Phew?

I heard back from MIT on Monday and the news wasn't good. Well, actually, the news was good, but I didn't get in. D and I have been debating what we would do if I got in, and I think we're just relieved that all decisions have been made for us. I started a part-time MSF program at Boston College on January 18th. I've already bought my books, I'm four weeks into the program, I've met the professors, and I didn't want to leave and start over at MIT. Going to BC also allows me to keep working, which I prefer. Plus, the cost is a significant consideration. If I keep going to BC, my employer pays $10,000 a year toward the cost. At the end of two years, I'll have an extra $20,000 in debt, all of it in federal Stafford loans at 6.8%. I also keep making my salary and plod along on my vesting schedule (I've worked for two years, so I'm only at 40% -- 5 years gets you to 100%). If I went to MIT, the cost would be $100,000 for a year (all living expenses included) and I would have to quit working. I'm not sure that the difference in salary out of MIT over BC would compensate me for the extra cost of the program. At least, not if I don't want to work 100 hour weeks. Which I don't. I think for what I want to do with my career, the BC degree will be fine. But, naturally, going to MIT would have had its own perks. Primarily, that it's MIT. I would been able to get lunch every day with D, which would have been nice. There was definitely a lot of back on forth on our end, which is why we were both relieved when I didn't get in.