How do MA students live?
March 19, 2012 2:13 PM Subscribe
How do all of the people getting master's degrees in NYC support themselves?
This question is probably very ignorant - sorry if that's the case! Although I'm not currently applying to grad school, I happened across NYU's ITP, fell in love, and now find myself very curious about the logistics. Maybe you get the graduate assistantship, or you win an outside scholarship, so your tuition is take care of. Then how do you pay rent and buy groceries? Surely your assistantship stipend doesn't cover your entire cost of living. Do you fund everything with loans? Do you do school part-time so you can also work? What if the university doesn't give you any grants? Assume that parents can't pay for anything; you're on your own financially.
I'll also be taking this question to the career counselors at my school, but I would very much appreciate the AskMe verdict as well. My head can't seem to wrap around the financial plausibility, though I know it's done. Thanks.
This question is probably very ignorant - sorry if that's the case! Although I'm not currently applying to grad school, I happened across NYU's ITP, fell in love, and now find myself very curious about the logistics. Maybe you get the graduate assistantship, or you win an outside scholarship, so your tuition is take care of. Then how do you pay rent and buy groceries? Surely your assistantship stipend doesn't cover your entire cost of living. Do you fund everything with loans? Do you do school part-time so you can also work? What if the university doesn't give you any grants? Assume that parents can't pay for anything; you're on your own financially.
I'll also be taking this question to the career counselors at my school, but I would very much appreciate the AskMe verdict as well. My head can't seem to wrap around the financial plausibility, though I know it's done. Thanks.
I know several ITP grads and of them, only one lived in Manhattan while in the program. Living in Brooklyn or Queens is often one way graduate students save money.
But yes, many people do take out student debt to pay for living expenses. I don't advocate doing that by any means, but it's common.
posted by yellowcandy at 2:19 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
But yes, many people do take out student debt to pay for living expenses. I don't advocate doing that by any means, but it's common.
posted by yellowcandy at 2:19 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
I worked full-time at the same time but I didn't do that program. (It was rough and decimated my social life for the FOUR years it took to complete my MA.)
Lots of people have outside help...being on your own financially at NYU?? I would be curious to hear the stats on that. It would be very difficult unless you have massive savings from a previous job.
posted by bquarters at 2:20 PM on March 19, 2012
Lots of people have outside help...being on your own financially at NYU?? I would be curious to hear the stats on that. It would be very difficult unless you have massive savings from a previous job.
posted by bquarters at 2:20 PM on March 19, 2012
Surely your assistantship stipend doesn't cover your entire cost of living.
You adjust your cost of living to conform to the stipend. For the most part, if you have an RAship, you figure out how to scrape by on it, possibly getting lots of roommates.
Columbia's Physics Department has a FAQ for how to get by on their department stipend.
posted by deanc at 2:20 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
You adjust your cost of living to conform to the stipend. For the most part, if you have an RAship, you figure out how to scrape by on it, possibly getting lots of roommates.
Columbia's Physics Department has a FAQ for how to get by on their department stipend.
posted by deanc at 2:20 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The three people I know who were in the ITP program had inherited a pile of money with which to finance their lives in Manhattan. Obviously, this is practical for none but those who have a wealth family member about to kick the bucket.
More ordinarily, I suspect that a lot of people do it like any other graduate student does: take on massive amounts of debt.
posted by dfriedman at 2:22 PM on March 19, 2012
More ordinarily, I suspect that a lot of people do it like any other graduate student does: take on massive amounts of debt.
posted by dfriedman at 2:22 PM on March 19, 2012
To be less flip, someone I know who's entering either ITP or a similar program at NYU is working full time and saving money while living with her boyfriend, and they're putting off getting married so as to maximize the amount of financial aid that she'll be offered when she applies.
Quite honestly, this isn't the sort of program you should enter unless you have an RAship (actually, no graduate program outside of professional degrees like an MD or MBA are things should should ever pay tuition for).
posted by deanc at 2:25 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Quite honestly, this isn't the sort of program you should enter unless you have an RAship (actually, no graduate program outside of professional degrees like an MD or MBA are things should should ever pay tuition for).
posted by deanc at 2:25 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You either get used to (what may be for you) unfathomable penury or you takeout phenomenal amounts of loans that will be with you for 30 years.
With respect to the former alternative, I know people who lived in NJ, or in outer, outer Queens or Brooklyn, with three or four other people in a one-bedroom apt (two in the bedroom, two in the livingroom) and traveled over an hour by subway to school. Whee!
With respect to the latter--sure, you can get loans to live comfortably. I went to law school before the crash, and I think I took out close to $20,000 a year just for walkin' around money. I don't recommend it. Even over a 30-year repayment period, that was coming to well over $1000 a month in student loan payments. Pure madness. If you had tuition covered, it would be less, of course, but those student loans are a tough nut to crack, man.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 2:31 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
With respect to the former alternative, I know people who lived in NJ, or in outer, outer Queens or Brooklyn, with three or four other people in a one-bedroom apt (two in the bedroom, two in the livingroom) and traveled over an hour by subway to school. Whee!
