For a lot of people, going back to school is a clear cut decision. Yes, I want to pursue my degree! More learning! Or: School's out...for-eva. However, for a lot of us, especially writers, it can be a tough decision. On the one hand, school is expensive. On the other hand, you can learn things and become a better writer. On the other hand, it takes time! But it could help your career! So if you're on the fence, how do you know which way to go?

Miles Harvey, author of Island of Lost Maps, teacher at Northwestern University's Masters of Creative Writing Program (where, full disclosure, I attend), finds that graduate school rarely works out for people who go strictly for the connections. "When I got my MFA at the University of Michigan, it was an act of love. I went to improve my writing. It certainly proved to be a boost for my career, but that's because I made a lot of friends who looked out for each other. But I would say you shouldn't go to grad school if you're just looking to benefit your career."

"The one reason for getting an MFA that most people would agree on is that it gives you a period of time in which your own focus on writing will be acknowledged, appreciated and supported-- by faculty, fellow students, and institutional resources such as a major library and opportunities to learn and interact with faculty whom you might not otherwise meet," says Reginald Gibbons, author and chair of Northwestern's English Department. "Most students hope that the degree will lead to employment as a teacher; most faculty know that without good publications, such employment can remain out of reach for the person with an MFA. An advanced degree in writing seems to have become a required credential for teaching jobs for writers, but unlike the PhD in English, for example, it isn't a sufficient credential for getting hired--you have to have the published work, including a book. Then again, employment depends on the level at which the MFA is seeking a job. The MFA alone will undoubtedly enhance employability and also salary for the person who is teaching in K-12 in public or private schools, and maybe it will even open a door at a two-year college, where employment and promotion are based primarily in success as a teacher."

Stephanie Kuenn, production editor at the American Library Association, got her MS from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in a one-year program and when she was there, it was obvious who was there without their heart in it. "I knew one person who as much as admitted that he needed something to do until law school, and just didn't care. There were a few others like him, who were just passing time. I didn't understand it -- for one thing, Medill is a very expensive place to pass time! I also felt like their spot could've gone to someone who really wanted to be there and would work hard and earn it. And there were a few people who couldn't handle the material. Some of them didn't want to call people or actually write stories about the people they did call; why they went to journalism school is beyond me. You have to take it seriously, you can't be shy, you have to really dedicate your time to it. You have to learn to write well and do your homework. It's not just typing your thoughts. Unfortunately, there were a few people who didn't feel the need to learn good grammar or research habits. And they didn't read. I think reading other writers is so important, and if you can't name a single writer whose work has inspired you or whose work you seek out, you really shouldn't be going into this field."

If you're on the fence, too, look carefully at programs because if none of them are appealing to you, you shouldn't go for it. "I wanted to be an editor without having to toil as an underpaid GA reporter/staff writer for 10 years, and I saw grad school as a way to do that," says Kuenn. "Also, I graduated from college in 2001, and even that early, I thought the economy was heading south, so I thought a one-year safety net would be good. I was also interested in what were then developing fields, like new media, and Medill was doing quite a bit with that. I was torn between Medill and the political reporting program at University of Illinois - Springfield. I ultimately went with Medill after visiting. I had an interview with the director of admissions and was impressed with the program and the campus. I liked that the program encompassed all journalism, and not just straight, hard-news reporting. I was able to take editing classes, design classes and arts writing, all of which held more interest for me than politics. I also liked the size -- my biggest class was 13 people, and my cohort was about 60, so I got to know people pretty well. I also felt that a degree from Medill would open doors in Chicago specifically, which it did."

Worry more about whether the school and program appeal to you, too, than whether you're getting an MA or an MFA, if you're having a hard time deciding. "I don't think there's much difference between MA and MFA programs," says Carrie Hoffman, who got her MA and now is getting her MFA at the Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi, where she is also Assistant Editor at the Mississippi Review. "The only difference is that the MFA is considered a "terminal degree," the highest you can get, whereas the MA is not. Usually departments that offer an MA also offer a Ph.D. with a creative writing emphasis as well. If all you want to do is become a better writer then the difference really doesn't matter -- both types of degrees will offer you the same opportunity. As far as teaching opportunities, there is a subtle difference. People with MAs can certainly get teaching jobs. Definitely they can work in community colleges. Definitely they can probably hold adjunct jobs. It's probably less likely that they would get tenure track jobs as professors. But it's not like it's easy for MFA students--tenure track jobs in creative writing are few and far between. Also, It's publications that matter, not so much the degree--so a person with an MA *could * teach in a tenure track position if the person had published widely and successfully. In college I had a teacher who had only a BA -- it was Alison Lurie."

"As for the difference between an MA and an MFA--again, for the person with a published book, the difference is insignificant," says Gibbons. "But in the student's mind it might be very significant, for a number of reasons. Our MA at Northwestern looks like a lot of MFA programs except that it is shorter (fewer courses). (My own advanced degree in writing is an MA in English and Creative Writing.) A good MA program is a lot better than a poor MFA program. Prospective students should judge for themselves, based on the full range of features of the degree program. The special attractiveness of the Northwestern MA is that it is given by an elite institution in a major urban area in which there is a huge amount of literary activity (readings, etc.), that it is taught by a *variety* of excellent and well-published writers rather than just a few permanent faculty, and that its part-time structure means that someone who is working for a living can still get an advanced degree."

"In my opinion, it is hard to get hired as a full-time or tenure track without an MFA," says a teacher/editor/writer/former student that I spoke with. "The MFA is still considered the "terminal" degree. That said, so many people have come out of grad programs in the last 15 yrs or so that I believe it is hard to get a decent teaching career going without substantial publications (a book, or serial pubs in old-line journals, etc.)"

He adds, regarding payment, "The key rule of graduate study in creative fields IMO is not to take on any debt (or any more than you can easily afford). The majority of MFA programs (and a few MAs such as the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars) will fully or mostly fund all students they wish to attend. Many such programs have been admitting more and more unfunded students in recent years, which can lead to unhealthy competitiveness within the programs."

Finally, he recommends that you talk to people from the programs that you're interested in. " The best guidepost to going to a writing program is a familiarity with the faculty writers and their teaching methods. Talking to 1 or more vets of the program can be invaluable. Many very well known writers can be total dicks in the classroom (arrogant, playing favorites, boinking the students, etc.) Some of the best teachers are not so well known as writers. Finally, you can go to a program with excellent, famous faculty and find that you're in a workshop filled with buttheads."

To look around at programs, Harvey recommends that you check out the Association of Writers & Writing Programs.