bryan: I dropped out of under-grad school, so I probably wouldn't be accepted...  I could possibly charm the admissions office with my snazzy new mustache though...  I hear it tickles...

Chad Cook: I lean towards the negative on grad school, but that is probably a reflection on my own graduate school experience.  I went to grad school because I was bored at work and thought it would be a good way to get into a new and exciting line of work.  I also decided to take night classes, which deprived me of many happy hours, T-Wolves games and a tour of the Summit Brewery.  Looking back at it now, I think that I would have been better served quitting my job and devoting myself full time to school.  As it turned out school usually took a back seat to work, house projects and bad cable tv.  Since I'm still bored and still at the same job, I think I have to conclude that G-School was a mistake.

Joel Jensen: Well... that's pretty tricky.  If you like living a life of chicanery and deceit, and you have a decent stamina for being periodically yelled at, then you can be quite successful without devoting that much time to it.  On the other hand, its a lifestyle wracked by guilt.  I feel guilty constantly.  Oh, and you've got to be able to live on a pittance.  But, if you put on a good smoke and mirrors show for your advisors, the work schedule is great.  I'm a full time grad student, and I virtually never put in more than ten hours of work a week-- but then, I'm always putting on a smoke and mirrors show, too. And the there's the whole "putting off the inevitable" issue.  Yes, grad school is a means by which one can avoid the "real" world.  But, then, what's so real about the other side?  Having done both, I think I prefer grad school.

Mark Kalar: The only reason I went to grad school was because my chosen profession required it. This is, to me, the only reason to go to grad school. If the goal is just bettering of the self, there are better ways to spend your many thousands of dollars.

Reed Miller: I generally advise people to avoid it. I grew up in a university town where everyone, including my parents, had advanced degrees, so I sort of assumed I wasn't really educated unless I got one too. I got a masters degree in Philosophy of Religion, thinking that maybe I could get a PhD and be an academic, but then I discovered that that is not remotely what I'm cut out for. I was poor and depressed for much of the time I was in grad school (Boston University) but in retrospect, the experience was valuable, much in the way all really stressful experiences can be valuable, I did have some brief fun moments in Boston, and I did learn a lot about philosophy of religion, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.

So if you can find a way to pay for it and you really, really, really love the subject and want to hang out with other people who are really geeky about the subject, then go for it. And of course, if you're planning to be a doctor or an professional engineer or something like that, then you have to go to grad school. But I work with a lot of young people that want to go to grad school because they think it will be fun and a lot like being in college again. If you think that, you're in for a harsh bit of illusion-disabusing.

Keith Pille: I agonize over this periodically. Every time, when the chips are down, I end up choosing not to go back. A few years ago, I was on the verge of going into an MFA program, but stopped when I decided that 1) two years of writing workshops would probably ruin my nerves and eradicate any will to write, 2) I had absolutely no appetite to work as adjunct faculty afterwards as I tried to get a tenure-track job, 3) it wouldn't be worth it, given 1) and 2) to talk my wife into moving and living in poverty for a few years. Instead, I decided to put more energy into freelancing, figuring that it made more sense to get paid (however poorly) to hone my writing than it did to rack up student debt for it.

I dunno. Grad school in general, and MFAs in particular, seem to work pretty well for a lot of people I know. But so far it hasn't looked like the thing for me.

Don Pizarro: Yea, for those careers where grad school education is necessary to legally engage in your chosen profession.  Or, if there's absolutely no way you'll be hired in your field without one.  Otherwise, it's like the old adage, "You pays your money, you takes your chances."

Simon Riordan, BA Sociology, UW Madison (99): Grad School: go for it.  Just have a better plan than you did before you went and got your dumbass BA in Sociology.

Jonathan Shipley: Grad school - I said "Yea," they said, "Nay!" That's right. I applied to ten colleges to get into a Creative Writing program and ten of them said no. What's up with that? They don't like my poop stories? They don't care for my short stories based on canned cheese? I mean, sure, a couple of the schools were actually really good ones, creative writing wise. But the University of Montana couldn't accept me? I'm not good enough for Montana's literati? Well screw you, Montana! University of New Mexico? New Mexicans are better than me. Screw you, New Mexico! University of Alaska - Fairbanks. Now, come on. This is just silly. I can't get into the University of Alaska - Fairbanks? Something strange is afoot if I can't get into UAF. Their mascot is a Nanook. I can't be a Nanook? Geez, UAF, if anyone's a Nanook it's me. Come on, let me in. Please. I'm a Nanook. Really. Please? Well, screw you, Fairbanks!

Amethyst Vineyard: NPR's The Infinite Mind did a show on creative genius, and in it was a short segment on continuing education. Apparently studies had shown that more than two years of college were actually detrimental to creative abilities. However, if you study something other than the art form you work in, grad school can probably provide you with a job that will finance your artistic endeavors without damaging your ability to think creatively. I know that after six years of college-level writing workshops, I had to take a year off from writing before I could do it again without a deadline. And when I do eventually go back to college, I will not study creative writing. I will study something that will get me into the bourgeoisie.