I was blessed enough to not have to take on any student loans during my undergraduate career. I was awarded with a scholarship that covered everything except for my meal plan my freshman year; I knew that I had to keep this all four years or I wouldn’t be at Howard. My mom told me I needed to go to a college that covered all my expenses. Thankfully, I loved Howard and it was that one that was willing to throw me around $16,000 each semester.
Now grad school.. That’s a completely different story. I’m super blessed to be awarded a $15,000 scholarship through my university but that’s only a fifth of my cost of attendance. Here are some factors as to why it’s so expensive:
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I’m attending a private, Jesuit school.
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It’s in New York. Enough said.
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Fellowships are few and far between. Of course there’s law fellowships for those pursuing a JD, but for those like me pursuing an MSL (Master of Studies in Law), that’s basically nonexistent. I’m not trying to be a lawyer.
I’ve definitely been applying for external scholarships but I’ve already accepted the fact that I will have loans. It’s definitely not ideal but I can’t wait to start my program. Taking classes such as fashion retail law, fashion ethics and sustainability and development & copyright law excites me!
I love school and learning so another year of school is nothing to me. I know the amount of knowledge I’ll gain from this program will outweigh the amount of money I’ll pay back in loans. I told my family I wasn’t going to grad school unless I found a program I was absolutely in love with, which unfortunately came with a $70,000 price tag.
I don’t suggest you do what I do unless you know for sure that you’ll love your program, which is exactly why I’m not going to grad school for journalism. I would’ve been miserable. Since I’m pursuing a degree in something I’ve always loved (fashion) and something I just learned I love (law) I know for a fact it’ll be worth it.
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