I got into my DREAM SCHOOL!! Need your help!

[wishinpink]

Today I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy! I got into my dream school!!- Manhattan school of music!!

Now I have a huge problem on my hands! I want to go to that school so badly, but I have no money! The school is offering me no scholarship at all.

For those who went to graduate school- How did you pay for it?

I could take out a lot of loans, but the problem is I''m still planning on getting my doctorate''s afterwards, and it will take me so many years to pay back these loans because although it costs the same as med school.. the money I''ll be making back is drastically different!


Does anyone have any advice for me? I''m super happy about the school, a little distraught wondering how to pay for it!

 

[mrscushion]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

If you don't have enough savings, then it's either loans or your parents. Could you take a few years after this degree and your doctorate degree to work and pay off some of the loan?

 

[wishinpink]

Date: 3/30/2009 10:17:57 PM
Author: mscushion
CONGRATULATIONS!!!

If you don''t have enough savings, then it''s either loans or your parents. Could you take a few years after this degree and your doctorate degree to work and pay off some of the loan?

My parents can help me a bit, but majority of it I''m on my own! Loans- I''m scared to take so much loans!! I will definitely have to take some though!! It may be hard for me to pay off so much money!!!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Congratulations!!!

Well..I am in a similar boat. Going to law school, on all loans. They offer Grad Plus loans through the government. So I'll be paying for years, and years, and years. You can get temporary forbearance if you can't find a job or an income-contingent repayment after school. I really think you can make it work if you take it slow..well that's what I am hoping.

ETA: I am not looking for a high-paying law firm job. So I am probably going to be lucky to make $50,000 even though I'll owe over $160,000.

 

[wishinpink]

I was offered-

Federal Stafford Loan
Federal unsubsidized stafford loan
Grad plus loan



I''m scared to take so much loan, but I suppose it''s a necessary evil?

Anyone know any scholarships i could apply to?

 

[misskitty]

Congrats! That''s really exciting that you got into the program you''ve been dreaming of

I''m in a similar situation -- no scholarships available right now (Although for undergrads in my field? There are TONS. Not. Cool.), but I''m also not thrilled about taking out loans. Unfortunately, I was laid off in October, and I''ve been living off my savings, so I''ll be taking out a combo of the loans you listed. I''m going with as much as possible of the Stafford, and then using unsubsidized for the rest. I''m just crossing my fingers that federal student loans will cover everything I need.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Date: 3/30/2009 10:54:04 PM
Author: misskitty
Congrats! That's really exciting that you got into the program you've been dreaming of

I'm in a similar situation -- no scholarships available right now (Although for undergrads in my field? There are TONS. Not. Cool.), but I'm also not thrilled about taking out loans. Unfortunately, I was laid off in October, and I've been living off my savings, so I'll be taking out a combo of the loans you listed. I'm going with as much as possible of the Stafford, and then using unsubsidized for the rest. I'm just crossing my fingers that federal student loans will cover everything I need.

Yep, ditto that...getting the same combo.

 

[meresal]

Congrats rosebud!! Try fastweb.com for scholarships.

ETA: http://www.fastweb.com/

You should also be able to call the admissions office at the shcool and they could provide a list of scholarships offered by your program or just ones for grauate students in general.

 

[Elmorton]

Congrats, Rosebud!

I know music can be different, but does your school do assistantships?

When I was accepted to my grad school, initially I wasn't offered an assistantship, and I was FREAKED - it wasn't a situation I was expecting, and I'd only applied to one school, knowing I'd get in. So, I applied for assistantships outside of my field, namely in student services. I think I sent out five or six applications, interviewed for three, and was offered three. I took the cushiest one that paid the most.

A couple weeks before classes started, I was offered one in my department - I ended up turning it down, because I'd already begun working at the other assistantship and didn't want to leave them high and dry. In my second year, I took the assistanship in my department (which was a huge paycut, sadly).

Anyway, that's how I paid for school. Tuition and fees were paid for by my assistantship as well as part of my rent. I took out a Direct Student Loan for living expenses/books/etc, so my total debt for two years of grad school was about 20k - I lived quite comfortably on that, and I wish I wouldn't have been SO comfortable, haha!

So - I recommend looking outside your department, and also putting pressure on your department to see if any scholarships open up or check if you're on a waitlist should people decide to go elsewhere/not attend. Look at your school to see if there are general scholarships or endowments that haven't been filled (that aren't through the college).

