Got Admission offer from SIPA! Where do I go from here?

First good news to report is that I got admission offer from SIPA for MIA program for Fall 2008. I am happy to get the admission, but not at all happy when I look at the financial burden that I am going to incur in next two years if I choose to go to SIPA.

Before I talk more about the financial burden I am going to incur, I should first explain why I choose to study at SIPA, Columbia University. Following is the exerpt from my statement of purpose that I submitted to Columbia.

" As I refine the path I am to take in life, I now want to devote my professional life towards alleviating extreme poverty in India by working either in government or for non-profit. To that end, I hope to earn a Masters, with the concentration in economic and political development. For a variety of reasons, I believe that this particular program best meets my personal needs. Firstly, SIPA faculty consists of many world-famous professors, scholars like Jagadish Bhagawati, Arvind Panagariya, Sanjay Reddy engaged in the economic development of Third World countries, specifically, Southern Asia. Secondly, SIPA’s interdisciplinary curriculum will allow me to develop expertise in other global issues like climate change, public health and human rights that affect the poorest countries most. Furthermore, due to the university’s proximity to the United Nations and other international agencies, I anticipate ample opportunities to attend conferences, establish personal connections, and perform work study projects in my areas of interest. "

My Goals are very idealistic. Whether I would be able to meet my expectations, only time can tell. I have no such money in my bank or my parents bank to support my schooling at Columbia.
To study at SIPA, it costs $61,000 per year. So by the time I am going to graduate, I will have more than $150,000 in loan . Would I be able to afford that much in loan without working in private sector?

But not having a degree won't help my status quo any better. My status quo is that I will be going to just work as a software engineer for rest of my life, how ever long that is. I am not against working as a software engineer. Some people are passionate about the technology. Let them put their souls in it. I like techonology too, but I also want to be DIRECTLY involved in economic development of the world,esp the communities that have long been neglected. One thing I do know now is that I can spend countless hours pondering on problems related to third world whereas my mind easily diverts in infinite ways when I am trying to solve even a most trivial software problem.

Will the education at SIPA help me in whatever I want to do. I certainly hope so. I am hoping to be able to maximize and be efficient in any developmental work I intend to do. I now at least know that giving just a $dollar to one in need is not efficient, you also need to provide an opportunity for them to work. With no knowledge of the development economics, I will be able to the former, give a $1 to a poor person and just hope that she is going to invest 25 cents of that dollar for her future bussiness. But with education from SIPA, I would like to do the later, be able to create sustainable opportunities for those in desperate need. Without the proper education, I might be able to do part of the later, but I might not be to take better well-informed decisions. In this respect, I think and certainly hope that SIPA will provide me the tools that can be used effectively in my work. I would like to extract as much as I can from my two years at SIPA, esp if I am paying my own fees.

Ok, now back to Financial Burden. There is no way I can be able to pay my loans unless I take up a job that also pays me to do what I want to do. Probably for 5 more years I need to work in a private sector to pay back my loan. That will be 7 more years from now. God knows what my position will be after 2 years! let alone 5 years from now. Even if I don't get an ideal job, I should be able to get some job at least as a software engineer, and hopefully, pay back my loans. Patience is the Virtue.... Never mind!.

Two of my sisters think I am crazy to take loans just to be in the development field. Instead, they expect me to work in software engineering field and become next Bill Gates and expect me to solve all the world problems, including theirs, if any. I wonder whether they are idealistic or I am. Anyway, I don't need write about my capabilities.. If I was to my sister's expectations, then I won't be writing this blog and go to such lengths explaining on why I should not be doing software engineering for rest of my life. I like to say often "for rest of my life".

Ok, now mon grande plan for the future.
1. Take Loan for 120,000.
Best Case Scenario: Get Assistantship for second year.
2. Get a job that would let me work in Economic Development in South Asia/Africa.
3. Work for 5 years, earn enough to pay back my loan and then....
4. Finally, go back to India to participate in economic development. Ideal!

Is there any one out there in the cyberspace, who got admission at SIPA and have same intentions as me. I wish you best of luck. I hope your financial status is better than mine.

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