With respect to the latter--sure, you can get loans to live comfortably. I went to law school before the crash, and I think I took out close to $20,000 a year just for walkin' around money. I don't recommend it. Even over a 30-year repayment period, that was coming to well over $1000 a month in student loan payments. Pure madness. If you had tuition covered, it would be less, of course, but those student loans are a tough nut to crack, man.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 2:31 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I know a lot of graduate students at Columbia and NYU. It's interesting because while the tuition and living expenses are probably some of the highest, if not the highest, in the nation, Columbia and NYU offer very little in terms of financial assistance to grad students.
Several of the folks i know in grad programs in NYC come from very wealthy families and/or received an inheritance. I know a PhD candidate in music at NYU who funds it with a check from the rents and lives on her trust fund.
The rest take out loans. Big, big loans.
posted by Lutoslawski at 2:31 PM on March 19, 2012
Several of the folks i know in grad programs in NYC come from very wealthy families and/or received an inheritance. I know a PhD candidate in music at NYU who funds it with a check from the rents and lives on her trust fund.
The rest take out loans. Big, big loans.
posted by Lutoslawski at 2:31 PM on March 19, 2012
When I attended graduate school in NYC, I had a full time job.
I worked, worked, worked - and had no life. But I got the degree.
posted by Flood at 2:48 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
I worked, worked, worked - and had no life. But I got the degree.
posted by Flood at 2:48 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Tons of loans. Be very cautious to the ROI of this program. I do not know many MA programs that have a high ROI and certainly not in NYC.
posted by k8t at 4:31 PM on March 19, 2012
posted by k8t at 4:31 PM on March 19, 2012
Some take out loans, some have family help, some have decently paying jobs, some have all of the above. Many of the graduate students are in fully-funded PhD programs, which provide a small, but livable, stipend.
posted by melissasaurus at 5:01 PM on March 19, 2012
posted by melissasaurus at 5:01 PM on March 19, 2012
I went to ITP in the mid 90s, such that I graduated right into the dot com boom in 'silicon alley'. Even with those plentiful jobs right out of ITp, just about everyone I know is still paying off the enormous loans from back then. That said, I don't regret going for a moment, and it led me to all sorts of interesting jobs and experiences. I was able to get a p/t web job my 2nd year of the program, but ITP is intense and did not lend itself to working while doing the program IMO. I also was able to borrow my dumb luck cheap Brooklyn rent from my folks.
posted by chr1sb0y at 5:23 PM on March 19, 2012
posted by chr1sb0y at 5:23 PM on March 19, 2012
Seconding a crapton of loans unless one is independently wealthy. TA-ships weren't even an option for us; only doctorate students get 'em at my school. I was lucky and came into school with a really well-paying contracting gig, but quickly found I couldn't work half as many hours as I thought I could, so I've taken on more debt than I expected.
I'm in Boston, though, not NYC
posted by smirkette at 5:32 PM on March 19, 2012
I'm in Boston, though, not NYC
posted by smirkette at 5:32 PM on March 19, 2012
Freelancing. My husband did music copying for many years.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:37 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:37 PM on March 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Student loans. A number of good friends are ITPers, and there's simply no time to have a PT job while school is in session.
It's an awesome program, but I know a couple of them are struggling with the ROI right now. NYU ain't cheap, and neither is NYC.
posted by swngnmonk at 6:54 PM on March 19, 2012
It's an awesome program, but I know a couple of them are struggling with the ROI right now. NYU ain't cheap, and neither is NYC.
posted by swngnmonk at 6:54 PM on March 19, 2012
NYU typically doesn't fund its MA students. And many departments don't let you in to the PhD without a MA. One dept accepted 32 Masters students and 8 PhDs per year when I attended, before the crash--those 32 MAs essentially paid for the 8 PhDs.
I paid with (a) loans, (b) a job, (c) a spouse, and (d) loans. My second year I did get a small tuition fellowship, which paid for about 50% of my tuition--but a condition of the fellowship was full-time attendance, which meant I had to cut back on working. Whee!
So get your MA from another school that fully funds and then get a PhD from NYU. Or don't go to NYU.
posted by amberwb at 8:06 PM on March 19, 2012
I paid with (a) loans, (b) a job, (c) a spouse, and (d) loans. My second year I did get a small tuition fellowship, which paid for about 50% of my tuition--but a condition of the fellowship was full-time attendance, which meant I had to cut back on working. Whee!
