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How are you paying for Grad School?
#1
A lot of people here have employers paying their way, but what about the rest who do not have that option? I'd like to compile a list of great resources for paying for school.


STUDENT RESOURCE GUIDE Scholarships, Internships, Fellowships ,and Other Opportunities Courtesy of U.S.CONGRESSWOMAN LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD https://roybal-allard.house.gov/uploaded..._guide.pdf - A wealth of information relating to scholarships.
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#2
yb1 Wrote:A lot of people here have employers paying their way, but what about the rest who do not have that option?

I keep wondering this too...
BA.SS: TESU '17
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#3
We borrowed a lot for mine, but before you lose your mind, our education costs are family costs. I look at all of our education, as well as our children's education and calculated what I thought we could spend (we have 4 kids to put through college). Years back in early 2000 when dh and I decided to go for our bachelor's degrees (no grad school on the horizon at that time) we set a budget for us to both do that- still keeping in mind there were 4 bachelor's degree behind ours to pay for. Short answer, we didn't even come close to spending anything, in fact we paid cash- his employer paid 100% of his and I did mine with the help of instantcert, in short, our 2 bachelor's degrees combined were $6000 (and I threw in an extra AA for good measure). Then, we moved to a new state where all 4 of my kids get free college while in high school, and then undergraduate and graduate degrees through my husband's employer are paid at 100%. His MBA is covered at 75%. So, when it came time for my grad school, we opted to spend a little more for mine because we hadn't spent any money really - so my MA was expensive, but all total, our family hasn't spent a fraction of what the average family spends across the board.

(EDIT to add: My husband and I both earned/paid for our culinary degrees before we were married, so that's not part of it.)
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#4
Selling my soul.






For real though, if I get into the excellent state school program I am applying to then I'll come out about 25Kin debt. If I only get into the private schools, then merit scholarships and grants through the school and about 50-60K in loans **cries**.






Not joking, I have seriously considered becoming a stripper to pay for grad school. Haven't gotten my husband on board yet though Wink
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#5
Hard ass work.

kdubbub Wrote:Selling my soul.

This too...seriously.

But...luckily my degree is only $7500ish so it's not really a big deal - I'd rather be caught dead before taking out any huge loans, but everyone is different Smile.
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#6
If it was me, I would pay cash for it or not go. That might mean not going to the school I want, but that's a small price to pay for not having the debt hanging over me after I'm done.

I've cash-flowed my way through school always, and had employer reimbursement at times, but not others. I always chose my school based on what I could afford at the time.

I would seriously consider changing jobs to an employer who would pay for my school if I wanted to go but couldn't afford it. Or getting a part-time job - places like Starbucks and UPS pay tuition reimbursement for part-time employees. Maybe not for a Master's degree, but then again, if you could save up some money while working there and having them pay for your Bachelor's degree, you might have enough to pay for your master's degree yourself.
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#7
I'm paying cash for mine, which is is a little under $7k for the whole degree. There are no textbooks to buy but there are other costs like getting my diploma and transcript apostilled. Also, I chose a hybrid program that requires that I study in-person in Madrid for 3 weeks next summer. To help with costs for the in-person portion of the degree, I am planning to borrow a small holiday loan from my credit union. It's a loan I start paying back next year with small paycheck deductions - really manageable.

I didn't want to take out loans for undergrad but don't mind small loans for grad school. In my case, many positions in my field already require a BA so obtaining it was more of a personal accomplishment and a stepping stone for graduate school, while the grad degree is actually an investment in a career change.
Associate in Arts - Thomas Edison State University
Bachelor of Arts in Humanities - Thomas Edison State University
pursuing Master's degree, Applied Linguistics - Universidad Antonio de Nebrija

*credit sources: Patten University, Straighterline, Learning Counts, The Institutes, Torah College Credits, Kaplan Open College, UMUC, Thomas Edison State University (guided study liberal arts capstone)
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#8
Cash. There's a crazy good ROI on my masters, and I'm not even in the absolute cheapest program out there. Plus, the degree's total costs are less than a cheap new econo box car.
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#9
I am struggling with this too. I'm living abroad now so I can't take advantage of B&M work study options or employer assistance options. I don't want to take any loans. Anyone know which graduate schools offer online work/study options such as hiring online teaching or research assistants. Are there US employers that hire for online jobs and offer with tuition assistance?
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#10
dbwdb Wrote:I am struggling with this too. I'm living abroad now so I can't take advantage of B&M work study options or employer assistance options. I don't want to take any loans. Anyone know which graduate schools offer online work/study options such as hiring online teaching or research assistants. Are there US employers that hire for online jobs and offer with tuition assistance?

there are a handful of countries overseas that offer free graduate degrees taught in English to US citizens - where are you?
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