I'm personally not comfortable taking on any more than $30,000 in loan debt. Ideally I won't take on any (I already have one offer for 90% tuition scholarship + stipend - waiting to hear from 4 other schools). When I was originally considering which MPA programs I would apply to, a major factor for me was whether the schools offered strong opportunities for funding (and were within my geographic region). As long as you make funding a priority, I think it is certainly possible to avoid going deep into debt.
Nope, not yet. Their website says admitted students day is March 31 though, so we at least know they need to notify us sometime before then. I'm hoping for this week