Hi, maybe this belongs in Financial Aid or some other forum, but the topics kind of overlap.
I’ve been very much gung-ho about transferring to Emerson in the fall from my community college, mainly because of their creative writing program and the list of well-known alumni, graduates, and honorees at various events. Jay Leno, Denis Leary, Steven Wright, just to name a few…So I guess my field of interest is comedy writing, and Emerson’s in the Boston theater/arts district, so there’s bound to be plenty of opportunities to make a few smiles appear (all the more needed when the Red Sox start losing again)!
The thing is, every comic has to deal with failure and rejection, a pie in the face or rotten tomatoes hurled projectile en masse at least once in their life. What I’m wary about is the rotten tomatoes in the form of a bad grade. I’d love to, say, hone my skills before I head off to school, and for that I’d be looking for a “non-credit” enrichment program with a wide spectrum of fields (not W.C., but you get what I mean). So I’d been looking at [Gotham</a> Writers of New York](<a href=“http://www.writingclasses.com%5DGotham”>http://www.writingclasses.com), and/or offline (although it’s a distance), the [Second</a> City Workshop](<a href=“http://www.secondcity.com/]Second”>http://www.secondcity.com/) in Chicago or closer to home (but still a ways) in NY. First off, does anyone know if SC has an online interface like Gotham does, and second, can anyone recommend similar programs to fill further my list?
The problem I have is that both require payment in full out of pocket (not financial aid), and I really can’t afford to learn anything (or do anything, sadly), without a little help from Uncle Sam. Money is a harsh reality in this world (the bane of every Socialist, such that I am), but I have to say I’ve been able to get this far through “school” riding along on those red-and-white coattails. I have two friends from school who will likely be transferring, and they just absolutely LOVE fine literature and contemporary intellectualism and the cerebral themes of Shakespeahre and ahhhh, zzzz…[url=<a href=“http://www.lawlolawl.com/blog/lawl-3/]this”>http://www.lawlolawl.com/blog/lawl-3/]this</a> is turning out to be a very sexy cereal.<a href=“What,%20hey,%20oh,%20I%20woke%20up%20from%20reading%20%5Bi%5DMacblech%5B/i%5D%20and%20there%20was%20a%20YouTube%20thing%20on.”>/url</a> I do watch PBS sometimes and there are quite a few writers of “classic literature” whose works I enjoy…note that Kerouac, Salinger, and even Hemingway are still, in some circles, poo-pooed as writers for “the common folk.” I don’t consider myself an obsessive, oversexualized “fangirl” for the Twilight series, but it’s not like I wouldn’t be caught undead reading one of the books. :-)= ← if anyone can draw a better vampire emoticon that doesn’t look buck-toothed, feel free to help me out.
So back to funny writing versus, you know, Brian Griffin’s misadventures at *The New Yorker<a href=“see,%20I%20watch%20PBS%20as%20well%20as%20%5Bi%5DFamily%20Guy%5B/i%5D”>/i</a>, can anyone give me some advice of what to do vis-a-vis maybe holding off college for at least a short while, to get back into a regular rhythm of writing for fun (like I used to before “adulthood” set in), and sign up for a workshop like this – but find a way to pay for it as well?
Currently I’m unemployed (because I’m a student), and money’s real tight, so for the foreseeable future, I might have to head off right away if I get accepted. Maybe I’m jumping the gun a bit (haven’t even sent out my application yet), but it’s to be expected that someone like me would be a little apprehensive. There’s not much I can do for work either that won’t get my anxiety up, so I’m just wondering if anyone’s had any experience with a more “workshop” style of program (i.e. non-degree), and if you can think of a way (without, you know, getting a job LOL), that I might be able to pay for it 
Thanks in advance to anyone who replies. I’m really enjoying the forum so far!