I was accepted into one program for fall 2020 at Columbia University. It's a PhD program at the Teachers College for Science Education. However, they offered pretty much no funding--just federal loans and federal work study. It definitely doesn't seem like enough to finish a 5 year program in NYC without amassing a lot of debt.
By comparison, my sister and friends who have or are getting PhDs at state universities are fully funded. However, they are all studying sciences (biology, ecology, etc) rather than education.
Does anyone have any experience/advice with funding at Columbia and what that experience is like without a fully funded program? Thanks!
Edit: Forgot to mention, but I could teach another year at my current school and am wondering if I reapply to other schools and potentially get into a fully funded program. It feels like the safer option, but also it feels foolish to not accept a seat at Columbia.