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Um, how do people afford private GSEs?


armyofbieber

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Are loans the only guaranteed way for people to afford private GSEs like , HGSE, UPenn or TC? What kind of grants or scholarships these schools offer? I'm mostly interested in the topic with regards to Master's degree. Do Master's students (usually) get funding? I don't think it's wise to get 40-80k in debt for M.Ed...

Thanks.

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I would suggest searching the education forum. People have posted on this in the past and have asked whether certain programs are worth that much debt. I haven't seen any external fellowships for M.Eds. I assume that private GSEs have some funding for their students. Although, the availability of that funding might be quite slim at the master's level. I would just call the program and ask because if only 10-15% of the master's cohort receives scholarships or grants that would be important to know before you apply. I expect that a majority of the people take out loans and hope that name recognition of the program will help them get a job.

I agree with you that 80K in debt will be quite the burden in the education field. I would also look at public universities. They are some really strong public GSEs that might be more affordable if you cannot get funding through the program.

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I've wondered the same thing. From the research I've done on the schools on my list, it seems like it really varies. Most schools seem to offer some scholarships, but funding is not guaranteed. I agree that 80K in debt is unwise in this field. Personally, I'm applying to a few state schools where the tuition is more manageable, a couple programs that offer full funding (not education schools, though), and two expensive private schools.

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What field are you interested in? I know in higher ed, there are a good amount of programs that will fully fund their master's students-- but I never really got the impression that the other subfields in education had this funding structure for their master's students. I would also try to collect good data on entry level salaries so you'll know realistically how much debt you can take on.

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I've been teaching overseas for a few years, where it's not too difficult to pay off say $10,000 of student loan debt in a year, so my plan is--work while I go to school, and if I can't get a good enough job in the field, teach overseas again for a couple of years to pay it off. Not everyone's cup of tea, though, I know.

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I am curious how you did that sarakeet. That is about $890 per month if my math is right ([($10,000 * 6.8% interest)/12]) Is that because your salary is high compared to the cost-of-living in the country that you are working in? It definitely is creative though!

Some alternative suggestions are to attend part-time and to work full-time at the university that you would like to attend to receive tuition remission. There are some units at an university where this would not be doable, but I would say there are a good number of them where this could work out. Although there are a bunch of trade-offs and it might be not ideal depending on your work and academic styles.

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ZCM, I didn't have student loans to start with, so I didn't have to worry about it, but I know a lot of people who came here specifically for that purpose--but yes, essentially, it's a salary/cost-of-living discrepancy. In 2010 I took about $10,000 worth of graduate education courses online without taking out loans or anything... I just had to cut down on my extracurricular travel... I live in South Korea, for the record.

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  • 1 month later...

it's a difficult thing to weigh, and if you look at earnings differential after graduation versus the total cost of attendance, it doesn't look that good. But if you do the right program and plan your career wisely, where you end up by the age of 60 will be drastically different, including financially, than if you never did an M.Ed.

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  • 2 months later...

There are lots of grants and tuition remission programs for higher ed. students. In my case, my tuition at Drexel is covered and I only have to pay the tax on it. If you can acquire a job at a community college or university, you might be able to receive some type of remission benefit.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just got accepted to Penn and they are giving me a $10,000 scholarship. But considering that tuition is nearly $45,000 I am really hesitant to take out $35,000 of loans to pay for grad school. Its a little steep for my taste. Anyone know if Penn will be worth the investment?

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The prestige of the school is awesome and I know it will be an amazing experience but I don't know if that means I will get better job offers than if I go to an unranked school or a UC. If the program will allow me an easy transition to the PhD program then might as well but if I dont have a shot of getting my PhD there right after then I am not sure.

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