For some context: I just graduated w/ my bachelors in health education a couple days ago (finished in December but just had my ceremony but whatever that’s not relevant). I have been wanting to get my MPH. Love learning about public health and I feel like an MPH would be appropriate. However these price tags for one are insane. I had an extremely horrible financial situation in undergrad. Took out about $50k in federal loans, $7k in private loans, used so many credit cards (mine & families), and it was just a mess. That experience kinda gave me trauma. I told myself I would never put myself in that situation EVER again, and that I could take my time with grad school. I also promised my parents I would never put them in that situation again and that grad school is all on me. Well, I said this AFTER already applying to grad schools for this year because I was so set on going this year, now I’m not so sure.
I applied to 4 schools. Got accepted into 3 of them and still waiting to hear back from the other one.
1st school: located in my state, tuition is slightly on the cheaper side but they gave me no aid. According to their website, out of pocket costs for just one year are about $12,000. NOT including any type of indirect costs like housing, meals, etc. but I researched this area the rent is kinda high.
2nd school: located in VA. Got $2500 for only one semester which would be my very first semester. Tuition might be $30,000 per year not including housing, meals, etc. Rent is a little lower near this university.
3rd school: This was my top choice, located in DC. The tuition is about $85,000 for the entire program (2 years). They gave me a $36,000 scholarship. Would love to go here, but the tuition is more or less the same as my undergrad (which was way too expensive for me) and DC is already a high area.
So i guess im just asking for some sort of advice at this point. I’m itching to get my MPH, but dont wanna risk putting myself back in that situation. How do people even pay for grad school WITHOUT loans?
I’m going to be blunt. Almost everyone I know with MPH have either MD, MD/PhD, DO, or DDS initials in front. Almost all of them get the degree for free as part of their training program of which they get paid.
Almost none of them use the MPH degree to make money, because the other degrees do the heavy lifting. One friend who decided to work work for County public health was send to JHS to get her degree on the government’s dime.
Do you already have a job lined up?
Some degrees do not get you the job. Whereas some jobs will get you the degree.
You are already in debt. Please do not dig a deeper hole.
Even if you didn’t have any debt from undergrad, it seems like it would potentially be a big mistake to take on that amount of grad school debt just because you are itching to get an MPH. However, especially with all the debt you’ve already accumulated it seems like a bad decision to pursue the masters at this time. I would suggest working hard to build connections and work in that field until you can get your undergrad debt paid. It’s possible that you will change your mind about the MPH during that time or work your way up in your field and find the extra debt is not necessary. Best of luck to you.
You can’t afford to go to grad school right now. Fortunately, there is absolutely no reason to rush it. Get a job, start paying off those loans, and give it five years. See where you are. You probably won’t have the loans paid off in that time, but at least you might have some clarity on what you want to do and what steps your desired path will require. And who knows – you might even find an employer willing to foot the bill for some graduate work. With maturity, experience, and (not least) income, you can figure out a better plan.
I see a couple of people saying to wait. My biggest concerns are:
My loans probably won’t be paid off in 5 years…don’t even know what they’ll look like then cause they want like $500 a month but that’s a different story.
I’m kinda afraid they will reinstate GRE testing again. I think they paused it cause of COVID and I have a better chance, but if they reinstate it I’m done, I’m terrible at tests.
I’m also afraid that scholarships won’t be given to me at a later age. Do they actually do that?
A little bit? I have a temp job now that’s ending this week, an internship, and a summer internship this year. I’ve been applying to jobs but nothing yet.
I am still trying to figure out a specific goal in public health, but I’m kind of into administration, community health, working in non-profits and/or government
I’m not advising anyone to do this, merely stating that I know people who have done this: Apply for the PhD program, which should be fully funded, then leave after getting your MA/MS (which is usually an intermediate step about 2 years in). That gets your MA/MS funded and it is not terribly unusual for students to leave at that juncture (some because they planned it that way to get the funding, some because they just changed their minds). I do not personally consider this ethical, but it is apparently an option if you really want a funded masters. I do not know if it is a possibiity specifically with public health degrees.
Right, most student loans and parent loans are set at 10 year payback terms. And this $500 payment likely doesn’t include the credit card debt, correct?
What is the total monthly payment for all the loans and credit card debt (both in your name and your parents)? You don’t have to tell us, but figure things out using these calculators…
Here is a loan calculator so you could model what a monthly payment might look like if you added the MPH debt to you/your parents current educational debt level:
And a calculator you can model the salary you would need to make those payments:
You can’t afford grad school now, and if your motivation for going is “I guess I need a Master’s degree” you SHOULDN’T be going.
