Currently in my second year of my Masters program at San Francisco State University (SFSU), I'm finding it very hard, if not impossible, to finish my degree without drowning in debt. Being a San Francisco Bay Area native, I take great pride in California's state public university system; however, I am quickly losing faith in the Golden State.
In 2006, I graduated from SFSU with a B.A. in English Literature and soon after I was lucky enough to get hired at a startup internet advertising firm. Racking up around $5k in credit card debt and about $10k in student loan debt from my undergrad education, my goal was to get it paid off as soon as possible. Luckily, because my first job out of college paid me well, I was able to pay off the credit cards within two years and start to pay off my student loan. That all changed when I decided to go back to school to get my M.A. in Environmental Communication at the beginning of 2009 - just as the recession was beginning to take hold. With my little savings, and deciding to take out student loans for the duration of my M.A. degree, I again enrolled at SFSU to pursue a career in public service.
Jump ahead to now, and I am again swimming in debt. Along with the student loans from my undergrad, the credit cards that I have run up buying books and supplies, and the student