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$78,000 of Debt for a Harvard Theater Degree
The New York Times ^ | 07 Aug 2017 | SOPHIE HAIGNEY

Posted on 08/08/2017 9:50:37 AM PDT by Theoria

Twelve years after finishing Harvard’s graduate theater program, Katierose Donohue still pays almost as much in student loans each month — about $650 — as for her share of the rent in Los Angeles. She recently stopped hosting her monthly sketch comedy show, “Ma’am,” because she didn’t always break even on her $200 budget. She’s now working side jobs as a dog walker and a social media copywriter, after past gigs serving at Starbucks and handing out free cigarettes for Camel.

She’s never missed a loan payment, but there’s no end in sight: She borrowed nearly $75,000 to attend the American Repertory Theater Institute, or A.R.T. Institute, at Harvard and still owes about $54,000.

“I can’t afford to make my craft, even though I’m regularly booking work,” Ms. Donohue said. “One fellow alum said to me, ‘Getting this degree basically guaranteed that I wasn’t able to pursue it as a career because I immediately had to get a job to pay for the education I received.’”

Most young actors don’t face graduate school debt like this — yet it is common for those who attend the A.R.T. Institute. Despite being at the world’s wealthiest university, institute students receive modest financial aid and leave with a median of $78,000 in debt in exchange for a master of liberal arts degree from the Harvard Extension School. In contrast, the loan debt average for master of fine arts students at Yale School of Drama tends to be around $14,000, a financial-aid officer said. At Juilliard, the average student loan debt for the four-year undergraduate drama program is $27,000.

The steep repayment burdens have been a straitjacket on students and their career aspirations for years. But now they have become a major problem for Harvard and the A.R.T. Institute, too.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: boohoo; college; debt; degree; dopeydems; educationfunding; harvard; highereducation; liberalarts; studentdebt; studentloans
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To: Theoria

I can only laugh so hard at her debt as my debt-free IT degree did me jack against the Zero and another tidal wave of outsourcing.


81 posted on 08/08/2017 12:56:35 PM PDT by ALongRoadAhead
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Young men consumed with an ambition for musical theatre are usually homosexuals. I knew one in college; his ambition was to be steward on a cruise boat. He died a long time ago, probably from AIDS. Maybe the same thing happened to your friend.


82 posted on 08/08/2017 12:59:49 PM PDT by Romulus
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To: CodeToad

I have known a couple of bankers who went to Harvard. One was very conservative. The other on the liberal side, but not an extremist (he’s a partner in a small mortgage banking business serving the private sector). Both good guys; both several decades past their Harvard graduations.


83 posted on 08/08/2017 1:04:21 PM PDT by Romulus
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To: 9YearLurker

“Most young actors don’t face graduate school debt like this — yet it is common for those who attend the A.R.T. Institute. Despite being at the world’s wealthiest university, institute students receive modest financial aid and leave with a median of $78,000 in debt in exchange for a master of liberal arts degree from the Harvard Extension School.”


84 posted on 08/08/2017 1:27:36 PM PDT by Truthsearcher
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To: A_perfect_lady
Wait... her loan was $75,000, and if she's been paying $650 a month for 12 years... if her interest rate was 3.8% she would be paid off by now.

Most likely she has been deferring payment of the loan as much as she can. She probably just ran out of deferment options.
85 posted on 08/08/2017 1:57:34 PM PDT by fr_freak
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To: Theoria
She borrowed all that money for Harvard's program with the Moscow Art Theater. If she'd done it the other way around, applied directly to a Russian theater, she would probably have paid a lot less. Then she went on to the Groundlings, the LA comedy troupe. Once again, if she just skipped Harvard and went directly to the Groundlings, she wouldn't owe all that money.

She hasn't done much with her degree. Here she is in the video short He's Still Voting For Trump. Not funny. #FakeComedy.

86 posted on 08/08/2017 2:19:18 PM PDT by x
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To: Buckeye McFrog
They already did. Why do u think they were crying when HRC lost. That was a big reason most millenials voted for her.
87 posted on 08/08/2017 2:23:29 PM PDT by Herakles (Diversity is a globalist scam for power!)
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To: Truthsearcher

I am sure it made good business sense up until they had to go on a 3-year hiatus. It is not like graduate theater students are going to refill the corporate coffers like their b-school or law grads.


88 posted on 08/08/2017 2:42:23 PM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: Paladin2
she could do porn...
89 posted on 08/08/2017 4:04:08 PM PDT by Chode (You have all of the resources you are going to have. Abandon your illusions and plan accordingly.)
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To: Jeff Chandler
Snowflakes are not the smartest. They probably failed arithmetic 101.
90 posted on 08/08/2017 4:08:50 PM PDT by Chgogal (Sessions recused himself for shaking an Ambassador's hand. Shameful!)
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To: Chode

She clearly has marketable skillz.


91 posted on 08/08/2017 4:27:34 PM PDT by Paladin2 (No spelchk nor wrong word auto substition on mobile dev. Please be intelligent and deal with it....)
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To: OldMissileer
She is very pretty but given her type of degree there is a 99.9% chance she is a batsh!t crazy toxic feminist.

Most sane, or even nearly sane, men with any wherewithal know this and stay away from her. Also, if she is a feminist, she probably doesn't want to be around men.


Yep!
92 posted on 08/08/2017 4:28:20 PM PDT by The_Media_never_lie (Is it not too late to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hillary's crimes?)
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To: x

She is clearly qualified to be a CNN Talking Head spouting Fake News 24/7.

She seems to be a natural, and looks better than most.


93 posted on 08/08/2017 4:37:30 PM PDT by Paladin2 (No spelchk nor wrong word auto substition on mobile dev. Please be intelligent and deal with it....)
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To: BookmanTheJanitor
Listen, lady, the bank did exactly what you asked them to do. Your problem is with the liberal institution, Harvard. THEY are the ones that ripped you off. Then again, what was wrong with going to the local junior college or state college? Had to go to Harvard, eh?

She HAD to have the Michael Kors purse, even though the Walmart purse cost 1/20 as much, and would benefit her in the same exact way... and YOU should pay for the difference, so that she can have a better self-image with the pricier label.

94 posted on 08/08/2017 6:19:00 PM PDT by Teacher317 (We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men)
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To: Theoria

Are we supposed to feel sorry for this moron?

Sweetie, that degree and two bits won’t even buy you a cup of coffee.


95 posted on 08/08/2017 6:21:45 PM PDT by RooRoobird20 ("Democrats haven't been this angry since Republicans freed the slaves.")
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To: Theoria
Twelve years after finishing Harvard’s graduate theater program, . . .

My favorite is the Occupy guy complaining about lack of job prospects - after all, he had a Masters in Puppetry.

How could ANY school, in good conscience, even offer that discipline?

96 posted on 08/08/2017 6:23:09 PM PDT by Oatka
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To: Oatka
How could ANY school, in good conscience, even offer that discipline?

Money. That's all.

97 posted on 08/08/2017 7:32:19 PM PDT by OldMissileer (Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, PK. Winners of the Cold War)
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To: Theoria
Looks like she is paying an interest rate of 9 or 10%, depending on the term.

As for the value of a theater degree, there are some famous actors who taken this route: e.g. Robin Williams - Juilliard, Meryl Streep - Yale.

98 posted on 08/09/2017 9:13:18 AM PDT by wideminded
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