Get a job in, close to, adjacent to your field. Work hard and learn as much as you can. That will really help you zero in on what you want to do professionally, and will likely mean you will do better in a program which can propel you into a higher salary.
You may decide MPH is not for you after working for a while- and that the jobs you want require an MBA. Terrific. You may decide you are more interested in clinical work and decide you want an RN. Terrific. You may decide that what really interests you is global health policy-- and you decide to get a Master’s in International Relations. Etc. You get my drift.
Focus on getting a real job with health care benefits, not a series of internships. You just don’t have enough experience, information or money to tackle grad school right now.
I have to agree with @cy7878 because I have a niece who graduated with a Masters in Public Health at Fullerton, a California State University. Even with that MPH, she could not find a job and struggled.
She couldn’t find a job in California because she didn’t have an accompanying nursing degree nor any other degree.
She didn’t have any real “significant” internships, nor was she a second language speaker. She was low income and also was on loans.
She sent her résumé out to several states and finally was accepted in Tennessee.
She worked there for about three years and realized that she’d never be able to pay off her debt because the income was so low. She had had minimal clinical experiences with diabetes which is what everyone was desiring.
She returned to California after she found a job in a mountain community which she loved, but the pay just wasn’t enough to cover her bills and loans. Now she’s struggling because she’s working in Sacramento and misses being at home in Southern California. She’s trying to get back but she can’t afford the rents here. She owes a lot of money because she has loans and she has bills to pay.
I’m not saying that this is you, but I’m saying that the jobs in this field, are hard to come by, unless you already have an “in” with a facility and you don’t owe any money.
Listen to what everyone is saying on this thread: you cannot afford to go to those expensive schools if you have that large of a debt. You’re going into a field that does not pay well.
Work a little bit in what you can find and check out what you hope to center upon, if you decide to continue with your public health major. That means specialize in diabetes, smoke cessation, heart disease public education etc. Good luck!
I know several young adults with MPH degrees as their only graduate degree …and they have very successful careers.
But…
I do not think you should do this right now. I think you should get a job and save your money. Grad school will always be there.
My daughter is in grad school now. She graduated with her BS and spent 4 years working before heading back to school. She saved a lot of money during this time (it can be done). You asked if scholarships are given to grad students who are at a “later age.” The answer is yes- my daughter got one as did one of her peers who is older than my daughter.
Take a deep breath, find a job that you think you would enjoy, and put grad school on the back burner for the next 2-3 years. By then you will be in a better position to analyze your situation, and your work experience will provide transferable skills and experiences that grad schools value. Additionally, you may decide to get a different degree or possibly get some financial help from an employer.
FYI: My D’s previous employer would have paid for an MPH if she had stayed.
We have five family members who are not doctors of any kid but have MPH degrees. All work in the field in some way. There is one who has a doctorate and that one teaches on the college level after a very successful career as an international disease consultant. Two others work in epidemiology related jobs. One did administration for EMS programs with a focus on epidemiology . The last one works as a consultant at the CDC. NONE are doctors (well…I guess the one with the PhD technically is.
But the difference…each had a way to fund their masters degree programs and none had a cent of undergrad debt. That doesn’t sound like you.
I know you really want to do this now…but might I suggest taking a breather. Get some kind of job and earn some money. Think about something like Americorps where there are health related postings. What about the Peace Corps (although that application process can be lengthy).
Did health education give you the ability to teach health education? If so…consider that.
At this point, it doesn’t sound like you have the money to fund grad school. I’m sorry…
Yes. If you are a very strong candidate and the program wants you as a cohort member, they might give you some aid as a grad student. But I will say…the relatives in our family…no one got scholarships for their MPH. We do have an additional family member who is a doctor and is getting her MPH as part of a fellowship program…but you aren’t a doctor eligible for this.
It is hard to find an MPH degree or any other masters degree that is fully funded.
Usually funding…if any…will be in the form of a smaller scholarship from the school. If you are lucky you will have an employer that contributes. Some masters programs give full scholarships, but it depends and does not happen for most students.
I would do some research on Americorp. Also, when you are ready (not now) you can look into part time MPH programs. CUNY has one that can be done while working (for example).
First…get your foot in the door and gain some experience with a job.