Okay, so two weeks ago the New School for Social Research accepted me into the Soc MA program, with a merit 25% tuition scholarship. It's about 30 grand a year, plus another 16 grand for housing (stupid Manhattan), so I'd be pretty in debt by the end of this, but I've been really excited because it could be worth it.
Today (about ten minutes ago, actually), I got an email from University of Mississippi, one of my safetys, and they appear to have made a better offer. I'm just putting it in quotes because I'm in no state to summarize.
" This offer includes full funding through our departmental assistantship. Your assistantship will amount to $3,600 per academic year. That will entitle you to full non-resident fee scholarship worth $7,938 per academic year and a 75% reduction of your resident tuition worth $3,827 per academic year. We will guarantee funding for two years as long as you make satisfactory progress toward graduation. The total package is worth $30,730 (($3,600+$7,938+$3,827)x2). Putting it another way, you will receive a yearly $3,600 cash stipend and will only pay 25% of the in-state tuition per semester for two years. The tuition you will have to pay is $637 per semester."
I still haven't heard from Texas A&M (yes, I know I applied to weird schools for my subject, shush), so the freaking out and decision making might be a bit premature. Can someone please help me figure out a way to balance money v school, and would either path be worth it? I will be talking to my advisers about this, but one of them went to NSSR, and the other went to Ole Miss, so they're both kind of prejudiced.