Help! I didn't get funding!

[marian]

Hello all,

I was recently accepted to an English MA program but unfortunately didn't receive funding. Now I face a huge decision: do I go anyway and take out student loans (I would also work, of course), or do I take another year off and reapply? I've already taken a year off and it was awful, and I'd really like to start grad school ASAP, but facing massive amounts of debt scares the bejeezis out of me. Does anyone have any suggestions, advice, or personal stories that might help me make the decision?

Thanks!

[madcalicojack]

How often do English MA's get funding? I'm in engineering and masters students are rarely funded. I'd say that if the probability of getting funding next year is low, you should decide this year to poop or get off the pot in terms of grad school. If getting a graduate education is what you want to do, do it now. Take the financial hit while you're young. You have the rest of your life to work. The longer you stay out of school, the more difficult it gets to go back. As your "real world" income increases, so does the opportunity cost associated with going back to school. Also, by starting now, you may be able to get a TAship or something next year.

As an alternative, if you just want a masters and you don't care that much about about doing any meaningful research, there are many accredited online programs that offer practical masters degrees. (i.e. no thesis - intended for working professionals, not academics) Most employers have some sort of tuition reimbursement that you may be able to take advantage of. Of course if you are considering an academic career, this will not suffice.

[silencio1982]

Hello all,

I was recently accepted to an English MA program but unfortunately didn't receive funding. Now I face a huge decision: do I go anyway and take out student loans (I would also work, of course), or do I take another year off and reapply? I've already taken a year off and it was awful, and I'd really like to start grad school ASAP, but facing massive amounts of debt scares the bejeezis out of me. Does anyone have any suggestions, advice, or personal stories that might help me make the decision?

Thanks!

In my field if you are accepted to an MA it probably doesn't come with funding- that is to say- you can't assume you are going to get it- but that doesn't mean you won't. When I was accepted into a MA program I was prepared to take out loans, and that summer before the Fall Semester began, I got a call from the Director of Grad Studies offering me an RA position (full tuition + stipend). My second year, again, I was prepared to take out loans but I got a scholarship for all but 3 credits of my MA. I had to take out loans for living expenses and those last 3 credits, but all in all I probably ended up with 1/3 of the loans I would have had to take out otherwise. And, now I got into a fully funded Ph.D. program! So, that's my story- take it for what it's worth. I would ask your program if Master's students EVER have a chance to get funding, maybe through TA or RA positions, and see what they say. This way they'll know you're interested and hopefully keep you in mind. But yeah, I would say it's worth it to go if your goal is getting a PhD.

[me5000]

I fully agree with the two previous replies. If you're in it for the academic career track, it's always best to do it now. The chances you'll want to come back and go through the application process all over again after getting a nice paycheck for a year are really, really slim. Even with friends I know who worked and really, really saved during their time off, they resented seeing those savings dwindle down so quickly as soon as they returned to school, and the experience was never the same for them, in my opinion. I know the fear of paying back student loans is daunting, I agree with that too. But if you ask around and look at the university's website, and find there are at least some chances you'll get funded at least part of time, even if they are in different/related disciplines and maybe even only guaranteed a quarter at a time--then that will lower the amount you'll have to take out in loans. Plus, I've found that applying for RA and TA positions really gets to be a skill well learned...after the first couple of tries you get to be a whiz at it even if you don't get it at first. Also, most faculty find that type of initiative impressive, so your advisors have a better shot at advocating for your funding the time around...i.e. "This student has made substantial progress in the program even without our funding, and was actively pursuing funding outside the department, and this demonstrates extreme initiative and promise of success in our program so should be ranked high in our funding priorities"

Best of luck to you.

[yakuza77]

Throwing in my 2 cents to agree with the above posters. In my Master's program, only one incoming student is funded, so waiting another year would probably not raise anyone's chances of getting that one coveted slot. I was fortunate. I was the one applicant who got the funding, but, at 9K, it was not nearly enough to cover living expenses in this particular city. I ended up taking out loans anyway, first of all to pay off my high-interest credit cards that I had to use to finance my move and second, because my monthly stipend only paid my rent and electric--forget about food, internet, clothes, automotive expenses (pretty much mandatory in this particular city as there were no other options for transportation), fees, books...well you get the picture.

I would take out the loans (only as much as you need) and then look for other opportunities: part-time work, work-study positions (some at my school pay $10 an hour; maybe you can get a position in the writing center?), RA/TA in another discipline, tutoring.

Another option, if you are up to it, would be a resident assistant if that is available at your school. Here graduate RA's work in the graduate housing (i.e. not babysitting undergrads) and get room and board plus a small stipend. What I am saying is that there are options other than department funding and I would hate for you to wait another year to be possibly in the same situation next year.

I know that everyone else in my cohort has been able to survive, be it waiting tables, working in another department, or living off loans (not the wisest of the choices, but if you have to, you have to). Also, if you are not in-state, see if it is possible to get residency. That will drop the tuition bill significantly (here it is the difference between 18K a year for out-of-state and 2K for in-state).

Good luck.

[luvalicious]

How many years is the MA program? And what was the reason you didn't get funding - no funding offered for the program, or they couldn't afford to help you? Usually, as others have said, MAs aren't funded anyway... for my MA, I took out loans the first year - I was offered an assistantship after the fact but couldn't take it - and the second year I got a fellowship with tuition remission and stipend. It is possible, but really difficult to find funding. If you feel up to taking the risk, then I say go for it.

The MA might make you a stronger candidate if you'd like to go for a PhD, it might not. If you're stopping with your MA though, I think you should consider just going with this one, if it's a good program you feel strongly about. Next year you might find yourself in the same position.

[engguy]

i'll throw my cents in for the heck of it, though I largely agree with the above posters, except for one little thing...

:x

As an english person, you have to keep in mind that it's unlikely you'll be earning a large salary anytime soon. Granted, I don't know what your concentration is and there are professional positions out there for certain things, but by and large, you're signing up for a lifetime of not being terribly well off.

That said, so much depends on your age in relation to how badly you want to do this right now. There's not a lot of money out there for MA support in English, at least in my limited experience, and that's not likely to change. But there is some. If you're young, it may not matter as much to take on a substantial debt that will take years to pay off.

I refused to do that years ago when I was straight out of college, and I did come back to it a long time later, and received funding. But I understand it's not the norm. If I had it to do over again I would probably have started back a bit younger, but grad school would have been wasted on me when I was 23! :shock:

At any rate, good luck -- I know it's a tough choice. You might also get in touch with folks already there, and find out if non-funded students are ever able to get funding further down the road, and whether they are treated differently, etc.