<p>I'm starting to apply to schools and finding it difficult to justify the costs of some of the schools I could get into. To start, I'm a writer, and intend on teaching creative writing at a university level. While my graduate programs will most likely be fully funded, a seven year gap between undergrad and employment for debt to collect seems daunting. On top of that, the employment process for professors is competitive and I might not find a job for a while. Because of this, I've been looking at schools that will essentially pay me to go there- state universities with large commuter populations where I'm well above the usual crowd. The major advantages of this option would be academic privileges and reduced competition. A few schools would allow me to start halfway through my sophomore year because of my IB diploma and one will even waive core curriculum. I would be a part of the honors program, which would allow me to take some more rigorous courses. Less competition would mean I wouldn't have to spend as much time on school work and could spend more time actually writing. All the schools I'm looking at are in really great environments for writing as well, and would put me in a place where I could communicate with a non-collegiate writing community. </p>
<p>While I think all of this would be extremely beneficial, I can't help but worry that name recognition would be an issue for future employment. I know that the main focus is supposed to be publications, but I can't help but be skeptical that a university would more likely hire alumni from a top-tier school than a state school. I'm aiming to go to University of Iowa for my MFA (I attended the Iowa Young Writers' Workshop and loved it) but I'm not sure if that would overshadow my undergraduate degree. </p>
<p>To get an idea, I have about a 3.5 unweighted GPA, 4.0 weighted. 1260 SAT or 1980 with writing and a 30 on the ACT. I've taken the highest level of courses available all through high school and have a decent record of extra-curriculars. While I'm certainly not Harvard-bound, I could realistically get into some really decent liberal arts schools or a top-grade state university. Am I lowering my standards too much for the sake of funding? Or is it better to go the debt-free route, considering the possibility of joining the ranks of unemployable writers regardless of alma mater?</p>