Can you afford it?

[ol'spice]

Hi,

I've just finished putting myself through college while working full-time (I was attending school part-time)... Basically I'm poor, I don't have family that can support me or help me financially and I have no savings.

I didn't plan on going to grad school after college, but my undergrad professors thought I'd have a good chance to be accepted somewhere based on the work I did the last couple of years.

I told myself to block out any money worries, to give myself this "great gift", the opportunity to get into a grad program that hopefully will help me further develop my work as an artist, and if I have to get a loan to do it, then that's what I'll be doing.

I'm wondering how many folks are in the same boat as me, going for broke, even if they know they'll have to pay for at least part of their education through borrowing.

[michaelwebster]

Pretty much everyone is in the position of borrowing a lot of money who gets an MFA degree. A few are lucky enough to make it out without borrowing much, but even a full ride at most schools means you have to borrow for living expenses. You are far from being alone. I am currently applying for jobs to start paying off those loans once I graduate this May, and it is a little scary. I can't imagine trying to make a living off my work straight out of school and pay off loans.

[ol'spice]

I applied to all three-year state programs (only one in my state.) I'm willing to borrow enough to cover in-state tuition and maybe a meal plan so I can have more time in the studio and spend less time cooking and grocery shopping. If I have to pay out-of-state tuition for three years it will end up costing me as much, if not a little more, than a two year MFA from a private art college. I guess in my head, I can justify borrowing about 15k a year if I have to, 45-50k total. I'll have to sell my car and use my car payment budget to pay it back when I get out if I don't find a cushy job.

I'm glad you touched on the point that even a state college MFA can end up costing as much as one of the 'top' private schools... I've watched our state college fees go up (here in California) to the point of absurdity (or obscenity) in the past several years; even as a working student, I had to use installments to pay my fees this past Fall. Also, after talking with several people about this, the consensus seems to be that private schools tend to have more additional resources in the way of opportunities to lower the cost of attending, than the smaller and public schools. I didn't research this, just word of mouth so far...

[TheStranger]

When someone questions their ability to pay for school, it makes me quiver when they apply to schools like Columbia: http://arts.columbia.edu/files/soa/content/VISUAL_ARTS_MFA.doc

$101,746 for the degree after two years (expect to pay interest on that). Good luck!

[ol'spice]

When someone questions their ability to pay for school, it makes me quiver when they apply to schools like Columbia: http://arts.columbia...AL_ARTS_MFA.doc

$101,746 for the degree after two years (expect to pay interest on that). Good luck!

I may not be attending there (if accepted)... If they don't "show me the money" I will not go... I'm hoping for funding my tuition while at my grad studies...

[ol'spice]

You never know until you apply. I wouldn't hesitate to apply anywhere based on cost. The most expensive, or most competitive school may end up being the only one that wants you and they might want you bad enough to give you a great offer. You just never know.

I agree with you. Even if the only reason for applying there is to tell my family: "hey, if I had the money, I could attend grad school at Columbia, they just accepted me..."

Since MFA acceptance is not based on a test score, I believe it's worth the extra cost and time to send more apps than the norm (if you can afford it, of course) so you can sort of see the kind of "acceptance rate" your work/statement is getting... I'm sure this would be really helpful for someone not getting in the first year and then preparing to apply again on the next season...

[ol'spice]

When someone questions their ability to pay for school, it makes me quiver when they apply to schools like Columbia: http://arts.columbia...AL_ARTS_MFA.doc

$101,746 for the degree after two years (expect to pay interest on that). Good luck!

already done all the math, and even if I borrowed every cent that it costs to attend Columbia, It will still be a wise investment to attend grad school there:

I'm making $35,000 /year (and I've been making that before I earned my Bachelors). Once I have my MFA (plus my more than two decades work experience), even if I'll be paying several hundred dollars a month in student loans, I'll still be ahead... The jobs I'll be applying start at the 70,000/ year range on the low end and that will give me plenty of elbow room to pay back my loans and still live at least at the same level I'm living today (I'm pretty happy with my financial situation). And I could also sell some art on the side ( I've been getting results with my work already, fresh out of undergrad) and I wasn't even considering that as far as sources of income.

[berto]

already done all the math, and even if I borrowed every cent that it costs to attend Columbia, It will still be a wise investment to attend grad school there:

I'm making $35,000 /year (and I've been making that before I earned my Bachelors). Once I have my MFA (plus my more than two decades work experience), even if I'll be paying several hundred dollars a month in student loans, I'll still be ahead... The jobs I'll be applying start at the 70,000/ year range on the low end and that will give me plenty of elbow room to pay back my loans and still live at least at the same level I'm living today (I'm pretty happy with my financial situation). And I could also sell some art on the side ( I've been getting results with my work already, fresh out of undergrad) and I wasn't even considering that as far as sources of income.

don't count your chickens before they hatch.

[ol'spice]

don't count your chickens before they hatch.

Yes, but my outlook is probably different perhaps due to my not so typical grad student profile: I'm happy in my current career, 20 years and counting experience, even if it isn't directly related to the art field. I'm confident that in three years time, I'll still be able to jump back into a similar job; there is a lot of growth in my field and it's not going to change in a long time to come...

Of course I'd prefer to work as an independent artist as soon as I'm out of school, but I'll just take one day at a time; I'm enjoying everything about working towards that possible predicament, "keeping that big dream alive" (Milton Avery)

[losemygrip]

I did an MA and a PhD without any student loans and with very minimal family support (just some small loans at the very end). It's definitely possible. (And that took a lot longer than 3 years.)

This is why I'm always telling people, "Apply to a range of schools." You want to get them to pay you to go to grad school. You're smart to apply to in-state schools, but many programs have out-of-state tuition waivers that are a nice scholarship for students. If the in-state tuition is quite low, that can be a better deal than staying in your home state. So you apply to very competitive, medium competitive, and less competitive, and then you take the best deal. I did it, and I've never regretted it.

Places like Columbia will usually offer some kind of aid package so that few if any people actually pay the real tuition. Still expensive, though.

[jldstudio]

Losemygrip's post has been my strategy basically. I want to go with funding, at least where tuition is covered, so I applied to a lot of schools. I found when researching that the programs I like are quite varied anyways, from big names to lesser knowns- but all places I would be happy with.

I would be fine with a small loan to help expenses, especially since I'd be moving.

Edited January 27, 2012 by caus