Starting a PhD or Reapplying?

[Tigla]

Over the past couple of weeks, my plan to attend a UK PhD program in October has become more and more complicated for numerous reasons. Most important, my funding was pulled by the College because of visa issues and the changing immigration policies of the UK that hinder an American receiving a visa. After speaking with both of my advisors and the department (everyone was surprised my funding was pulled), they suggested applying to the US-UK Fulbright Program and Marshall Scholarship or taking out a year's worth of loans then reapplying for funding during my second and third years. With their advice in mind, I have created a handful of options for myself that I would like to run-by this forum.

First, I can take out the year's worth of loans in order to enter the UK, start the program, and begin building the necessary relationships for my future funding applications. Luckily (I guess), I can use federal loans from the US in the UK education system. This would allow me to have a single loan payment after my studies; rather than one valued in USD and another in pounds. One year of loans will not break the bank, but it also is not ideal for the obvious reasons. Crucially, this option gets me into the UK and provides me the opportunity to start personally lobbying for funding.

Second, I defer my offer for a year and apply to the US-UK Fulbright Program and Marshall Scholarship. I need to defer for one year, which my university and advisors said was possible, in order to be eligible for both programs. Once I enter the UK at a university, I become ineligible for any study related grants and scholarships. It is possible (and very likely) that I would not receive either scholarship, thus, I am back in my current situation, but a year later.

Third, I reapply to American universities and restart the process all over again. Unlike last year, I will have a completed MA in a foreign language, published several book reviews, and worked as a research assistant translating documents for a professor. It would still be a crapshoot, but I hope it would be enough to lift me off the wait-lists and into at least one acceptance.

I have talked with a couple of my professors and my family, but now I want to see what fellow graduate and postgraduate students think. What are your comments/ideas on the above options?

[L13]

Do NOT take out loans.

Defer your acceptance for a year and apply for external funding sources.

At the same time, apply to PhD programs in the US.

[psstein]

1 hour ago, L13 said:

Do NOT take out loans.

Defer your acceptance for a year and apply for external funding sources.

At the same time, apply to PhD programs in the US.

This is the correct answer. Do not take out loans for a PhD. It is NOT "school." It is an apprenticeship.

[Tigla]

1 hour ago, L13 said:

Do NOT take out loans.

Defer your acceptance for a year and apply for external funding sources.

At the same time, apply to PhD programs in the US.

I knew I left something out of my initial post.

If I defer a year, my loans will activate and I have a month (I used 5 months already) before my first payment would be due. I cannot deactivate them in 2 years because I will be married and have a household income based on my wife's yearly income. The current rules of the Department Education determine my eligibility for a deferral based on household income, not individual income. Also, my UK loan would be equivalent to a year's worth of my state's undergraduate tuition. Since I worked full-time and studied full-time during my undergrad, I was able to pay for 2 years of my undergraduate tuition myself, which would leave my total loan amount at 3 year's worth of undergraduate tuition (still well below the national average).

In terms of the total amount of the loan and tuition, I agree that loans in the American system are god awful and should never be taken out. In the UK system, a lot of postgraduates pay at least a year of tuition with some sort of loan, which is manageable because the cost is dramatically lower in the UK compared to the US.

[rising_star]

It sounds like you've already made up your mind so I'm not really sure what you're asking...

That said, you should be eligible to defer your federal loans once you're enrolled at the UK university. See here for more on that. Note that the term "deactivation" isn't one used by lenders. Also, not sure what you mean about the household income part. That might affect your repayment and your ability to for forbearance but it doesn't affect your ability to defer if you're enrolled half-time or more in an educational program. 

Also, in thinking about the loans, I assume you're considering living expenses in addition to tuition since it's unlikely you'll be eligible for employment in the UK. I don't know much about the cost of living in Birmingham but I'd assume you'd need at least USD$15K to live on. Then there's the cost of books, travel to conferences and/or archives, etc. It's definitely a huge risk to take out those loans because it's entirely possible that you won't find any funding in the UK and will then need to decide whether to quit the program or continue taking out loans to fund your PhD.

