[Fully Funded/Stipend Or More recognizable school?]

In short: I think I would love to go to CMU, in order to fully indulge the path I feel I want right now. But the cost and uncertainty loom large over the fact that I am good at academia, and they are apparently very good back to me.

[Fully Funded/Stipend Or More recognizable school?]

After trying to hedge my bets and applying to two different kinds of programs two unexpected things happened:

1) I was accepted to my first choice school for an MA in Professional Writing at Carnegie Mellon University

2) I was accepted by my second-ish choice school for an MA in English at Northern Michigan University, but also funded basically full tuition and offered a teaching assistantship with an additional $8,000 stipend

Carnegie Mellon offers help as well, by waiving about 45% of the tuition, but that would still leave me with approx. $10,000 to pay each semester. And there are also a lot of things influencing this decision:

- It's a more "respected" program

- It's a professional program, and after admission I'll have an idea of what I'm up against as far as debt is concerned.

- From what I've read the pay is better for technical writers than it is for professors.

- I have friends in Pittsburgh, most notably a girlfriend of two years (I actually moved here to be with her for a while after the long distance relationship of undergrad.)

- I'm from the South, and from what I hear Michigan's Upper Peninsula gets very cold.

- I wonder if MBA's even get fully funded, and that's just how it is for professional degrees.

- I have this weird hangup about higher-tiered schools since graduating from a small regional college in GA (my GPA was 3.6, if that plays any role whatsoever--I saw it asked for in another forum.

- I will feel I will not be too overspecialized in one field, and can develop my nascent interest in science through the familiar field of writing.

- There is no guarantee that after NMU, when applying for a PhD, that I will not have to amass a ton of debt.

However:

- NMU is covering 16 credits per semester and giving me $8,000 to live there. Which sounds like an amazing offer.

- I come from not the best financial situation, family-wise, and the thought of taking on debt scares me.

- Not to mention $30,000 seems like an insane amount of money to me.

- I have no idea how students apply and take on loans without the guarantee of a job at the end of the tunnel.

- I graduated from a small school, and worked during undergrad to pay for it, which balanced, where this is not a debt I can pay by working a semester and break to pay off.

- I have no idea of how much time I'll have for a job while studying at CMU (but will desperately need one to pay for rent and food)

- I love both types of programs equally, almost all I know is academia, coming from an English undergrad, but I also feel the allure of professional writing.

- I feel the isolation may help me study better.

I think that is fairly thorough, ANY information is appreciated. My professors tell me go the funded route, my friends/the one family member who volunteered info said go the reputable route (but then again, said family member is not afraid of raking up debt). I honestly kind of dreamed of CMU since graduating, and not that it is a prospect, the amount of money seems daunting. Yet I also feel I have a talent and passion for academia related to NMU (there's a professor there who I feel contributes well to the field of contemporary literature).

Once again, thanks in advance for any advice. I feel at the end of my wits.