Advice needed: music grad school

[martacarl]

Hey guys, I could use some advice.

I’ve got a couple of days to decide this. I’ve applied to multiple different graduate programs for music and composition. I’m a non traditional applicant as my background is in political science but I’ve got strong samples in theatre and film composition projects.

I’m coming down to the wire on a decision: an MM from the University of Northern Colorado or an MFA in graduate musical theatre composition from NYU.

Basically, I’d have a GA-ship at UNCO that would provide me with full tuition and a stipend. It’d be like $15K a year, which is not a ton but is nothing to sneeze at. At NYU, the tuition is $73K. However they’ve given me $60K in assistance per year, making the cost $13K.

The MFA is a specialized degree and is a terminal degree in the theatre world. If I ever wanted to teach college, I could. If I wanted to after my MM, I’d have to get a DMA or PhD. In addition, NYU has a ton of opportunities to collaborate and get works performed, as well as access/proximity to a wonderful film and game composition program.

The MM at UNCO would be more general and academic, meaning I’d get a more well-rounded education in different mediums. It has a smaller faculty and I’d definitely get a lot of attention. The NYU program is excellent and has wonderful connections, but is a crazy time commitment and very intense.

The thing is, I’m already about $35K in debt. If I didn’t work and just paid for housing, I’d have to take out around 20K in loans for tuition and housing at NYU. After the program, id be about $70K in debt assuming I don’t work to cover housing. UNCO would actually pay me to go there.

What should I do? I want to give myself the most opportunity and not fuck my life over.