Friend accepted to Columbia Journalism School. Any funding option for 50K tuition?

[ksfgfh1]

I am posting on behalf of a dear friend from the UK. She just got accepted unto Columbia Journalism School but got refused for her scholarship application. She applied for a couple of outside scholarship/aids as well but hasn't heard back. She has been working as an editor for trade magazines for a few years and really wants to make her way into mainstream journalism. I have a couple of friends who graduated from Columbia J School and they all said that the only option they had was taking out loans. My friend already has loans to payoff for her MA in Shakespeare, but she really doesn't want to pass the opportunity to attend Columbia. 

 

I'm asking around to help her find options. Does anyone know of any alternative financial aids? She is a British citizen, so she will be studying as an international student, which means she cannot take on side jobs to pay for her tuition (and given the crazy workload she won't have time either). Or should I suggest that she give up because she will just be putting herself into more debt? 

[grad_wannabe]

Does her government offer any funding for students studying overseas? Are there UK equivalents, for example, of Fulbrights? (Actually can UK citizens get the Fulbright? I don't know if that's just US citizens. Worth checking out! The app deadlines may have been last fall though.)

[ksfgfh1]

Does her government offer any funding for students studying overseas? Are there UK equivalents, for example, of Fulbrights? (Actually can UK citizens get the Fulbright? I don't know if that's just US citizens. Worth checking out! The app deadlines may have been last fall though.)

Yeah she already applied for the Fulbright but got rejected. She has applied to a few other aids, but doesn't seem to be hearing back.

[juilletmercredi]

If your friend has already been rejected for institutional aid at Columbia and most of the external fellowships she's applied for...then no, there really aren't any other alternative nonrepayable aid options. Most people pay for journalism school through student loans. I have a friend who went to the J school and his financial aid was primarily, if not solely, loans.

 

If she already has large loans from a prior MA and doesn't foresee making crazy money sufficient to repay the $120K she'd probably borrow at Columbia plus whatever she already has (which, with a journalism degree and a Shakespeare degree, I don't see happening)...then she should turn it down.

[SidraTariq]

On 3/17/2015 at 7:11 PM, ksfgfh1 said:

I am posting on behalf of a dear friend from the UK. She just got accepted unto Columbia Journalism School but got refused for her scholarship application. She applied for a couple of outside scholarship/aids as well but hasn't heard back. She has been working as an editor for trade magazines for a few years and really wants to make her way into mainstream journalism. I have a couple of friends who graduated from Columbia J School and they all said that the only option they had was taking out loans. My friend already has loans to payoff for her MA in Shakespeare, but she really doesn't want to pass the opportunity to attend Columbia. 

 

I'm asking around to help her find options. Does anyone know of any alternative financial aids? She is a British citizen, so she will be studying as an international student, which means she cannot take on side jobs to pay for her tuition (and given the crazy workload she won't have time either). Or should I suggest that she give up because she will just be putting herself into more debt? 

Hi, I read this article recently about students financing their masters degree through multiple small scholarships. Small businesses in most states offer scholarships for around USD 1000-1500 to students who apply for them by writing a 500-700 word essay on a given topic. Having applied to Columbia myself (haven't heard from them about admission yet) I know it costs A TON of money. So tell her to apply for small scholarships, I know its a hassle but passing up Columbia because of a little hardwork is INSANE. Posting the article link here: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/feb/26/how-to-find-postgraduate-funding 

Good luck!