emss

Not preachy! Honestly, it's comforting to hear someone else is kind of in the same boat, even though the boat sucks and also is sinking! I hope your re-apps turn out well if that's the route you go. That FAFSA repayment calculator is brutal. I think I needed a dose of reality here, so thank you. I don't mind competition in a cohort, so I think I might hold off and learn more about the competitive tuition remission assistantships. I have some teaching experience, so if I can swing that, no way am I going through apps again. tl;dr you're right: even NYC, Paris Review, Beatty, Lipsyte, and the 1/100000 chance I'm the next Emma Cline aren't worth debt until I'm literally 45.

I'm heavily debating accepting an offer at Columbia -- it was my first choice despite the cost because I like the faculty and NYC, and I really like how often/successfully alumni seem to publish. Every day, though, it seems like someone else has something awful to say about the program. Mostly, I just want to know if it's worth it, or if I should apply again/take a chance on the two waitlists I have at Helen Zell & NYU. Are there any grads of the Columbia program who feel it was worth it/not worth it? Why? I don't love the idea of reapplying, and honestly, I don't love the idea of going to Helen Zell even if I do get moved up. But I don't want to go $100k in debt for a bad program, either.