loans and funding for MLS programs

[entheogeneric]

So, I'm applying for MLS programs (and one dual MLS/MA in English lit program). And I don't think I'll find a ton of funding. My not so great gpa, the traditional lack of super great funding for MLS programs, the fact that I'm applying to mostly public universities, etc. So, I'm thinking I'll be taking out loans. But: I keep hearing you shouldn't

Comments

[tisiphone]

The MLS isn't a humanities degree, it's a professional degree, and almost everyone takes loans to do it.

[entheogeneric]

I guess when I think of professional degrees I usually think of medicine, law, MBAs, etc. Professions where you're not usually still working in the academy (as that is my endgoal) and the chance for a high pay off (higher than 50k/yr) is 'guaranteed'.

[tisiphone]

Maybe so, but that's not a general definition - a professional degree is a degree where you're expected to go directly into a profession (like being a librarian). That includes law and medicine, but it also includes things like library science and social work. For funding purposes, the MLS is definitely a professional degree, and funding is very unlikely, no matter how good your academic cred.

[roseofjuly]

The way I see it, a professional degree is a degree that prepares someone for a specific profession. An MLS prepares librarians, regardless of where they are working (and not all librarians work in academia), therefore, it is a professional degree. Not all professions guarantee a higher salary, as many recent law graduates will tell you.

[coaldustcanary]

This, basically. I know a fair number of people with MLS degrees from Top Programs and most of them are unemployed or underemployed in non-library settings.

OP: I'm not saying don't do it, but definitely go where you get the best opportunities for funding and, if you can, a low cost of living.

[entheogeneric]

I think the places I'm looking at have generally low cost of living (or the tuition is low enough to maybe make up for it being higher? I'm also from New York City, so my sense of money and cost of living is...different)

I guess I'm kind of just freaking with the terrible economy and the money I already have out for undergrad (24K, which is...not a ton considering it got me through 7 years of undergrad at a CUNY)

I'm also really curious about what other people find to be their absolute upper limit in terms of how much they're willing to take out/owe for a good chunk of their lives.

[coaldustcanary]

For me, it was 30k, and even that makes me deeply uncomfortable. My Master's was partially funded, which led to 2/3 of that, and the last 10k has been summer-living-money while finishing my PhD over the past 4 years. With consolidation, and at the interest rates I have, that will be ~$225 per month for 20 years. That is a long damn time to be paying that much.

[rell121]

I would try to find an evening program so that you can work at the same time and pay at least partway as you go. That's what I did when I went to grad school for an education related degree and I had half as much debt as everyone else.