Hospitality Schools Compare and Contrast

Emily Pelmear

North Central Michigan College

ENG 112
 Abstract

Trying to find where one wants to invest thier future and education by picking a college is a hard

task. There are often so many deciding factors. For myself I have narrowed it down to four

colleges that offer what I would like to study. Cornell University, Central Florida University,

which are online, Northwoods University and Northern Michigan University, which I would

have to attend in person. Some offer degrees and one offer certificates. Some take up to four

years and one takes only nine months. This could break the bank and make me in debt for a long

time or I could have to pay almost nothing. I may have to move hours away from family, friends,

and my home, or I could do everything from the comfort of my own home without having to

pack up and move. Bear with me as I go through the pros and cons of the colleges I have picked

and try to figure out how I want to reach my dreams and goals

Hospitality Schools Compare and Contrast

Cornell University
Trust me, I know what you are thinking because I was thinking the same thing. “What!

How would she get into Cornell, it is an Ivey league school?” See when you enroll online, it is

different. If I decided to enroll, it would be all online where they accept anyone. Cornell offers

certificates rather than a degree. A certificate is “A focused program of study that typically

prepares you for a specific occupation or job” (Murphy, Kara). I know exactly what I want to do,

and I will already have my Associates degree. Therefore, if a job says I need a college degree I

have one. Now a certificate is not a degree, so I would not have a degree in hospitality, but
getting the certificate would get me into the work force a lot sooner than getting my degree in

hospitality. Having a certificate from Cornell University would still look really good on my

resume because it is still an Ivey league school and is very well known. With the program taking

only nine months, that is a lot less time than a two- or four-year degree. The price is a big deal

for anyone, when I first started looking into this choice the price, I saw looked amazing.

Finishing my Master Certificate in Hospitality Management, the total price would be $7,900. I

would have to pay it all upfront or payments of $489 a month. Seeing that price looked amazing,

but the catch is that they do not accept FAFSA or any scholarships, meaning that all of it would

be completely out of pocket. Another thing about Cornell that I like is that I can do it all from the

comfort on my house. When considering my future, I do not want to move at all. I love northern

Michigan and I have already started a family here. So, while I am considering my future

education I do not want to go far from this area.

Central Florida University

With Central Florida University it is, as well as Cornell, online. Meaning I could also get

my degree from this college without having to move at all. These two may both be online but the

differences between Cornell and Central Florida are large. Central Florida offers an online

master's degree in hospitality management. Stretching longer than nine months, Central Florida

could take me anywhere from twelve months to twenty-four months. Completing my master’s

here would add up to around $23,000. Because they offer an actual degree rather than a

certificate, I would get help with the cost through FAFSA and scholarships. Central Florida is

also well known, helping how the degree would look on my resume. The one negative thing is

that they only offer the hospitality degree as a master’s, meaning that I would have to receive my

bachelor's in a study before I attend. Central Florida however offers bachelor's degrees online
just not for hospitality. If I choose to pursue a bachelor's degree through them, it would add on

another two years and roughly $11,000. Making this choice take about three to four years and

cost around $34,000. But afterwards I would not only have my associate's, but a bachelor's and

master’s along with it. Once again, they do accept FAFSA and scholarships making the cost drop

along. To me $34,000 for my bachelor’s and master’s sounds good, the part that does not is the

three to four years to get it all done.

Northwoods University

Northwoods University is located in Midland Michigan. By the time that I would need to

attend I will be living in St. Ignace, Michigan, making it 2 hours and 39-minutes' drive one way.

If I attended this college, I would be living on campus there. At that point in my life I would like

to stay as close to St. Ignace as possible, making online degrees much more appealing than

others. In my past I have made around 3 hour trips every weekend and it is not anything I am

interested in doing again. With me having to live on campus, I must put money towards housing,

a college food plan, along with books, and tuition. Room and board alone would cost me

$11,000; books and supplies are listed at $1,200 and, tuition Fees are suggested at $28,000 for

just one year. Adding all this up would make it roughly $40,000 a year. Northwoods does accept

FAFSA and scholarship's making the price drop. Looking at Central compared to Northwoods is

a very large difference in bang for your buck. According to College Factual, Northwoods is

considered over market, for how much you pay for what you get. Being at Northwoods would

involve four years, to complete my bachelors. Four years is the same amount of time as Central

Florida, but I get only a bachelors here. Northwoods University is not a very known college

unless you are from that area, so having a degree from them is not going to be as impressive as a
bigger name school. Over all Northwoods is more expensive and not as good as the other I have

looked at. Northwoods has its pros, but personally I feel like it has a lot more cons.