But I hate to be a buzzkill - if you know you want a doctorate, I wouldn't spend all your $ on your MFA - it doesn't make sense to go broke before your PhD. This may be your dream school, but is it your dream degree? Can you accomplish your goal of getting an awesome PhD with one of your second tier choices?

 

[Deelight]

Congrats , I know there is a girl on facebook who is in some competition with Zinch to get a scholarship to help pay for her degree, might be worth a looksie .

 

[wishinpink]

Thank you for all the great advice! I tried to follow all of it~~!

Elmorton, They don''t have assistantships at this particular school...other music schools do though! =( They may have work study, should i do that? You aren''t being a buzz kill at all, I''ve been having the same thoughts.. but AHH I really want to go!

meresal, they do offer scholarships there for 45% of the students attending, but I was sadly not in that percentage of people.. lol! I''ll try to call them tomorrow to ask if they have a list of private scholarships to apply to! good idea! I checked fastweb- nothing, tried my undergraduate school scholarships website- nothing.... sigh =(

misskitty and sarahlovesjs, sounds like we''re in the same boat! ^_^;;

deelight- can you tell me more about this scholarship? I''m not quite sure I''ve ever heard of it before?


Thank you guys so much! I''m wondering what others in my situation are doing, but I''m glad to hear I''m not the only one with this problem!!!

 

[gwendolyn]

Woohoo!!!! The Manhattan School of Music is AWESOME!!! CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!

I feel your pain. I got into my dream school (Cambridge) last year and took out a ton of student loans in order to be able to go. To me, I knew that I''d kick myself later if I didn''t go when I was presented with the chance, even though it means a lifetime of student loans to pay off. How would you feel if you passed on Manhattan to go somewhere else where you might not have to pay as much for your education? If the thought makes you feel uneasy, then I have a feeling you''ll end up with the loans and hopefully some scholarships so you can go to your dream school.

Make the best decision for you! I certainly don''t envy your decision because I remember how guilty I felt, wanting an expensive education when I knew I could get it for free or close to free from another school. But I got over it, and am glad I went to my dream school. Hopefully you''ll be glad with whatever decision you make too!

 

[Deelight]

Rosebud I have not used this, I have no idea how reliable it is but I know there is a chick on FB doing it (I joined the group) it might be worth looking into http://www.zinch.com/static/students.html

 

[jcarlylew]

most of all, congrats!
I am sure you''ll be able to find a loan/scholarship that suits you!

 

[neatfreak]

Congratulations Rosebud!!!! I have had fellowships and assistantships and so has my husband so we did not have this particular problem but I know a bit about it from friends who have.

BUT something to be aware of is that for most graduate school programs (I believe they have different requirements/limits for law/med school maybe) there is a relatively small cap on how much in loans you can take from the government. I want to say it's $75k for graduate school. So while that will certainly help-it won't pay the entire way.

So make sure you look into caps with the school's financial aid officer to make sure you aren't going to be SOL in 2 years.

I assume you also got into other schools? And did they give you money? Or are living costs less? All things to consider...unfortunately when you aren't wealthy and don't have a scholarship sometimes you need to choose your #2 or #3 school for practicality reasons.

 

[havernell]

Just to clarify, what type of degree program would you be entering at Manhattan School of Music? An MFA program, an MA program, something else?

I ask because (a lot) of US PhD programs are an MA and PhD all rolled into one, so getting a separate MA before going to a PhD program is kind of redundant (esp because some PhD programs don''t let you transfer many credits, so you wouldn''t be able to just "skip" the MA part of your PhD program). And a fair number of PhD programs come with full funding (including tuition and some type of living stipend) in return for serving as a TA or a research assistant, so they are essentially free/low cost for you.

So, to take Elmorton''s point a step further, if you want to do a PhD anyway, it might make more sense to wait and do a combined MA/PhD program instead of this Manhattan School degree. Do you have an undergrad advisor in your field who you could talk with about this- about whether the Manhattan degree would be beneficial at all or if it would just be a waste of time since you''d have to do an MA at your PhD school anyway.

Finally, if you do go to Manhattan, do they have any type of residential advisor program you could apply for (i.e. you live in the undergrad dorm and serve as a "dorm parent" type of thing?) That probably wouldn''t cover your tuition, but it could at least pay for room in board (which is expensive in NYC as you well know).

Good luck with your grad school decision!

