Should I Wait?

[r_sam]

In the application season for fall 2011 entrance I had intended toapply to 7 schools total (UConn, UW-Madison, UT-Austin, Yale, CUNY GradCenter, Fordham, andUI-Urbana) for an MA in Literature, American specifically. My intention is to go on towards a PhDto teach. Unfortunately, I didn't register for GRE subject testin Lit (req’d at all but Fordham. UVa is holding their decision for me until Itake it in April, how nice of them) in time to make many of their deadlines. So,I applied to Fordham and UVa anyway. I've been accepted to Fordham, but with no financialaid, and from what I’m hearing here, UVa’s MA doesn’t get aid either.

I’ll be supporting myself entirely through an MA and at themoment I’m already saddled with plenty of debt from undergrad. I could,potentially, find a job in NYC and attempt the Fordham MA on half a shoestringbudget. It’d get me the degree if not much cash on hand.

My question is: should I decline the Fordham MA, work andsave for a year while applying to all the other schools I had intended with a GREsubj test, and perhaps higher GRE general test scores in hand, hoping forbetter aid packages? Or just take the opportunity to start at Fordham, even ifthe financial burden may end up being substantial?

[StellaHaiti2]

YES, you should wait. Give yourself a real shot at the application process. I thinking waiting a year is worth the chance to pay 10,000s less. You already have debt, don't drown. It's a real concern that will weigh down your whole life if you let it get away from you.