Grad School

[DarkHippie]

I need some help here, as after 3 years of inertia, i've finally decided to get off of my ass and go back to school for my Master's. The only problem is, I don't know where to go, or where to get money. i am not sure if it is possible for me to get financial aid because I got so much of it to get my Bachelor's.

Also, if anyone knows of good schools in NY with excellent creative writing programs (i know there are alot, I want as many options as possible. Don't be afraid to aim high either, I'm a damn good writier; I don't think NYU or Columbia are out of my reach) please let me know. I need as much help as possible, as this whole thing is very intimidating and fear is keeping me from being very proactive about it.

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[TrailerTrash]

I just sent in my app to Rutgers-Newark for grad school this past Saturday - I'll be out of school 3 years too. I went through hell trying to find a school near me that offered exactly what I wanted to focus my studies on - Old English/Medieval Literature - and after close to a year's worth of researching schools, I finally found that R-N offers almost 20 classes in that field. I suggest finding colleges/universities that are around you (if you wanna commute) and just take a look at the programs they offer. Then if you find a school that offers the program, take a look at the classes that the department offers and make sure that there is enough courses to make up the required credits. Also, you might want to see if it is required to write a master's thesis - R-N doesn't for the English program, though you can if you want.

As for financial aid - go to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov You have to fill out this form regardless if you want loans or grants. As for the amount of money you can get from loans, I think my loans totalled over $17,000 for my undergrad studies and as far as I've heard, I can still get loans for grad school. Also, it's great if you don't make very much and live on your own. It's even possible that you can get a free ride (with loans and grants and scholarships) if you go to a average priced school - say $10,000 and make less than $30,000/yr.
That's part of the reason that I waited until I moved out of the house to get into grad school - more money.

The hardest part had to be the personal statement. Why do you want to come here and what do you plan on researching in the future (to be published in some form I'm guessing).

Good luck!

... look what i just done said ...

[FiveB247]

check out gradschools.com everything you could ever need to know is on there or has a link to..

[TooCute]

As long as you've been
independent for several years,
you can get all sorts of lovely
loans.

I don't know how it works in
english departments or for MAs,
but at least for me (Phd, Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology), my
department pays my tuition, gives
me an extra $3000 a year for no
apparent reason, and also
guarantees that if I can't find my
own money (either through a
grant, or my advisor's grants),
that I'll be able to TA. The max.
unsubsidized stafford loan that I
can take out is $8000/year. I do
not, however, have any
undergraduate loans.

You should find a school you like
first, and worry about $$
afterwards. Talk to them. They'll
help you figure it out.

Be forewarned: grad schools in
NY most certainly do not pay you
enough to actually live in NY,
and at least in my department
(and I imagine this is true for
most other graduate school
departments that actually require
you to put in some amount of
effort) you are not allowed to
have another job to supplement
your income (not that they would
ever REALLY know, but at least
for me, there's no way I could fit
in a job with the amount of
research I need to do. I tried for a
semester and they figured it out
pretty quickly when I suddenly
had to leave to ...go feed my
dogs... at 5:30 every wednesday
and was always ...in Boston
visiting my father... every
weekend).

Indeed, graduate wages sucked.
Long live loans!! (just watch me!
I'm going to apply to vet school
this fall. You think $8000/year is
bad? Watch me borrow $40,000
a year to pay for vet school!!
yippee!!)


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ADF makes great sigpics!

[HordeKing1]

First off, congratulations on your decision to go back to school. I strongly suspect that now that you're older and more mature, you'll get more out of it, than if you had gone right after college. What course of study do you plan to pursue?

Undergraduate and graduate financial aid works quite differently. First the bad news. TAP which is fairly commonplace in undergraduate school, is very difficult to qualify for in graduate school. Although it's conceivable that you'll get something, it's a miniscule amount, maybe a few hundred dollars, or less - if you haven't used up all your entitlements in undergrad school.

Scholarships are a possibility. Depending on the school, they're awarded based on academic merit, (really good grades as an undergraduate) or if you fit into an obscure special catagory such as, black lefty female w/multiple sclerosis. (It sounds whacky. The reason for this is that it usually represents a condition or similarity to the person who endowed the scholarship).

