Am I Screwed?

[RNadine21]

So I suppose I'm getting very worried about the financial situation I've gotten myself into...and silly me, I'm fueling my fears with news articles about the increase in college graduates with ridiculous amounts of debt.

So I just graduated with about 40k in loans (that includes interest). I don't need the lectures about how ridiculous that is, trust me I wish I could foresee four years ago the financial problems my family would be in or the practicality of attending a cheaper school. But what's done is done, I have my diploma (well, it's in the mail).

Now I'm starting my Master's in August. I already have a TAship which pays more than what I've been living on (and in a far less expensive area) and a waiver in the out-of-state portion of my tuition. However, that still leaves about $3000 in tuition for me to cover a semester, which I can't pay myself, nor can I really ask my family for help (we're still recovering from my mom going two years without a full-time job). I don't get my financial aid package until later this month, and I hope it includes enough scholarship/loan money to cover the rest of my tuition.

In the end, the whole point of this is that I'm worried I won't be able to get by once I do start a career and start paying off my loans. I know my grad degree will help me get higher salary jobs that I enjoy, so I keep telling myself this will all work out in the end. And sometimes I wonder who I think I am believing I can pull this off? Uggg....I'm just stressed out.

Help/advice/words of encouragment/a much needed slap in the face?

[captiv8ed]

I think you are fine. That seems like a pretty high paying field, so you should be able to pay off the loans fairly quickly. Ifyou had to borrow tuition and living expenses, that would be scary, but it sounds like a relatively small amount.

I love your profile picture. That is really cool!