Could we get some more drama, please?

[The Lost One]

Posted by: McFish      Posted on: Today at 12:22am
on Mar 5th, 2006, 8:49pm, stacer wrote:
But if you were to get accepted, I'd think it'd be something to think about, of course.


Except that I can't afford it.  Which means I could think about it all I want, but I still can't go.  I'm not going $50,000 into debt when I don't ever intend to use the degree to work full time.    

You can afford it, you just need to find out how. I made it out of law school with less than $50,000 worth of debt and that when I was paying $25,000 a year in tuition alone. Graduate students seem to do a lot better because they can get TA or RA positions, fellowships, scholarship and host of other help to offset the cost (although I hear that BYU isn't as good at this as other major Universities). But even if the fundign is tight, $50,000 seems like an awful lot for BYU, as I recall, they are still one of the cheapest Universities in the US. If you get accepted, I think you should take some time to figure out if it is financially possible before you cross it off (an MA can still pay off in more ways then you might think).

Anyways, I still hope you get accepted, if for no other reason then for you to have an option.

[stacer]

She's saying BYU is the only one she can afford. The other two schools are the ones she worries about affording.

[Oldie Black Witch]

And???????

You did say you wanted more drama.  :P ;D

I'm accepted with the provision that I take 12 credit hours of catchup in my first year. Isn't 6 credit hours per semester full-time for grad students?

[Parker]

6 credits of graduate level classes.  For catch up, you'll likely be taking undergrad classes, which aren't nearly as demanding.  Still, it'll be a busy first year for you.

[MsFish]

Yeah, with undergrad classes that's barely a full time semester.

Congrats!  That makes me soooooo happy!

She's saying BYU is the only one she can afford. The other two schools are the ones she worries about affording.

Right.  I can afford BYU.  I cannot afford to live in Seattle or San Jose.  Period.

And actually, BYU is a lot better at giving grad students teaching positions than other Univeristies.  UW says there will be no assistanceships in the first year.  Which would mean 20,000 in debt on tuition alone.  For a Creative Writing degree.  No thank you.

[42]

Also, Lost One, you were going for a J.D.  Doctorate level grad programs give out a lot more assistance than Master level programs.

[The Lost One]

That's not quite right 42. It is true that doctorate level programs do give out more assistance but not for professional programs such as for a JD or and MD. Law and medical students usually have to live off of loans which is why the average law student graduates with around $90,000 worth of debt and the average medical students has around $200,000. I made it through law school by getting TA positions in the political science department because there were not enough MA and Ph.D. students to fill all of the positions. It depends on the school, but many programs offer significant financial aid (real financial aid, not loans) to help out their master students.

Unfortunately, for someone in the social sciences, humanities, or english, getting grants, fellowships, scholarships, and other such aid is more difficult then if someone is in a science or engineering program (where they seem to throw money at all their graduate students).

[Nessa]

Law and medical students usually have to live off of loans which is why the average...medical student has around $200,000.

I will vouch for this. We were fortunately able to graduate with with less than half that debt because I worked full time as a tech writer, which paid enough for us to live on, plus a little extra.

[MsFish]

Bottom line is:

Creative Writing Degree + Never Intending to Get a 9-5 Job = Stay out of massive debt if you know what's good for you.

[Shrain]

lol. Plain and simple. Makes good sense. Really tough all the same, though, because it's such an important goal you have. So just hang in there.

[MsFish]

So I've been officially rejected.  Hooray for me.  

[Shrain]

Argh! I'm so sorry to hear that, Fish.

[stacer]

That's too bad, MsFish. I'm sure that a path will open for you, though. You'll figure it out.

[MsFish]

I'm a firm believer that paths don't just open.  You beat the door down with a sledge hammer and then the path appears.  

Thanks for the support, though.

[Archon]

If you want, I have a sledgehammer you could borrow.