advicefortheywhoneedit

Exactly. And yes, I know I am coming off rude to people with certain manners of response, but really this is all in the best interest. People like you with productive responses incur no hostility. I just think I couldn't stand to be a professor at one of these big buck private universities knowing full-well what will happen to the students who they supposedly care for. We are are adults, we make our own decisions, but I frankly think it is disgusting how these schools take advantage of our desires for their own gain.

That's because you aren't mentally capable of drawing a connection.

@Jaeti how ironic. If I were Jerry Saltz you would be on your knees. @thing_X2 don't worry about it, post isn't about me but I commend the people who applied to programs that obviously respect and give a damn about the students, i.e. realistically assisting people who need it--not charging people $60,000 a year when they know that said degree will not earn them anywhere near enough to pay that amount back in the future. @klp your response was totally on point in terms of the application process. But, I think the majority of the post was questioning the reasoning behind someone who ACCEPTS and takes out loans etc for a degree they cannot afford. In other words, what kind of insanity could lead to someone willingly taking out $120-$160,000 in loans for a degree with very little guarantee for payback?

As a fellow artist and recently accepted MFA who has been lurking on here just like the rest of you, I would like to ponder why anyone would be willing to go into $100,000 dollars worth of debt for an MFA degree? I notice so many of you applying to SAIC, RISD, Columbia etc etc and then reacting with astonishment when you are not given a full-ride to these over-priced, generic institutions. $42,000-$60,000 tuition annually plus at least $20,000 per year in living expenses alone puts you in a mound of debt that you will never be able to pay back. Not only that, but it will cripple you artistically, and indefinitely. It's suicide. So, why waste your time, and ours? Why apply to SAIC, RISD, Columbia etc knowing full-well that you cannot pay if accepted? Especially knowing these money pots have limited resources for you? Why not find a means of paying these expenses before you waste the reviewer's time, and also the people who could have afforded to attend and may have been pushed aside while you knew full well you couldn't afford it even if accepted? Why not do some research as to the costs and benefits of these institutions before you even apply? *Just a dose of tough love by a concerned colleague. No MFA is worth $120,000 in debt for a degree, and an abstract sense of 'connections' it MAYBE will get you. The reality is, you will likely be making a meager income at best, with $800 a month payments to your new owners. And no, I am not a millionaire just in case you think I'm some spoiled rich kid with everything made. Wise up people!