Northern Michigan University

As I am sure you know by now that distance is a big factor for which college I choose.

My next choice is Northern Michigan University, in Marquette Michigan, which is about 2 hours

and 40 minuets away. Once again, no thank you. I do not want to make that drive and live almost

three hours away from the family I would have at that time. Northern Michigan offers two

different programs, I could ether stay for two years and get my associates in hospitality or I could

stay four years and walk away with my bachelor's degree. According to college factual,

“Northern Michigan’s on-time graduation rate is only at 22%” (2019). I do not know about you

but I would not want to attend a college that there is only a 22% chase I will graduate on time.

Northern Michigan is not a largely know school as well, also it is one of the worst colleges to

receive a hospitality degree from. Next to talk about is probably the second biggest factor, cost.

Northern Michigan University is not an online school so I would have to pack up and move to

attend. Moving requires a place to stay, campus housing would be my best bet. To stay in

campus housing would cost $5,432 for a shared room and $4,974 for the meal plan for the year.

With both of those fees added together plus tuition fee it would cost me roughly $36,500 a year.

Luckily, they do accept FAFSA and scholarships, helping the price yet again drop quite a bit.

But still that is the cost of me doing everything through Central Florida University.
 Months Spent
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Cornell Uniservisty Central University Northwoods University Northern Michigan
University

Cost
$45,000

$40,000

$35,000

$30,000

$25,000

$20,000

$15,000

$10,000

$5,000

$0
Cornell University Central Florida University Northwoods University Northern Michigan
University
 References Hospitality,

(2019). Northern Michigan University. Retrieved from

https://www.nmu.edu/tos/hospitality

Hospitality Certificate Program, (2019). ECornell. Retrieved from

https://www.ecornell.com/certificates/hospitality-and-foodservice-management/

Hospitality Management, (2019). Northwood University. Retrieved from

https://www.northwood.edu/academics/undergraduate/hospitalitymanagement

Hospitality and Tourism Management, MS, (2019). University of Central Florida. Retrieved

from https://www.ucf.edu/online/costs/undergraduate-tuition-and-fees/

Certificate vs. Degree Programs, (2015). American Intercontinental University. Retrieved from

https://www.aiuniv.edu/blog/2015/june/certificate-vs-degree

Master Certification in Hospitality Management, (2019). ECornell. Retrieved from

https://www.ecornell.com/certificates/hospitality-and-foodservice-

management/mastercertificate-in-hospitality-management/

Northern Michigan University, (2019). College factual. Retrieved from

https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/northern-michigan-university/

Northern Michigan University, (2019). Google Maps. Retrieved from

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/St+Ignace,+MI/Northern+Michigan+University,+1401

+Presque+Isle+Ave,+Marquette,+MI+49855/@46.1949956,-
 88.2248846,7z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d35f61a4f9ef2d5:0x764d3e

7b305b4020!2m2!1d-

84.7322959!2d45.8755685!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d51df3e3e03453f:0xc088eb2d07442540!2m

2!1d-87.4044868!2d46.5596032

Northwoods University, (N/A). College factual. Retrieved from

https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/northwood-university-michigan/

Northwoods University, (2019). Google Maps. Retrieved from

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/St+Ignace,+MI/Northwood+University,+Midland,+MI

/@44.7473597,-

85.6623476,8z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d35f61a4f9ef2d5:0x7

64d3e7b305b4020!2m2!1d-

84.7322959!2d45.8755685!1m5!1m1!1s0x88222ab5d9b0c885:0x435a3f8e51351f1c!2m

2!1d-84.2744061!2d43.6301146

Online Bachelor of Criminal Justice, (2019). UFC Online. Retrieved from

https://www.ucf.edu/online/files/2019/03/UCF_Online_Programmatic_Brochure_Crimin

al_Justice.pdf

Online Master of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management, (2019). UFC Online.

Retrieved from

https://www.ucf.edu/online/files/2017/12/UCF_Online_Program_Brochure_Hospitality_

a nd_Tourism_Managment_MS.pdf
Tuition and Fees, (2019). Northern Michigan University. Retrieved from

https://www.nmu.edu/node/46

UFC Online Bachelor’s Degrees, (2019). UFC Online. Retrieved from

https://www.ucf.edu/online/bachelors/