So I was recently admitted into THE top journalism grad program (much to my surprise). However, after being given 10,000 in scholarship, I would still have to owe the school $80,000 for a 10 month program. I am poor and first generation so yea this would be coming from a combo of private and federal loans.
Although I have very little debt from undergrad (5,000), I am not comfortable taking out that amount of money for a program I do not think is 100% required for me to do well in my career. In addition, I also might want to attend law school or another institution after getting an MA.
I recently called the office at the grad school and they may or may not grant me a deferral for financial consideration alone but I can attempt to send the email requesting that be done.
I am in need of advice. I definitely do not want to attend the school and be 80,000+ in debt afterwards. But should I just take out the loan? I have some classmates telling me Im dumb for giving up a good program but then I have those older than me saying “that is way too much money. dont do it”.
I am conflicted. What should I write in this deferral request?
It bothers me that student debt is taking so lightly nowadays. Is being 80,000 in debt for a 10 month program okay??Esp when journalism is such a low paying field (I want to be a producer).
I don’t “get” why you want to go to journalism school if you think you want to go to law school. If you think getting the MA will boost your odds of getting into a top law school, it won’t. Your GIPA for law school admissions purposes is set in stone the day your finish undergrad.
I see no reason not to ask for the deferral as long as the deferral agreement doesn’t say you won’t apply to any other grad program during the year and the language is such that includes law school. You don’t want to have a potential character and fitness question.
I think you need to take a year to figure out whether you want to pursue journalism or law or something else… Law school is VERY expensive and it’s probable you’ll have to take on more than $80,000 to attend. I don’t think you should take on $80,000 in debt for journalism school and then add on law school debt. So apply to law school during your deferral year and when the year is up, make a choice.
As a practical matter, I suspect that the $80,000 debt for journalism school will keep you from applying to law school. If knowing that going to journalism school now means you can’t afford to go to law school later and knowing that makes you uneasy, ask for the deferral.
You might want to try to get a job as a paralegal or something similar for a year so you can figure out if law is something you really want. If you realize it isn’t, then you may want to enter journalism school when your year is up.
@jonri Thank you for your response. Law School right now is just hypothetical. Even if I did not want to attend law school and the MA is all I would get, I am still uncomfortable with that amount of debt for a journalism program. For law school, I see some type of return on the debt (depending on which one I get into) but with journalism, I dont really see a big financial return.
Keeping law school out of mind, is it smart to do $80,000 for a 10 month MA program at all?
I went to grad school in journalism 25 years ago when the price was a lot lower, but I did not attend Columbia or Northwestern (the top two at that time) because the price was still astronomical and aid I was offered was mainly loans. I had also applied to several state schools and was able to get a full scholarship to one of them. Did the difference in prestige make a difference? It’s hard to tell, but I do know that not having any debt when I was done (a 12-month MA program) made a huge difference.
I’m assuming part of the debt you’d have is living expenses, but even so at entry-level journalism salaries you aren’t going to put a big dent in repayment for a long time.
Also, think about how much journalism itself has changed over the last decade or so. Print publications have been in a death spiral (I know because I have worked in print my whole career). Do you want to be a producer for TV news? Online news source? It’s hard to know how those will evolve in coming years. But if you feel journalism is really what you want to do then maybe you should pursue it in a less expensive way (but that’s not clear to me in your post this is a career you feel passionate about). Maybe you could go to school part time and work part time. Or you could apply for a cheaper school that might give more aid for the next year.
When you say you want to be a producer, you mean TV news, right? You probably know then, that a Master’s, while nice, is not required to enter the field. You probably also know that your first jobs (even with a Master’s) will not be very highly paid. So picture yourself making little money, working incredibly hard, and having an $80,000 loan to deal with. Not a pretty picture.
I would recommend you work in TV first, then go back for a Master’s if you decide you will need it to move up in management, etc. But spending that much money for a field that, unlike law or medicine, does not require grad school – and a field that you yourself think you may not stay in – that makes very little sense to me.
OP, don’t do it. You’ve already gotten good advice. My H has a background in communications and has worked in print, radio, TV and PR and he is now in a position where he helps hire people. They get HUNDREDS of applications for every position, whether low-paying entry level to experienced producers jobs. They apply from out-of-state, even out of the US. You will be lucky to even get a job. Adding $80K to your debt in a cutthroat job market in that field would be just nuts. Try to get a job in the field and see if this is really where you want to be.There are a lot people who end up switching careers because TV producing pays so poorly and there are far too many applicants for every job.
NO. $80,000 is a lot of money. Have you figured out how much your monthly payments would be? or how much you would need to make in order to make those payments? I wouldn’t recommend it even if you were going into a high paying career.
No, don’t take on the debt. You don’t need the degree to be a producer & the degree is no guarantee of a job. The debt will stand in the way, however. You would be better off to take some sort of entry level support position working for the type of media outfit you are interested in-- and using that to gain experience & possible opportunities to work your way up – than to put yourself in a position where you won’t have the flexibility to gain access to the career opportunities you are looking for. (My DD is employed in media - you can PM me if you want more info. Most of the producers where she works do NOT have graduate degrees in journalism – far more common that they have an undergrad degree in English + years of work experience).
Thank you all for your advice. I am speaking with a financial aid officer tomorrow but I am pretty much decided on not enrolling. Have to give word by Friday!
Agree with everyone. I would NOT advise anyone to take on $80K in debt for a 10 month journalism program. It’s too much money and the jobs and pay are NOT there, no matter how good you are. That is a boatload of debt that will take a lot of time and energy to pay off.