<p>Also, to add to my post above, I’ve been asking this same question to friends/family to gauge their reactions. My brother said that if I can manage to get in I should find a way to pay the price since it would be the best education possible (all of the schools I am looking at are well-regarded in my field). He also said that I would just take on more debt for my master’s, and that that was normal. Is it, really? </p>
<p>My mother, however, says that it would be unwise to begin my adult life with huge debt. Especially if I didn’t wind up in debt accidentally, but willingly forfeited my financial future. This sort of makes sense, too. She knows a thing or two about debt (actually she knows everything about debt, hence me taking out loans to afford anything).</p>
<p>Also, wouldn’t it be possible to have debt for my bachelor’s but attend a fully funded master’s program? I know they are more competitive (20 or as few as 4-5 admits), but it turns out most of the schools I’m looking at happen to offer full funding between teaching positions, fellow/scholarships, etc.</p>