I didn't know that two-year program of MS in applied econ requires that much of money, anyways. The professors from applied econ are very willing to work with MS students, but it's almost impossible to work with professors from econ department, or transfer to econ department later as a phD, but it's almost 90% sure you are able to get into Applied Econ phD as long as your boss that works with you wants you to stay (normally it's not hard if you maintain a good relationship with your boss). UMN applied econ is very strong in some specific fields, like the agriculture and bio stuffs, but not so much in others. It also depends on how you feel about the debt, and how fast you want to be a job market candidate. I would estimate 7 years to fully complete MS + phD from UMN, and I don't think it would be hard for you to pay all your debts within three to five years. But on the others hand, you will be finishing your phD from Oregon in five years, getting a job, plus debt free. These are what I heard from a friend that is a MS student in Apec UMN, and going on his first year of phD in apec next semester.