grad school college tuition, is it worth it??

[GraceSofia]

Originally Posted by Iheartcoffee

Definitely do not listen to what the schools say when they tell you about your job opportunities.

Good advice. The professors NEED students to take their courses and be in their programs or else THEY will be out of jobs. I was misled, definitely, but now there is no reason, with so much info on the internet, not to do your own research.

I will never ever let my kids take out student loans due to my experiences.

I would not, either. (Well, maybe if it was an emergency and needed to finish the last semester, but not as a plan as a way of paying for university). Starting off your working life under a mountain of debt is like enslaving yourself, as someone mentioned. How could you save enough to buy a house or raise a family?

[Gertabelle]

Since I cannot be the shining example of how to do it right, let me be the terrible warning of what can go wrong.

I was working on my doctorate -- paid for by student loans -- when I had an accident that set my life plans back and lost me my part-time job (it was my second job, my primary job as a teacher was and is fine). After taking some time off from the doctoral program, I realized that I could not return and complete the program. My life was just too scrambled, my son was older, and I just couldn't take on more debt to continue working on my dissertation indefinitely.

SO, now I have a HUGE debt in student loans, and NO DEGREE I never thought I'd be in this position, paying back loans for a degree I didn't complete and can't return to in the foreseeable future. Ouch.

If there is no other way to pay for your career training, then take out only the barest minimum in student loans. Live as simply as possible and make the necessary sacrifices -- think of this minimalist lifestyle as an investment in your future, a future in which you will have the choices that come with financial freedom.

I have been a teacher for 15 years, and with my additional training am making a very good salary. Evenso, when the loans came due there was NO WAY I could pay back the amount they asked. I am now paying the bare minimum based on my income, and am looking at a loan that I will probably be paying back for over 20 years.

If you can wait a year and work full time, socking money away like a miser, that could be a viable option. Just really, really, really take this loan business seriously. You are promising away a huge percentage of your future income and choice for years to come.

I'll keep you in my prayers! God bless you!

Gertie

[Cat]

I'm not sure what kind of program the OP is doing, but it's possible that there are clinical rotations. This means that it is highly unlikely that they can work at another job, as the clinicals are usually pretty demanding.

I'm going to buck the trend in the thread here--just s__k it up and do it. Hundreds of thousands of students in the U.S. have student loans, so you won't be alone. It will probably determine the shape of the economy in the next 10-20 years. I'm guessing that houses will go back to being smaller, instead of the castles that are all over the suburbs. Same for cars. And probably food, too. IMO, all of these would be good changes. There is no reason for the average family to live in a castle, drive a tank, and eat enough food in a year to feed a 3rd world country.

Just pay off the loan a little bit at a time for many many years. It will get paid off eventually. Think of the ants moving one crumb at a time into their anthill--eventually the entire loaf is stored away.

In case you're wondering, Daughter #1 has a small student loan to pay off (around $14,000), and Daughter #2 has a giant student loan to pay off (around $80,000). And yes, I think it was worth it. An education is a good investment, even if doesn't have the payback of a house (in the past, not now), stock, bond, IRA, or lotto ticket.

[GraceSofia]

Originally Posted by Gertabelle

SO, now I have a HUGE debt in student loans, and NO DEGREE I never thought I'd be in this position, paying back loans for a degree I didn't complete and can't return to in the foreseeable future. Ouch.

Oof... yes, that is a scenario most of wouldn't have thought of.

You are promising away a huge percentage of your future income and choice for years to come.

Yes.

Originally Posted by Cat

Hundreds of thousands of students in the U.S. have student loans, so you won't be alone.

Seriously? This is a good reason to go into debt? Because others have done so?
Millions of people have had abortions and adulturous affairs, too, but I wouldn't suggest that that makes it a good idea.

[GraceSofia]

A must-read: The Truth About Life with a Huge Student Loan ! As a parent, I found this very informative.

I began to wonder what Catholic teaching has to say on the topic and searching turned up this:

In the Bible alone, there are hundreds of references to money. Here are two that urge borrowers to be cautious:

• “The borrower is the slave of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).

