rahrah203

Hello everyone,

I got accepted to a very good school in Washington DC. I am looking to get my masters degree but I do not want to get into massive debt. I am okay with some debt but 150k for two years of schooling is simply too much for me..

What are the best methods for Graduate Students to pay for college? I just finished my FAFSA and I am already gearing up for an apprenticeship. The school I was accepted to has a few scholarships but I do not qualify for them.

sybbie719

Funding for grad school is totally different from funding at the undergrad level. Unfortunately, most of the financial aid for graduate school, especially at the masters level is in the form of loans. Since you stated that you do not qualify for scholarships, you will have to make some tough decisions.
As a grad student you can borrow 20.5 in stafford loans and based on your credit worthiness, you can borrow the rest, up to the cost of attendance as a GradPlus loan.

Since most masters programs do take place in the late afternoon and early evening, your best bet would be to get a job and pursue your Masters in the evening to defray some of the cost. If you can find a job in your prospective field, you may even be eligible for tuition remission from your employer.

polarscribe

$75,000 per year for a master's degree? That is utterly insane. Beyond ridiculous. I'm paying significantly less than that for my entire two-year program at a top public university.

You would be completely ill-advised to borrow anywhere near that much. Your monthly payments would be huge and drive you to the poorhouse. The fact is, you may not be able to afford that program, no matter how "good" it is.

rahrah203

I will keep searching for ways to possibly pay for this program. I have looked into loan forgiveness programs and other scholarships; however, they are sparse. Any help or further advice would be greatly appreciated.

happymomof1

rahrah203,

You should consider asking to defer enrollment for a year so that you have time to pin down the money that you will need in order to pay for this program. Right now, it doesn't look like you will be able to start in the fall because the money just isn't going to be there in time.

While you are on your "gap year" think long and hard about other options. Is this program truly unique? And even if it is, will graduation guarantee that you will make the additional $2000 each month that you will need before taxes in order to pay down approximately $1500 each month for ten long years to get rid of your student debt? There are great loan re-payment calculators at FinAid! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans Run them and find out just exactly what your numbers could look like.

Wishing you all the best!