ebihal

so you're getting emails that say "we look forward to assisting you in the financial aid process and wish you the best in your academic endeavors," too?? i set up my UCInetID--i'm just confused as to why they'd start processing financial aid applications before making admissions decisions.

i'm not really certain why, but i'm receiving emails from the financial aid office at UCI. is this happening to anyone else?

Anyone know the acceptance rate for the MFA program at SMFA??

I'm going, too! What is everyone planning to do about housing?

I'm curious--who here is planning to attend SMFA? Anyone decline?

Did you interview in March? Were you just accepted to the MFA program or Post-Bac? This does seem really strange. But congrats just the same!

how would you know this??

just curious--how much is everyone planning to take out in loans? i would need to borrow 50k for my top choice.

so several people have gotten interviews or been waitlisted, but no one yet has reported having been accepted or, as in our cases, officially rejected?

Has anyone heard anything at all from Cornell yet?

My Award Letter was mainly the same--mostly loans (which don't cover the full amount of tuition), and a small grant of $5,000.

Hmmm...I was thinking it would be a lot more than that in total, once you consider living expenses in addition to tuition. Personally, I would need to borrow 25k each year to reach the roughly 35k tuition. While that's 50k, I also need to support myself during the year, which includes paying rent and all the rest (I think the grad housing was about 15k per year, and this isn't taking into consideration other daily expenses or MFA-related expenses). So that's around at least another 30k I would need to have in addition to the 50k in loans, and honestly, I'm not certain where I'd be getting that money....I have no problem getting a part-time job (obviously, I would have to leave my full-time job), but there's really no certainty that I'd be able to swing it even then.

zaquon, are you going to consider taking out that much in loans? i honestly don't know if i can do it....

I called the financial aid office--they only offer scholarships for MFA students, not need-based grants. The maximum amount in loans that we are eligible to receive from Tufts is $20,500, and work study is about $2,000, roughly. Unfortunately, that's not enough to cover the tuition--not to mention living expenses. At this point, I really don't see how it's possible for me to attend.....

I heard from them as well--also received a scholarship based on merit for a similar amount. I know Tufts provides loans and work study, but I was under the impression that SMFA also provided purely need-based grants along with merit-based scholarships.....but, for whatever reason, I haven't heard anything about that part of the financial aid package yet. Has anyone received a grant from SMFA?

has anyone received any info about financial aid packages at SMFA yet? i've been accepted but have no clue whether or not i'm being considered for grants and scholarships.....

any finalists receive any news from SMFA yet?