• “How long will you load yourselves with goods taken in pledge? Will not your own creditors suddenly rise, and those who make you tremble wake up?” (Habakkuk 2:6-7).

Many people failed to show adequate caution during the recent housing boom. They and society at large are paying heavily for that mistake.

Borrowing money is serious. The borrower makes a promise to the lender, and Church teaching is clear about the importance of keeping promises: “Promises must be kept and contracts strictly observed to the extent that the commitments made in them are morally just” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2410).

Productive and unproductive debt ... continue reading HERE

[PaulGH]

Originally Posted by anicholel

I am supposed to start graduate school in about a month. However, I am very stressed about the amount of student loans that I will have to take out. It is a three year psychology/nutrition program, at the end of three years I will be a licensed psychologist/counselor and licensed nutritionist which would provide me with some really great career oppurtunities. Im just freaking out about the fact that if you include my undergrad student loans (which i guess isnt too much) and graduate school (which is going to be expensive) I could have close to 85,000$ of debt at the end. =0 not what I want!! yikes, but if I dont go to grad school then I am stuck, with an undergrad bio major theres not many options. I am curious do you think it is worth it to go into that much debt to become a psychologist/counselor etc??

Also, does anyone know any information/advice on loan forgiveness programs? I have found one that is through the American healthcare corpes (or something like that?) my question however, is how reliable are these types of programs, do you think they will be around in three years??

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!!

Personally, I don't recommend taking on debt to go to college, whether for graduate or undergraduate degrees. Maybe this degree will give you good job opportunities. But even if we assume that you can walk out of grad school directly into a job paying $85k/year (which I am guessing is way on the high side), then you are still going to have to pay off as much debt as your entire annual salary -- which would take years to pay off completely! And then what happens if, for example, you get married and want to start a family, but the student loan gets in the way? Or what if you lose your job, and on top of everything else you are facing, you still have your monthly student loan bill to contend with?

If you definitely want to go to grad school, then I would strongly recommend that you find a school that will give you a teaching assistant position or a research assistant position. I don't know how common this is in your field, but I know that 15+ years ago, when I went to grad school for engineering, virtually everyone in grad school in my major worked 20 hours per week as either a teaching assistant or a research assistant, while working toward their degree. And in exchange for working those 20 hours per week, we received free tuition plus a very small salary, which was just barely enough to pay bare-bones living expenses -- if you live like a college student. None of us got rich off this program by any stretch of the imagination, but we also didn't have to take on student loans to go to graduate school. Do you have an option to do something like that, rather than taking on more debt?

[BobCatholic]

Remember, debt is slavery.

[Viki63]

PaulGHs advice is great, And check out this book: Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents, by Zac Bissonette. It's about undergrad school but a lot of it applies to grad school too.

One important fact is: don't rely on what the financial aid office tells you. They are salesmen whose job is to get you into their school, and make it look painless and worthwhile. They're not going to take on the 85K in debt.

[signit]

Originally Posted by Viki63

One important fact is: don't rely on what the financial aid office tells you. They are salesmen whose job is to get you into their school, and make it look painless and worthwhile. They're not going to take on the 85K in debt.

Yes, yes, yes.

And be careful about any information that any institution gives you (statistics about placement, starting salaries, etc.).

I posted on another thread about an institution that claimed that x% of their grads who apply to medical school get accepted. They might not be telling you that they weed out a lot of people first year and those people don't apply.

[HouseArrest]

I have heard (can't remember where) that loan forgiveness programs are not going to be as available as they used to be. That doesn't mean you won't have the opportunity. If I were you I wouldn't count on it.

If I were you I would look into getting a job in the field of psychology and/or nutrition, even if it is a low paying job, with a company or organization that pays for schooling. It will slow your progress in getting the degree, but in the end you'll have a degree and experience.

[Keith_W_OR_USA]

Originally Posted by anicholel

Also, does anyone know any information/advice on loan forgiveness programs? I have found one that is through the American healthcare corpes (or something like that?) my question however, is how reliable are these types of programs, do you think they will be around in three years??

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!!

