There I go, thinking again.

I thought that all of the Mid-American Conference schools had reciprocity agreements about tuition. Or at least the Michigan and Ohio schools did. Eastern does; if you're an Ohioan, you pay Michigan resident rates to go to EMU.

Well that's cool, thinks I. I can go to Bowling Green and enroll in their Popular Culture program which is nationally known and highly respected. But boy -- was I wrong. Turns out it isn't every MAC school, just the ones who want to do it. And BGSU doesn't, apparently. So the per credit hour cost of $776 for graduate credits translates to nearly more than $4700 per semester. Nearly $10,000 per year. I just ain't a-gonna pay that kind of coin. I can't afford it right now.

But there is hope yet. Michigan State University has a very good program in American cultural studies. I didn't really delve deeply into it since I thought, "Hey, Big Ten school, Big Ten prices!" but I was a little mistaken there. Big Ten school, not-so-bad prices. I can go there for a much lower cost than BGSU. The basic cost per credit hour is only $291. According to their nifty budget calculator, I can take 6 credits at MSU for only $2,150. Much more in-line with my financial ability.

And, hey, a Big Ten school in my home state with my alma mater's colors. Synergy. I can deal with it. Now to do some research on the application process. GRE, here I come.