[Tigla]

@rising_star I'm trying to get other postgraduates takes on the matter. I tend to forget looking at aspects of an issue, especially, in a short timeframe and need to talk it out with people. I have had my professors here in Berlin tell me to take the offer. They all agreed that loans suck and I'm in a far from ideal situation, but PhD positions "do not grow on trees" and I need to find a way to make this position work. In contrast, my family has multiple issues related to the financial aspects and wants me to move back to the States for a year before making a decision.

I think you hit the nail on the head with your last sentence. Luckily, the department offered me a lecturer position, which is still available, in order to offset my living expenses. In conjunction with my wife's income, we would have enough money to cover our yearly expenses and still save a bit. However, there is always a chance that I do not receive any funding for my program which means I need to cover the study costs by loans. When I compare the total UK amount to the US system, 3 years in the UK costs roughly the same as 1 year in the US. Regardless of the numbers, you still touch my biggest fear/worry, which is self-financing a PhD in History through loans.

[L13]

18 hours ago, Tigla said:

I knew I left something out of my initial post.

If I defer a year, my loans will activate and I have a month (I used 5 months already) before my first payment would be due. I cannot deactivate them in 2 years because I will be married and have a household income based on my wife's yearly income. The current rules of the Department Education determine my eligibility for a deferral based on household income, not individual income. Also, my UK loan would be equivalent to a year's worth of my state's undergraduate tuition. Since I worked full-time and studied full-time during my undergrad, I was able to pay for 2 years of my undergraduate tuition myself, which would leave my total loan amount at 3 year's worth of undergraduate tuition (still well below the national average).

 In terms of the total amount of the loan and tuition, I agree that loans in the American system are god awful and should never be taken out. In the UK system, a lot of postgraduates pay at least a year of tuition with some sort of loan, which is manageable because the cost is dramatically lower in the UK compared to the US.

I empathise. I have undergrad loans to pay off after my PhD too and it sucks. I am also familiar with UK university loans and the conditions for repayment. But it's really quite simple.

More loans = bad, even if you have to pay them off later, they're not as exploitative as the loans you already have and it feels like you don't have loans right now.

Do NOT take out loans to pay for a PhD.

Edited June 2, 2018 by L13

[TMP]

My answer?  Defer and apply for funding again, even if it means that you will have to start repaying your previous loans.  And re-apply to US PhD programs.  I've said it before, I think it is much better deal to get a PhD in the US as an US citizen than in the UK, especially with the whole "Brexit" thing going on.  My UK friend/colleague who is an US citizen spent a lot of time stressing out about her visa and keeping it going under increasingly tighter UK laws.

Do not take out loans for tuition and living expenses.  There are so many hidden costs that you will encounter once you start.

[Averroes MD]

I was in almost the exact same situation. In the first year I applied, I wiped out at US schools and got accepted to Oxford. I secured outside funding, and was all set to go. I lost my funding and was convincing myself to still go. But, after looking at finances, I made the decision to defer my admission and reapplied to US schools. I was accepted to three US programs the second time around, and was very pleased with all three options, which were much better than Oxford without funding.

Aside from the funding, I just think US programs will better prepare us for jobs in the American market... and sorry to say, just make us better scholars.

 

[Tigla]

Thank you everyone for your comments. It is a fairly tricky and less than ideal situation to be in, but it is always good to hear other people's ideas and solutions. After some unpleasant discussion, it seems like I will be deferring and moving back to the States for a year.

[TMP]

2 hours ago, Tigla said:

Thank you everyone for your comments. It is a fairly tricky and less than ideal situation to be in, but it is always good to hear other people's ideas and solutions. After some unpleasant discussion, it seems like I will be deferring and moving back to the States for a year.

I know it sucks.  It's hard to move back to the US after some time in Europe!  Best of luck with your applications and we'll look forward to hearing about  your progress