Financial Resources for Apprentices
Becoming a professional writer and paying your bills is hard enough. It’s nearly impossible when you’re also straddled with student debt. We’ve designed our program to be affordable for all students, without financial aid or expensive loans.
The Company’s full-time apprenticeship program carries a tuition cost of $800 per month. This is a year-round program. Apprentices may make monthly payments or pay annually. Students who pay for the full year in advance receive a $400 discount for a total cost of $9,200 per year.
Upon acceptance to the program, apprentices are required to make a non-refundable $800 deposit. This deposit will be applied to their final month of apprenticeship.
We do not provide conventional financial aid like student loans or scholarships. By keeping costs as low as possible and providing fundraising resources, we ensure that every apprentice can fully pay for the program and the cost of living.
Here are the steps we’ve taken to make a high quality education as affordable as possible:
Low tuition and cost of living.
The average cost of tuition for a two-year Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in creative writing program at an in-state public university is more than $30,000. Private schools are typically three times this cost. Our program costs only $18,400, and includes more instruction, more support, and greater practical application. (See “How Do We Keep Our Tuition So Low?” for more info.)
In addition, our program carries few additional costs. You will NOT need to purchase thousands of dollars’ worth of books, reside in expensive on-campus housing, or pay fees for extracurriculars.
The Company does not provide housing. We help you find affordable housing in the local community. If you’d like to roommate with other apprentices, we help you arrange that.
The cost of living in Cambridge, Ohio is very low, one of many reasons we’ve located The Company in this quaint Appalachian town.
Consistent schedule conducive to part-time work.
Many of our apprentices successfully pay for their living expenses working part time.
Unlike most higher education, this is a year-round program with a predictable weekly schedule. All instruction and coursework will be completed between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. With rare exceptions, there will be no homework or additional projects that need to be completed.
This allows our apprentices to work part-time jobs without causing scheduling headaches for themselves and their employers. Because this is a year-round program, schedules are sustainable and predictable.
Due to the low cost of the program and the opportunity for shared living expenses, some of our apprentices pay for 100% of their costs with part-time work.
Fundraising resources.
We will help you rally your community to assist with your tuition.
We believe that the people of God pay for things differently. As Christians, we work together to invest in each other and advance the Kingdom of God.
If you would like additional help paying for tuition, we will provide training and materials to you so that you can raise funds to pay your tuition. This is the same process missionaries use to pay for their ministries.
Writing is a ministry. It’s reasonable and biblical for the community to support you for a short time while you develop a self-sustainable ministry.
Our low cost of attendance, opportunities for part-time work, and community fundraising model ensure that any apprentice can afford to attend this program. Many of our apprentices work part-time in the evenings to pay their expenses and tuition.
If you have more questions about the cost of this program or how you might pay for it, please reach out to us using the form at the bottom of the page, or by email us at info@writers.company. We’d love to have a conversation today.
Questions?
We'd love to hear from you!
Please send us an email at info@writers.company, or use this contact form to get in touch with us.
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