AboveTheRim Posted March 4, 2013 Posted March 4, 2013 I have a question for my fellow Master's students here. Besides assistantships, what's the best way to pay for your MA or MS without a ton of debt. I will complicate the situation a bit more by saying that my undergrad GPA leaves much to be desired (sub-3.0). Is it best to assume that my first year will be funded by student loans and work my butt off to try and get funding for my second year?
daydreamer254 Posted March 6, 2013 Posted March 6, 2013 Loans are your best bet. I heard Sallie Mae has a good graduate student loan package.
spacezeppelin Posted March 7, 2013 Posted March 7, 2013 Can you elaboarte on what you mean by working to get funding in your second year? I didn't think that getting new scolarships in your second year was something that really happened. One of my funded offers gaurenteed it for all the years (three in one case) and the other specified just for the first year. The second offer did mention that there was a 'high probability of being granted a TAship". Is that what you mean? If I were you I wouldn’t count getting any kind of grants past what they promise you at the beginning. I might be completely wrong, but it seems like there is very little incentive to give students who are already committed more money. Its not like you can / are likely to leave after your first year without more money. I don't have any full tuition waives yet either. I'm probably going to try and work as much as possible during school and take out loans for the rest. Its going to be expensive. I really like the idea of being a TA because they will pay me AND waive the tuition. Maybe you can look into those types of positions.
AboveTheRim Posted March 7, 2013 Author Posted March 7, 2013 (edited) Daydreamer - Really? Sallie Mae did anything but my help my loan situation for undergrad. I think the government has taken them over since then, though. I'll have to look into that. Thanks! Spacezeppelin - Yup I meant being granted a TA/RA/GA position in my second year. I've spoken to some faculty and even current students and it seems to be a consensus that it's easier to land one of those positions just due to your face being known. I know graduate school is an investment (monetary and time-wise) in your future, but it seems a bit ridiculous to take on so much debt. Apparently it's the norm though. Edited March 7, 2013 by AboveTheRim
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