How much debt for an MFA?

One of the reasons--actually, the reason--that I did not pursue an MFA was the financial toll. Granted, I would not have paid tuition, but the wages lost from not working full time would have made life impossible. If I worked part-time, I would have had to borrow close to $40,000 to close the gap for a two year program. And that's just partial living expenses! Unacceptable. Imagine if you were admitted to your dream creative writing program without any tuition remission or grant money for living expenses. You must borrow the full tuition amount and probably close to full living expenses amount because your part-time waitressing gig just isn't going to pay the bills. And after you graduate from your wonderful, enriching, craft deepening program....you must pay it all back. How much might this amount to? For private college tuition plus living expenses, you could be looking at $130,000. That's the amount of a caller into the Dave Ramsey Show seeking his advice. $130,000 in debt and $20,000 in income. You do the math. Go to the Wednesday February 8, 2012 show and begin listening at the 18:30 mark.