About Live & Learn

Live & Learn is for anyone considering attending (and borrowing large sums of money to pay for) a low residency MFA program.

This guide is mainly focused on low residency graduate programs in art, but it applies to creative writing or other creative majors as well.

These articles were written while I attended the low residency MFA-IA (Master of Fine Art, Interdisciplinary Arts) program at Goddard College.

My aim is to help you make informed choices about your art, education, and finances, and to feel clear about your choice to get an MFA or not.

Most importantly: beware of student loans! Education is good, but debt is bad—especially for artists, writers, and independent creatives.

Most MFA programs last about two or three years, but the debt you incur can last a lifetime. If things go well, the MFA could serve your art, and your career. If things go bad, you could end up serving french fries.

Which you would rather spend your life pursuing: a zero balance on your student loan debt, or mastery of your chosen craft? Both take years of dedicated hard work, but only one path takes 20 years to get to zero.

Stay out of debt. Never stop learning. Keep practicing your art. Ask questions. Share what you know. Test, tell, and teach the truth.