Many students, especially if they develop a relationship with one or more professors, are awarded an assistanceship. Basically, it involves helping a professor with a research project, a book, coallating data, running statistics, validating sample questions and the like. The assistanceship gives you a reimbursement of a full course's tution (3 credits). A nice deal if you're paying $800 a credit. Unfortunately, for reasons I don't know (as I haven't visited my accountant yet) the tuition refund is counted as income!

TOO CUTE mentioned grants. Perhaps her school has cash grants to students directly for tuition or living expenses. My school does not have this. There's not too much trouble getting grants from the govt, or private companies (I suppose it depends in part of the field of study). But, at least in my school the grant goes towards the research work you're doing, and does not pay your actual tuition. You do get a very small stipend from it, but as has been pointed out, in grad school, you're basically working at slave wages.

On the bright side, you'll have no problem at all getting government and private loans. Everyone seems eager to lend graduate students money, b/c there is a high probability that they'll be repaid. Generally, the federal loans tend to have a bit lower interest rate than private loans.

You'll need to visit a website called FASA.com and fill out an online form. You may have to update it every year depending on your financial circumstances.


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[TooCute]

Every year I apply for the
TAP, and they tell me I make
too much money to qualify
(they're nuts). But as long as
I apply, I will get a tuition
waiver. Beats me where that $$
comes from.

Indeed, my grant is from the
Hudson River Foundation and it
is for my research.

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ADF makes great sigpics!

[DarkHippie]

My course of study is Fiction Writing. I am Bi-polar, so I hope that i can get some assistance out of that, although I doubt it (i couldn't even get disability)

all these forms are very intimidating.

I think that my first school of choice right now is sarah lawrence college. I would've gone there for my undergrad except it was so damn expensive.

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<marquee>Who is DarkHippie? "You look like an Amish child molester"-- Jim Norton. "Watch out for this one. Someday he's gonna snap and kill you all."-- Rich Vos </marquee>
<i>LABELS ARE FOR PRODUCTS, NOT PEOPLE! DON'T HUG A TREE, PLANT ONE!
</i><a href=http://www.freeopendiary.com/entrylist.asp?authorcode=A537085>Gonads and Strife: a journal</a>

[bigone1153]

have you looked at the new school

long live 1968 bill murray

[DarkHippie]

the new school is one of my choices too, but i'd rather not commute to manhattan every day (unless they give me housing)

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<marquee>Who is DarkHippie? "You look like an Amish child molester"-- Jim Norton. "Watch out for this one. Someday he's gonna snap and kill you all."-- Rich Vos </marquee>
<i>LABELS ARE FOR PRODUCTS, NOT PEOPLE! DON'T HUG A TREE, PLANT ONE!
</i><a href=http://www.freeopendiary.com/entrylist.asp?authorcode=A537085>Gonads and Strife: a journal</a>

[HordeKing1]

I had some clients with unipolar Depression who recieved disability (NYS initially) then SSDB b/c of it.

Although I haven't looked at these set of laws in some time, I find it hard to imagine that bipolar wouldn't qualify for DB. However, like all DB claims you need some solid evidence showing that it's a disability and affects your ability to work in a substantive way.

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[HordeKing1]

TC - If you have a chance, can you ask someone in your financial aid office how the tap application (which you aren't even eligible for) results in a waiver of tuition.



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[DarkHippie]

I had some clients with unipolar Depression who recieved disability (NYS initially) then SSDB b/c of it.
exactly! I was diagnosed when i was 14. i have files and files of records. But the judge i saw said that i can work, since i held a job as a cashier once

<IMG SRC=http://thereisnogod.faithweb.com/images/darkhippie2.gif>
<marquee>Who is DarkHippie? "You look like an Amish child molester"-- Jim Norton. "Watch out for this one. Someday he's gonna snap and kill you all."-- Rich Vos </marquee>
<i>LABELS ARE FOR PRODUCTS, NOT PEOPLE! DON'T HUG A TREE, PLANT ONE!
</i><a href=http://www.freeopendiary.com/entrylist.asp?authorcode=A537085>Gonads and Strife: a journal</a>