Update on appealing to Yale: Did not work. The whole process turned me off them-good for anyone who got aid from these peeps-rock there! I'll be declining.
"This is the reality of most master's programs." said the Admission's Director, when I said that what they are currently offering (0 aid, 0 scholarship) is prohibitively expensive. What a wonderful attitude to have about your job! According to the Admission's Director at Yale, the
vast majority of students can therefore either:
A. Be fabulously wealthy
B. Take on an outrageous amount of loans that the school admits! is a poor (no pun intended) option! As I said in my email,
"The financial aid letter you sent is tantamount to a rejection letter stating, "You can't afford to attend this school."
I also think she is wrong. Yale is by far the most expensive school for me, and so far, the ONLY school who has refused to provide any aid or scholarship. Granted, this is personal experience. However, if anyone can find a school of public health more expensive than Yale, I'd be entertained to hear about it
I try not to let anger dwell, but this experience has left me feeling outraged for the 'average applicant' who cannot pay out of pocket. As I said in my email to them, "It seems apparent to me that you are, in practice, offering attendance to primarily those who can already afford it."
Loans are a reality of graduate school - but there's a limit that is manageable. When a school asks a student to take on more loans than they will earn in annual income, I believe that is unethical. I believe that demonstrates that the university does not consider the well-being of its students (or at the very least, considers it a very low priority).
Finally, if you feel that a Yale MPH is worth 100K in debt, than you are more than entitled to that opinion! These are my frustrations and thoughts regarding what I have found to be a callous and drawn-out rejection.