I'm a firm believer that loan debt is not indicative of maturity.
This seems trite, but when discussing loans with a colleague of mine last summer this individual's response to my justification that some people choose GSC because they don't want to take on so much debt was "Well then you grow up and take up a loan" and this was echoed a year before by a fellow student as well. These were, like me, theatre majors.
In my earlier post "On College" I talked about how college has been in my mind lately because it has been a year (actually a year and two days from this post) since I walked. Also, college is a major topic in the media because of how unemployed young people are, something Obama has noticed and is trying to alleviate with lower interest rates on student loans (which would make me happy).
Today I started thinking about loans and debt because I realized that the MAT program looms over me, even though I wish to not undertake this program. I truly want to teach, and find immense gratification in education and especially English education, but the MAT program doesn't seem worthwhile to me. It seems to be more theory than practice; you come in and undertake one year and a half of theory then a semester's teaching for one class. For me, as someone in the classroom three and sometimes four times a day three days a week as a substitute teacher I find that I get a fair amount of classroom experience and really this is the best way to get prepared to be in the classroom. Any teacher will tell you that, and I know because I've asked them.
There's also something worse about the MAT program; no funding. There's no funding for most programs (there's a few like Emory's MAT program which provides some funding for matriculating second year students but it's freakin' Emory so tuition is pretty high) and most classes are during the day. So, really, you're not in grad school you're in extended undergrad and the MAT program is essentially designed like the last two years of a Bachelors in Education program is, just for non Bachelor's in Education holders. Most teachers who obtain MAT programs usually have to do MEd programs, depending upon their focus. Here's the catch though; it can charge so much because it is an alternative route to certification. If you have a Bachelor's degree but not in education and therefore not certified you can either get hired after passing GACE scores and go through the least expensive GA TAPP (or equivalent for other states), do a post-bachelor's degree that lasts a year, or the MAT. Unfortunately, because of teacher layoffs and the low demand for specific teaching subjects (a la my subjects) the MAT is looking like the only route to certification.
This worries me. As I mentioned in the above the MAT program doesn't really suit me or my needs and experience (and probably, honestly, very few people). More importantly, however, is the cost. A MAT program has the same costs as any other Graduate institution, which is per hour usually. At North Georgia, this is around $17,000, At other institutions this is around the $20,000 ballpark. Plus, it's usually two years of my time, and as I mentioned because it is during the day you either have to support yourself through a night job or just take more student loans for living expenses.
That brings me back to the subject of loans. I think people are starting to realize what I have felt, and what I argued against with my colleagues, which is that the idea of good debt ie student loan debt is an outdated illusion. There is no good debt; there's debt. Twenty years ago student loan debt may have been good debt, because of the job market for college educated people, but now with the economy and the saturation of the good market student debts are just more debt. There's necessary debt, and there's needless debt. You have a job that pays reasonably well and you want to settle down and have kids, taking out a loan to pay for a house is necessary.
Most people will argue that college loans fall in the category of necessary debt, because investing in one's future is important. I agree, but that doesn't mean college loans aren't needless debt. My friends were taking on debt while theatre majors. This is needless debt, to me. The thing about Theatre, or any Fine Arts or Humanities or Liberal Arts (etc) degree, is that you CAN get jobs in them. They require, however, a great deal after college, and that means working a piss poor entry level job, sometimes earning $150 a week, that means a great deal of time trying to navigate the job market, that means dealing the uncertainties as to what you want to do. Taking out a great deal of loans for that type of degree is high risk and in some cases toxic. Because I went to a small liberal arts degree for my Bachelor's (1 year though) I saw several people coming out with $40,000 or more in loans...for a theatre degree. This is ridiculous. If you major in the liberal arts you should not be able to afford a brand new Ford Mustang with your debt. That means that after college you are going to pay a great deal out of pocket or defer it or whatever depending on your success. Plus, said liberal arts degree isn't the only place to get a theatre degree. There are public universities that will teach just as much for extremely less. That's the rub for needless debt, to me, when you choose the most expensive option over the just as good, if not better, less expensive option. Choosing a college because of prestige and not factoring in cost is asinine if not downright stupid, and taking in debt to fund this investment is needless, if you ask me.
Options is an ideal word for debt. What are the options before taking on debt? Do I need this house or should I take on an apartment for less the cost? It seems simple, but apparently it doesn't stop people from choosing really expensive options and needless options. That's what I am thinking about my MAT program. The people like my colleagues would say just do it, get certified. I'm not on their terms, though, so I feel like I need to explore my options before jumping in the MAT ship. I mean, ultimately, I may have to bite the bullet to it, but even MAT students are struggling (as I saw them in my sub teaching courses). I mean is $20,000 debt worth a $40,000 job? I mean, I could go back to North Georgia Tech and get a two year degree in IT and make that, with less cost. Plus, I feel like the twenties are made for exploring: the world, yourself, and others. This MAT program will not only put me in more debt with the possibility of uncertain options, but also take away two years that I could spend seeing Peru or Egypt, and developing my self awareness.
I may have to start looking at MAT programs, but I'm not doing it without a fight first. Rambling over.
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