Loans to pay for education and loans to relocate. I need help...

[sevyn731]

I've received my budget from the school I will be attending this fall and I have not been offered ANY aid besides federal loans (and I'm still close to $40k away from what I'll need).

Calling financial aid wasn't much help as it turns out I'll have to resort to private/ gradPLUS loans to pick up the slack.

I'm moving to Boston and from my research the cost of living is outrageous there. It really doesn't help that for the first summer in years I am unemployed (in the past I've had a decently paying federal internship in D.C, but there was no budget to hire us back this year), trying to find a decent paying job(s) is proving most difficult and I am running out of time.

Worst case scenario, I'm thinking of taking out a small loan to cover moving expenses, etc until my school disperses my refund (which could take up to 6 weeks after the first day of class). I absolutely hate the idea of having to finance my graduate education with loans, even if it's just my first year until I can find an alternative source of funding.

I'm in a position where I need to earn an advanced degree in my field if I want to make a decent living doing what I love. Sadly my undergraduate program cut a lot of corners as the major is being eliminated leaving me terribly unqualified for a lot of available jobs.

Would anyone have any helpful advice? I can use all the help I can get.

[TMP]

What do you expect us to say? You have to do what you can and it's your decision. Just get the loan if you want to go.

Remember there are a lot of grad students choosing to goto grad school with undergrad debt. So you really are in a better position- start grad school without debt.

[K.Ash]

Don't take out private loans unless you decide you truly 'need' one for moving expenses. Private loans are generally a very bad idea when it comes to education. You can take out grad plus loans to cover the entire estimated cost of living provided by your university. I'd suggest you do more research on this.

[postapocalypso]

It's hard to dole out advice without knowing more about your life than strangers probably ought to know. I guess the best blanket statement I can give is to commit to living like a pauper. Double check that you're not eligible for the Stafford loan. Look into shared housing. Cut out every recurring expense that isn't imperative to your survival. Create a dedicated savings account for loan repayments and squirrel away every extra dollar that comes your way into it. (I can't vouch for these tactics from experience, yet, but they're what I'm employing.)