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Besides the fact that I saw my face plastered all over the hallways, gently directing visitors where they needed to go and when, Admitted Student Day was a good time. Some wonderful admitted students came in to take a tour around the department, get their questions answered, meet students, and sit in on some class.

Some of them had some questions about ways to prepare financially for the program or ways to manage the course load of the month-long, six-credit learning extravaganza called the Summer Bridge Semester. So for those of you unable to attend, here’s a recap of the FAQ about paying for your awesome MA in Journalism:

Financial Matters: 

Be sure you take care of financial things early on, and don’t be afraid to ask Student Financial Services for help. Just be sure to mention that you’re a grad student– there are 12,000 undergrads at Columbia and they have different tuition rates, federal loan eligibility requirements, and program lengths.

Fill out your FAFSA, if you haven’t already. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and it’s necessary if you plan to take out any loans from the government. Be sure you’re at the official .ed.gov site I linked to– if you’re at any site that tries to make you pay to fill out the FAFSA, it’s a scam.

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If you do plan to borrow, think long and hard about whether you need to borrow the entire amount for which you’re eligible. You may, and that’s fine. But you also may not. Figure that out. Your future self will thank you when you’re not paying a rent check’s worth of loan repayment to the government each month for ten plus years.

There are scholarship opportunities available once you’re a continuing student, including department specific ones, like the Fischetti Award, available to continuing journalism students, both grad and undergrad.

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And as always, you’re welcome to contact the good folks at the Graduate Admissions Office with any questions you may have. Or, email me at journalism.ma@colum.edu, and I’ll get you heading in the right direction.

Get a job! (Maybe):

It is possible to work while completing the MA in Journalism, and many of us do in order to help defray costs of attendance.

Working can be fun, a nice change of pace that helps you clear your mind and feel more financially secure. Some jobs might also be available in the field or related fields and can be useful resume builders.

Not all jobs are created equal with regards to school compatibility, though.

Working full time is a bad idea, even if you are a time management goddess/god. About 75 percent of your reporting needs to be done during business hours, and professors expect you to maintain some flexibility within your 9-5 weekday schedule to cover important events that just pop up.

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On campus work is generally the best, since the school understands your classes come first. Once you’ve registered for classes, you can sign up to get on ColumbiaWorks, our internal job board. Graduate Assistantships may also be available to continuing students

But sometimes, you may want an off campus job. I tutor in addition to my on campus jobs, a couple of my colleagues work nights and weekends at restaurants/bars, and others work retail.

Whatever you decide, make sure it works for you. Next week, I’ll delve into more of what it’s like on the academic side of your first months here, so you’ll be able to make an informed decision.

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