So get your MA from another school that fully funds and then get a PhD from NYU. Or don't go to NYU.
posted by amberwb at 8:06 PM on March 19, 2012
Best answer: Freelance copyediting, cocktail waitressing, checking IDs at music venues, taking demeaning temp jobs during holiday breaks. I recommend everything except for cocktail waitressing unless you're interested in strange men touching your body parts without permission on a nightly basis.
posted by pineappleheart at 9:47 PM on March 19, 2012
posted by pineappleheart at 9:47 PM on March 19, 2012
Best answer: I went to ITP in the early aughts. I was 'work-study' in the program as a student, was on a partial fellowship, and took out loans. I worked freelance jobs during the summers and when I had down time (not often). I lived with roommates in warehouses, ate little food, and subsisted primarily off of coffee, cigarettes, and beer. The official line is that you cannot go part time. It was a little more lenient a few years ago, but currently I think there are only 2 out of 180+ students that are not full time, and they are both NYU employees.
The loans I took out were no joke, and I do not see myself paying them off anytime soon. Ditto for most of my friends. Some of them work in fields that have enabled them to live quite comfortably. Many are working jobs that barely support themselves while paying off the loan. I'm fortunate that I fall somewhere in-between financially and get do work that I truly enjoy and only sort of stress about finances.
ITP alumni occasionally weigh the pros and cons of the education vs the cost, and while most see it as a net positive despite the financial buden, not all do. I met my partner there, have been an adjunct in the program for the last 8 years, and would estimate 90% of my work in the last decade has come through ITP contacts. It has had a profound impact on my life, and I can't imagine where I would be had I not made the leap of faith to attend. For me, the debt I incurred is absolutely worth it.
Grad school is not for everyone, it can be stressful, emotionally exhausting, and ruinous financially. But it can also be a very very great thing.
If you have specific ITP questions, feel free to MeMail.
posted by tip120 at 12:05 AM on March 20, 2012
The loans I took out were no joke, and I do not see myself paying them off anytime soon. Ditto for most of my friends. Some of them work in fields that have enabled them to live quite comfortably. Many are working jobs that barely support themselves while paying off the loan. I'm fortunate that I fall somewhere in-between financially and get do work that I truly enjoy and only sort of stress about finances.
ITP alumni occasionally weigh the pros and cons of the education vs the cost, and while most see it as a net positive despite the financial buden, not all do. I met my partner there, have been an adjunct in the program for the last 8 years, and would estimate 90% of my work in the last decade has come through ITP contacts. It has had a profound impact on my life, and I can't imagine where I would be had I not made the leap of faith to attend. For me, the debt I incurred is absolutely worth it.
Grad school is not for everyone, it can be stressful, emotionally exhausting, and ruinous financially. But it can also be a very very great thing.
If you have specific ITP questions, feel free to MeMail.
posted by tip120 at 12:05 AM on March 20, 2012
Best answer: Cripes. Looking at these responses from people with personal experience with the program:
The Master's program at The MIT Media Laboratory is fully funded.
An interesting question is which other programs offer similar opportunities to ITP while also providing fully funded RAships or TAships.
posted by deanc at 7:52 AM on March 20, 2012
I went to ITP in the mid 90s ... just about everyone I know is still paying off the enormous loans from back then.
It's an awesome program, but I know a couple of them are struggling with the ROI right now.
I went to ITP in the early aughts.... The loans I took out were no joke, and I do not see myself paying them off anytime soon. Ditto for most of my friends.it looks like a financial disaster waiting to happen. Run away. Run away.
The Master's program at The MIT Media Laboratory is fully funded.
An interesting question is which other programs offer similar opportunities to ITP while also providing fully funded RAships or TAships.
posted by deanc at 7:52 AM on March 20, 2012
Best answer: I should also note that ITP doesn't have real graduate assistantships -- the GA position they had a decade or so ago has been totally dissolved. Work-study is a possibility, but don't expect to get a particularly impressive wage out of that. Unless you get a good-sized fellowship (of which they give out very few), expect a ton of loans to finance an ITP education.
This was the one of many reasons why I ended up choosing CalArts over ITP, and I don't have a single second of regret. I am working part-time on top of being in a full-time grad program -- I didn't take out any loans to covering living expenses, to minimize my debt load. This can be done, but it is a LOT easier to do in Valencia than in Manhattan -- and it's exhausting no matter where you do it. But if you're ambitious, you can make it work.
posted by TheRoach at 6:33 PM on March 20, 2012
This was the one of many reasons why I ended up choosing CalArts over ITP, and I don't have a single second of regret. I am working part-time on top of being in a full-time grad program -- I didn't take out any loans to covering living expenses, to minimize my debt load. This can be done, but it is a LOT easier to do in Valencia than in Manhattan -- and it's exhausting no matter where you do it. But if you're ambitious, you can make it work.
posted by TheRoach at 6:33 PM on March 20, 2012
Response by poster: So, the response is pretty unanimous: be loaded, work and sacrifice those years, or go into massive, life-altering debt. Can't say I'm surprised, but still... that sucks. I'm not sure I can justify the networking and fit for the price tag. It's making me sick on my stomach to think about it.
Deanc, there you have it: next week's question!
Thanks, everyone.
posted by goosechasing at 10:25 AM on March 22, 2012
Deanc, there you have it: next week's question!
Thanks, everyone.
posted by goosechasing at 10:25 AM on March 22, 2012
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