St@rdust

School #2, if you want to play it safe. You've been there, done that; you can do it again. Economics is a hard truth, but the distance between 29k/yr and 43k isn't terribly far. Jumping into an unfamiliar situation without any support can be scary, but it can also be very rewarding. If you're willing to jump, I think school #1 can also give you something more than economics: - a life story - build your confidence - expand your network - access to Ivy league people (whatever that means) - access to Ivy league school resources (Ivy leagues schools are able to leverage top guest speakers and outside contacts in respective fields) - distinguish you If I was an employer interviewing the you that went to school #1 vs the you that went to school #2, who do you think I would pick? I would choose the girl from the south that had to sink or swim in a cold northern city while attending an Ivy college with a strong MSW ranking. School #1 has greater reward potential.

For my brothers and sisters in the arts and humanities: salmon not in the well where the hazelnut falls but at the falls battling, inarticulate, blindly making it. - Robert Duncan Just remember that in every city there are thousands of people huddled in cubicles, trapped in towering glass buildings wishing they were you. Science and art/humanities was never mutually exclusive. Now, more than ever, we need a citizenry that has a strong understanding in the humanities, because that understanding is what needs to drive our science. Not greed.

Ask yourself first, "How much am I willing to suffer for the humanities and arts?"

I would like to see a sub forum for the Dark Arts. You know, necromancy, POE-etry, possession, politics, etc.

Depends where you are. Context matters.

If art wasn't marginalized, would it be art?

Instead of jumping straight into NYU, just go and live there for a few years first.