La Nouvelle France

We’ve a ways to go yet,
time to spend,
waiting …

for me to get nervous.

Will this whole financial aid thing work out? Will I be able to go to Montreal? I’ll sell me soul to do so, but I hear they’re not going for much these days.

In this regard, I was price-checking colleges again the other day. McGill is a good choice, financially. For instance: U. of Wisconsin: Madison charges about $500 per credit instate, and over $1500 per credit out of state. Simmons College in Boston, as a private institution, charges just under $900 per credit, across the board. If I were lucky enough to be a resident of Quebec, McGill would only cost $60 per credit. As it is, it’s still only $375 per credit, which is chump change compared to my other options. So that’s good, but I still don’t know, as an international student, exactly how my aid works out. US Aid should apply to me just as if I was attending a US school, but I need to doublecheck that. Instead, I’m writing about how I should be doublechecking it. Priorities, I know.

Rent is affordable in Montreal as well, according to their Craigslist. Bearing in mind that those numbers, as well as the tuition numbers, are in Canadian currency, actual price is about %88 of the amount listed. Even better.

Wikipedia has (as usual) a great article on Montreal, with lots of links, shiny buttons, and pikters. If you like that sorta thing. Back in the day I was reading the Montreal City Weblog, which has fun dirt on local political stories, and well as news on various artistic events. Good times.

Montreal proper is about three times as populated as Seattle, which gives you an idea of how big it is. Visually, I find it to be an attractive city.

So how close am I to getting there? Well, I got my official acceptance packet from McGill, which was exciting in its own right. Included were immigration papers for Canada and Quebec, seperately, to let them know that I’ll be there attending school. I filled out my FAFSA, always a joy, and I’ve started filling out mad scholarship applications. Between four years of library employment and good references from coworkers and professors, I think I demonstrate a dedication to the job and the ability to excel that scholarship committees are looking for. But having never been through this process before, I admit to no small amount of trepidation.

My undergrad process was so easy. I filled out the FAFSA (not entirely easy, but easy enough), and the state and federal government practically threw grants, aid, and loans in my face. After four years I ended owing a little over $20k, which isn’t horrible by any means, which is now down to about $7k. I’m a giant fan of subsidized loans for education, and if they want to offer me a whole ton of money in loans, I’d be happy to take it. The education is the thing, and I can’t think of a cost too great to not make it worthwhile. Which is all well and good, but doesn’t mean they’ll give me the money, anyway.

So that’s my state of the union, as it were. I’ve been out dancing a lot, again, which is great fun, and I’ve been meeting some super people. And it helps me not worry so much about the grad school money thing, because it will work out, one way or another. Until it does, I’ll just keep dancing.