apparentlyabadwriter

Ultimately, my admittedly unrealistic goal is to be a literature or writing professor. I realize that my chances are slim, so part of my thought process with grad school is that even if I end up continuing to work administrative jobs like I do now, at least a master's will allow me to apply for better jobs. Two years ago, I applied to PhD programs, but failed at getting admitted to any. This time around, I lowered my sights and applied to MFA programs, resigning myself to do my master's first. The results are that every funded and well regarded program rejected me. The only school I was accepted to is the City College of New York, but I would have to loan out 50k to 60k over two years to finish the degree. I was declined from Columbia, NYU, New School, Hunter, and Rutgers Newark. Blargh. It's disappointing because I did a research fellowship as an undergrad, I've got nearly a dozen publications in literary journals - small ones, but it's still something - and a few years of work experience. Has anyone here gone to CCNY's MFA or is in it currently? Would it be worth it? They do have a few success stories that they boast about on their program page, but I’m just afraid that CCNY wouldn’t be a big step up. I started out at community college, worked full time while I while toiling away at a small state school, and wasn’t as active as I could have been, and I feel like a lot of these schools frown upon that background. Especially when I was applying to PhD programs. I’m honestly not too sure what I should do – I could just barely afford the cost of tuition and travel to City College of New York, and while I was mentally prepared with the possibility of taking large loans, I really hoped that it’d be at a school I could be certain is worth the money. I’m also afraid that I’ll just throw away another thousand dollars on grad school applications next year and end up with the same results. After failing at getting into PhD programs last year and mostly failing at MFAs this year, I’m kind of wondering if I’m just not good enough for anything better. Right now, I'm working down in Baltimore and but I'm really eager to leave. The other option I'm considering is pursuing the MA in Teaching Writing at Johns Hopkins University. It’s a brand new program, just started up last year, and their admissions are so lax that they only ask students apply 30-60 days before the term they wish to start. Additionally, while I would have a snowball’s chance in hell at being a professor with a MFA, I feel like I might have even less opportunity with a MA. The entire degree would be about 27k, which isn't terrible compared to other schools and degrees but still definitely an investment. Thanks so much for taking the time to read that big wall of text.