An Opportunity

Tuesday night I went to a dinner for the graduating English majors. There were several at the party who had already graduated and just came back for the lasagna and fellowship. While we were sitting around the table someone mentioned Converse College. Now, I'm familiar with Converse. It was one of the schools that folks recommended to me when I graduated because it has an MAT program in English. I didn't pursue that route because I didn't want to teach in the public school system. I wanted to teach in higher education.

Well, unbeknown to me, Converse now offers an MFA (low-residency) in creative writing. Oh...my...gosh! I was lookinat MFA programs when I graduated. As a matter of fact, I applied to one in Maine, but circumstances didn't allow me to go. I ended up at Clemson, a fact that I'm sure was providential.

Here's the thing. An MFA is a terminal degree, much like a PhD. If I had my MFA, I could apply for promotion at NGU, and my job would be much more secure. I could also teach upper level writing classes (how much fun does that sound like!). My job would be more secure because I would have a terminal degree.

Here are the perks. It's low-residency. That means I'd only have to be on campus for 9 days, twice a semester. The rest of my study would be done with a mentor via phone, email, internet, etc. Low-residency MFAs are the norm, so it wouldn't be like I was getting an internet degree.

The downside is the price. It's a two-year degree, costing $10,000.00 a year. I don't know what kind of grants or financial aid I could get. But it's only 2 years.

I'm torn. Jason really wants his bachelors, but it wouldn't change his job situation at all. He could go after I finish. Who knows.

What do you think?