help me in any way

For anyone currently working as a sonographer or who has gone through either route:

1. Does having a bachelor’s actually make a significant difference when looking for jobs???
2. Are there salary or career opportunities that I would miss with just a certificate?

Thank you all so much!

Hey everyone! I made a post earlier asking if paying around $10k a year for RIT was a good deal, and a lot of people asked for more details, so here’s the full picture.

I was accepted into RIT’s Diagnostic Medical Sonography (Ultrasound) BS program. It’s one of the main reasons I’m seriously considering RIT.

My estimated cost comes out to around $10,000 per year total, and that includes tuition, housing, meal plans, and other costs. The majority of the reduction from RIT’s original cost came from grants, scholarships, and FAFSA financial aid.

I also received some money through FAFSA-based aid, and I’m eligible for Federal Work-Study, so I’ll be able to work on campus and earn money toward my expenses.

Another thing that makes my situation a little different is that I’m from the COFA (Compact of Free Association) community and am an out of state student. From what I understand, I’m not eligible for certain federal student loans and other federal aid programs that many U.S. students have access to, so taking on a large amount of student debt isn’t really an option for me I think??? Because of that, getting my cost down this much is a pretty big deal.

I would like to thank everyone’s comments from my last post! I was able to double check and look into my package once more.

Hey guys! I’m curious what everyone thinks about my situation because I genuinely don’t know if I’m looking at this the right way

I was accepted to RIT and when I first looked at the cost, I was like… there is NO way I’m paying that much. The original cost is insanely expensive, especially since RIT is a private school.

But after scholarships and financial aid, my total cost ended up dropping to around 10k per academic year.

And when I say total cost, I mean it includes more than just tuition. The ~$10k is basically what I’d be responsible for after my scholarships/aid, including tuition, room/housing, meal plan, and the other school-related costs.

Is ~$10k/year for a private university like RIT actually a crazy good deal?

I (17F) am stuck in a situation with three of my closest friends: Mari (16F), Chris (17M), and Rich (17M).

The thing is, my friendship with Mari only started because she had a crush on Chris, who’s one of my best friends. She would come to me for advice and ask for help talking to him, and I genuinely thought they were cute together, so I tried helping her out. And that completely backfired.

About a week after Chris found out Mari liked him, he wrote me a letter confessing his feelings for me. I rejected him because I didn’t feel that way about him, and honestly, even if I had, I wouldn’t have wanted to pursue anything knowing Mari liked him.

Around this same time, I had gotten really close with Rich. We became friends through clubs this year and ended up talking a lot. (We got close before I did with Mari) Because of some drama and rumors in the past, I asked if we could keep our friendship more private. He agreed and actually preferred it that way too.

A week after Chris confessed to me, I invited Mari to hang out with me, Chris, and Rich because I didn’t want to be the only girl there. We all went out to eat and had a rlly fun time together.. Afterward, Mari posted a bunch of photos and videos from the hangout. Almost immediately, people started messaging me asking if it was a double date.

We’ve spent weeks hanging out as a group and calling almost every day. Whenever Rich leaves a call, Mari somehow ends up talking about him for the next thirty minutes. She’ll analyze things he said, things he did, random interactions, everything.

The problem is that Rich has already told her he doesn’t like her. She knows he doesn’t like her. Yet she still seems determined to change his mind.

Meanwhile, after those group calls end, Rich will keep talking to me privately. He tells me how much he enjoys talking to me, He calls me beautiful, has already introduced me to his siblings, and he’s usually the one suggesting that we hang out one-on-one.

Mari doesn’t know about any of this.

I feel guilty for not telling her, but at the same time I don’t really feel like it’s my information to share. Rich and I agreed to keep our friendship more private, and while people know we’re friends, they definitely don’t know how close we’ve become. Sometimes I honestly wonder if we act more like a couple than just friends in private…

And I’ve honestly been like just laughing at her jokes about her and Rich getting married, having kids, and moving overseas.. and sometimes I’ll like play into it(?) I don’t know how to feel anymore because I kind of encouraged her to be friends with Rich but I didn’t think she’d fall for him like this, and it’s not like Rich ever led her on. He’s been pretty clear that he isn’t interested. But I still feel awful because if anything ever happened between Rich and me, I know it would hurt her so much

So… AITA if I pursue something with Rich knowing Mari likes him, even though he’s already rejected her?