Have you considered a career with the VA or Military? If you join the military for two or three years you will get the Post 9/11 GI bill and get up $17500 per year for tuition plus a monthly living allowance. I went to the military for four years and received $25k+ for college and I had no debt when I exited college. If you want to you can defer your present student loans while serving in the service. There also MAY be an option that the military may pay your monthly education loan payment while you are on active duty or if you can become a commissioned officer in the service they will pay for you to go to graduate school, just make sure you get everything in writing, not what any one tells you.
Yes, there may be danger involved, but there is danger in all aspects in life. You could always join the Air Force or Coast Guard if that is a concern. Good Luck.

[sw85]

Originally Posted by anicholel

I am supposed to start graduate school in about a month. However, I am very stressed about the amount of student loans that I will have to take out. It is a three year psychology/nutrition program, at the end of three years I will be a licensed psychologist/counselor and licensed nutritionist which would provide me with some really great career oppurtunities. Im just freaking out about the fact that if you include my undergrad student loans (which i guess isnt too much) and graduate school (which is going to be expensive) I could have close to 85,000$ of debt at the end. =0 not what I want!! yikes, but if I dont go to grad school then I am stuck, with an undergrad bio major theres not many options. I am curious do you think it is worth it to go into that much debt to become a psychologist/counselor etc??

Also, does anyone know any information/advice on loan forgiveness programs? I have found one that is through the American healthcare corpes (or something like that?) my question however, is how reliable are these types of programs, do you think they will be around in three years??

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!!

I cannot caution you against this enough. Going into debt to pay for education was the worst mistake I ever made.

Unless you're going into med school or something similarly lucrative, just don't do it. There's no get-out-of-jail-free card for student loan debt. Unless you're starving in a refrigerator box beneath a freeway overpass, they'll harass you to death.

[austenbosten]

Originally Posted by anicholel

I am supposed to start graduate school in about a month. However, I am very stressed about the amount of student loans that I will have to take out. It is a three year psychology/nutrition program, at the end of three years I will be a licensed psychologist/counselor and licensed nutritionist which would provide me with some really great career oppurtunities. Im just freaking out about the fact that if you include my undergrad student loans (which i guess isnt too much) and graduate school (which is going to be expensive) I could have close to 85,000$ of debt at the end. =0 not what I want!! yikes, but if I dont go to grad school then I am stuck, with an undergrad bio major theres not many options. I am curious do you think it is worth it to go into that much debt to become a psychologist/counselor etc??

Also, does anyone know any information/advice on loan forgiveness programs? I have found one that is through the American healthcare corpes (or something like that?) my question however, is how reliable are these types of programs, do you think they will be around in three years??

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!!

I think your biggest mistake was getting those degrees in the first place. They are worthless degrees...however that does not help you. Your only choice really is to press forward and get your doctorate in psychology and become the best psychologist you can. I'm sorry no one warned you about this, I truly am. However you can't take a ticket back to yesterday (even though I would love to do so to avoid $20,000+ for acting lessons ) so you gotta think forward.

Now your only option truly is try and get a doctorate in psychology and go into practice. A Graduate degree won't get you there....Grad school is quickly becoming as worthless as undergrads because of all the people who majored in Basketweaving and are seeking to get a Masters in Basketweaving. After that if you are worried about the loans (I don't know how much shrinks make but I know $100/hour pays well) you can always enslave yourself to the government for 10 years and afterwards the federal loans will be forgiven (yes I said forgiven).

I wouldn't be worried about Grad school, you need to worry about making that worthless degree worth something and slapping a Masters on it..won't help. Start looking at the market and see what Grad degrees or Doctorates can get you and decide based on the evidence.


I hope things work out for you and I'm sorry you're in this mess...but just remember you're not the only American college student drowning in debt....I'm in the same boat too.

[GraceSofia]

The OP has not given the slightest indication that she has read or appreciates responses so...

[austenbosten]

Originally Posted by GraceSofia

The OP has not given the slightest indication that she has read or appreciates responses so...

Oh I hope she does...It pains me to no end that our generation is literally being led like sheep to the slaughterhouse with buying into these overpriced worthless degrees.