I got in, but I'm not going.

[TokuGirl]

So I've gotten into 2/4 MA programs that I've applied to. I'm an art history/museum studies major, but I won't be receiving any funding from the schools I've been accepted into. One of them is my top choice, but I'm already $40k in debt from undergrad and not willing to take out another $100k since I'll never make that money back in a humanities job.

Quite frankly, I'm disappointed. I haven't declined any offers yet, but I'm not planning to accept them either. I'm alright with taking another year off and reapplying for 2011, it just sucks that I had to quit my job just in case I was going to get into grad school (I work in Japan and my yearly recontracting deadline was in Feb).

What is your take on this situation? I feel like a loser, especially now that I'll be leaving my current (well paid) position in Japan and moving back to the US to deal with the dismal job market.

Edited March 26, 2010 by TokuGirl

[mikazukipie]

Don't feel like a loser. You got into 2 MA programs! Terminal MA funding is very hard to come by. Did you apply for any external funding?

The job market is truly terrible in the U.S., so I would suggest trying to find another position in Japan if at all possible. Are you on JET? While non-JET ALT positions are certainly not as well-paid, I think it's a better option than moving back to the U.S. and trying to find something right now.

If you've already bought your ticket and packed your belongings, I would suggest getting an ESL certification if you don't already have one, which will allow you to work in some schools over here, and actually use the experience you've gotten in Japan. Unless you hate teaching English or were a CIR, in which case you can just throw all that unhelpful advice in the trash can.

[tourist]

Well, I was in a similar situation a few months ago when I came home from Korea after some time there teaching English, which is what I assume you're doing in Japan. I thought it'd be easy to find a job back in the states with a degree in history from a fairly reputable school in the area, but guess what? Out of about 40+ applications, I got one interview, which didn't get me a job. I've been unemployed since December. Now, your degree is in art history. It's worse here in the States than you think. My take on it. Go back to school because with a BA it will be immensely hard to find a job that pays more than 20-25k/year starting out (or even a job at all). An MA is a step up and can open doors and I don't know if you want to wait tables for a year. Good luck with your decision.

Edited March 26, 2010 by tourist

[mudlark]

Good for you, TokuGirl! You're making a clear-headed decision about the cost of grad school in the humanities. That's awesome. You might have a hard time finding a job for a while, but that's much better than being burdened by unbearable levels of debt for the next few decades. Not everyone has the strength of character to take on short-term disappointment and struggle for long-term benefit. You should be proud you got in, and proud that you had the courage not to go without funding. Very, very far from being a loser.

[a fragrant plant]

Well, I was in a similar situation a few months ago when I came home from Korea after some time there teaching English, which is what I assume you're doing in Japan. I thought it'd be easy to find a job back in the states with a degree in history from a fairly reputable school in the area, but guess what? Out of about 40+ applications, I got one interview, which didn't get me a job. I've been unemployed since December. Now, your degree is in art history. It's worse here in the States than you think. My take on it. Go back to school because with a BA it will be immensely hard to find a job that pays more than 20-25k/year starting out (or even a job at all). An MA is a step up and can open doors and I don't know if you want to wait tables for a year. Good luck with your decision.

I have to disagree. Having a MA in art history is not going to take you any further in today's job market. I have a MA in Anthropology from a reputable university but I am still earning $10-$22 per hour (depending on projects; I work in an Art Gallery). A MA in museum studies may be a better option job-wise because a lot of them offer internship opportunities. But in today's economic climate there is no guarantee. mudlark's words have a lot of wisdoms in it. I too think you have made a right decision. I also got an offer from a department that is perfect fit but without funding. So yes I got in but I'm not going this year. Every one told me that next year is not going to be better but I'm going to take a risk. I believe that I can do better and I deserve funding.

Edited March 26, 2010 by Peanut

[90sNickelodeon]

Good for you, TokuGirl! You're making a clear-headed decision about the cost of grad school in the humanities. That's awesome. You might have a hard time finding a job for a while, but that's much better than being burdened by unbearable levels of debt for the next few decades. Not everyone has the strength of character to take on short-term disappointment and struggle for long-term benefit. You should be proud you got in, and proud that you had the courage not to go without funding. Very, very far from being a loser.