 

[wishinpink]

gwendolyn- First of all CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND J! =D You are right. I will forever regret not going to Manhattan School of Music given my other options. I MUST go! =D I have been searching fastweb, scholarship.com, and some other websites for scholarship to no avail so far though ^_^;; I''m in the same situation you were- I do have full scholarship from a State University, but I turned it down because I feel like this is a chance of a lifetime!

deelight- Thank you! I will look into it!

jcarlylew- I hope so, and thank yoU!

neatfreak- I''m not sure about the loan cap, I will look into it. I did get into other schools and one gave me a full scholarship, one hasn''t sent me my offer yet, and one gave me no scholarship. None of them are as prestigious as Manhattan though! Unfortunately the number 2 or 3 schools.... I just can''t bring myself to go to them anymore... I soooo really want to go to manhattan! ^_^;;

havernell- I would be entering a MM program (Master''s of Music). After that- I would get my DMA (doctorate''s). I''m not sure about them being rolled into one though.. as far as I know in this particular case they are seperate. Unfortunately at this school there are no TA positions! *cries* That dorm parent idea is a good idea.. I''m going to look into that! Thank you so much for your many suggestions!

 

[sweetliloldme]

Congratz!

I know taking out loans is scary, but I think its better than not going. My BF has $150,000 in school loans out from law school. They are deffered for 6 months post graduation, so you have some time to find a job before you have to start paying them back. I think you should do whatever you have to if you want it bad enough.

 

[havernell]

Date: 4/1/2009 1:39:29 AM
Author: rosebud10

havernell- I would be entering a MM program (Master''s of Music). After that- I would get my DMA (doctorate''s). I''m not sure about them being rolled into one though.. as far as I know in this particular case they are seperate. Unfortunately at this school there are no TA positions! *cries* That dorm parent idea is a good idea.. I''m going to look into that! Thank you so much for your many suggestions!

Hi Rosebud. Ah, so you''d be doing a DMA rather than a PhD doctorate. I''d never heard of a DMA so I did a little research quickly to learn more about it. Looks like it *is* a different animal than a PhD degree and doesn''t include an MA along the way. So, I wanted to apologize for assuming advanced degrees in music worked the same way as in the social sciences and for thus prattling on about combined MA/PhD programs. Something I read did say that one usually needs and MM to apply for a DMA, so looks like you are on the right track!

Anyway, I would definitely look into work study like Elmorton said and outsides scholarships (which you are doing). Try the American Association of University Women (www.aauw.org)- I know they have fellowships for PhD level, but maybe for Masters level too?? Also, you said Manhattan does give scholarships to 45% of students. Is there a chance you could get a scholarship for your second year (if this is a 2+ year program)? Perhaps that''s worth asking the school.

Good luck deciding what to do and congratulations for just getting in to MSoM! I''m sure their acceptance rate is ridiculously low, so just getting accepted is a major achievement!

 

[princessplease]

Congrats!!!!!

Now the sucky part...
When I got accepted, I was lucky enough to get two fellowships through my program. Call and ask if the program itself has any scholarships.
Obviously, they were not enough to cover everything, so I filled out a FAFSA and got subsized and unsubsized loans. I really didn''t want to take loans out, but I knew if I wanted the degree, I had to. I was fortunate enough to have not to take out loans for undergrad. The government will give you up to $126,000 in loans (if you''re not going to medical or law school) to take out. It may be more for 2009-10 school year, though.
Good luck with it. It may be costly, but it''s definitely worth it!!

 

[katamari]

Congrats, Rosebud!

It is so awesome that you have the opportunity to go to your dream school! Most of us will never be that lucky.

My question for you is why this is your dream school. Is it because it is a top ranked school? Or you would get the opportunity to work with the mentor of your choice? Is it because of their placement? Social networks? Location? Just where you always saw yourself? Etc.

I am finishing my PhD in sociology. When I was selecting graduate programs, I had decided that I would go to the highest ranked school I was admitted to, but I also decided that I would not pay to go to graduate school. I am still in a top 15 program, but not the highest ranked one I was admitted to. I think that now, as someone who is finishing and going on the job market next year, the loans might have been worth better placement prospects (particularly in a weak economy), so if I had to do it all over again, I might go to a top 5 program without funding. That said, though, I absolutely do not think the debt would be worth living in a more desirable location or getting to work with a particular scholar.

Date: 4/1/2009 1:39:29 AM
Author: rosebud10
I do have full scholarship from a State University, but I turned it down because I feel like this is a chance of a lifetime!