Right on. The job market is abysmal. One has to be prudent about these things.

[PaperChaser]

Right on. The job market is abysmal. One has to be prudent about these things.

I'm inclined to agree, generally. However, if you're going to have to get a MA eventually to get the kind of job you want, you might as well do it. Here's the good news: thanks to the new Income-Based Repayment option for students loans (which may or may not apply to your existing loans, you'll have to check into that), you could take out MA money...and not have to pay most of it back! If you go into public service (a lot more counts as public service than you think) or something education-related (ditto-a lot more counts than you think), you make payments in the amount determined by the IBR system for ten years, then you're done, regardless of how much you still owe. If you go into the private sector, it's 20 years and then done.

It's really worth looking into IBR (just google it-I'm not a great explainer) if you feel like you're going to need a graduate degree (or, in my case, three) to get a living wage job. You'll also be able to defer your current loans while you're in school. If you haven't consolidated them, you'll be in really good shape. If you have, you're still okay. It's not as hopeless as it sounds-you don't have excessive undergrad debt, and you can likely find a program to fund you next year if you didn't this year.

[juilletmercredi]

I'm inclined to agree, generally. However, if you're going to have to get a MA eventually to get the kind of job you want, you might as well do it. Here's the good news: thanks to the new Income-Based Repayment option for students loans (which may or may not apply to your existing loans, you'll have to check into that), you could take out MA money...and not have to pay most of it back! If you go into public service (a lot more counts as public service than you think) or something education-related (ditto-a lot more counts than you think), you make payments in the amount determined by the IBR system for ten years, then you're done, regardless of how much you still owe. If you go into the private sector, it's 20 years and then done.

It's really worth looking into IBR (just google it-I'm not a great explainer) if you feel like you're going to need a graduate degree (or, in my case, three) to get a living wage job. You'll also be able to defer your current loans while you're in school. If you haven't consolidated them, you'll be in really good shape. If you have, you're still okay. It's not as hopeless as it sounds-you don't have excessive undergrad debt, and you can likely find a program to fund you next year if you didn't this year.

Coincidentally I was reading about IBR yesterday.

Income based repayment may work out if you have high debt relative to your income. So if you get an MA and you're making $30K a year but you've got $70K in debt, for example, they estimate that you'll be paying around $170/month. The forgiveness period is actually 25 years, not 20, so after 25 years of payments of $170/month (assuming that your pay doesn't go up AT ALL during those 25 years - which is depressing) you'll have paid off about $50,000, and the other $20,000 will be forgiven. However, I did the calculator with $50K in debt, same everything else, and the payment stayed the same. At the end of 25 years there would be nothing less to forgive. Also I did it with $40K salary and $70K loans. With just $10K more per year, they estimate your monthly payment to be $300/month. $300 x 12 x 25 = $90,000, which means at the end of 25 years you'll probably have nothing to forgive.

They reassess your income every year, so if your income goes up you'll pay more per month. If at any point the monthly payment you'd pay under IBR meets or exceeds the payment of the standard plan, you switch to the standard payment.

Public service is if you work for any government (local, state, federal, tribal); a nonprofit, or AmeriCorps or the PeaceCorps. It also may apply if you work for a business that's nonprofit, non-religious, non-partisan and not a labor union that provides certain public services, such as public health or library services. Something like CARE Atlanta comes to mind; perhaps a museum, depending.

It could be a good option but I wouldn't rely on it as a means - it'd probably be better not to take on the debt in the first place, if you're unsure.

[TokuGirl]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all of your advice. I've definitely mulled over this a lot more since I posted, but in the end it all came down to this:

While I'm very tempted to go into one of my "safe harbor" MA programs to ride out the economy, I just get this crushing feeling whenever I think of taking out the loans to pay for it. Yes, I will need an MA to work in my field, but I'm only 24 and my existing debt eats up half of my current annual salary. There's no way I could survive as an MA student even with a pt-job without having to turn to credit cards and private loans just to live in Boston or NYC (my two choices). I got in this time so I can always reapply (and do more research into outside funding) knowing that I have a decent shot of getting in again. Even if I don't get any funding again next time, at least I'll be able to take the loans knowing I had tried.

Thanks again everyone!