70K for an MAIR?

[huerita]

So the consensus on this board seems to be that paying sticker for most of these programs is insane, unless you are independently wealthy. Obvs 120k for an MA in IR is nutso. But what about 70k? I want to start a thread for those of us who have gotten some money, but not amazing fellowships, to gauge everyone's thoughts on whether or not it's worth it to go for these prices (say, 50-90k). I am including COL, of course.

 

I have a lot of friends/family telling me that 70k for a master's is AOK, but I think most if not all of these IRL advisors are in a JD/MBA mindset. Or they are hopelessly naive about finances (i.e. people who are crushed by student debt themselves, usually with impractical degrees). I keep hearing the word "investment" from the former group and the words "great experience" from the latter. 

 

Moreover, nobody seems to believe me when I tell them the salaries that we will be facing upon graduation, even in the best case scenarios. How are you supposed to live in DC on 50K/year while making $800/month loan payments? Financially, that would put me in a significantly worse situation than I am in now with just a BA (oh, and I work at a non-profit where plenty of my colleagues have associate's degrees and make within 5k of me, by the way).

Edited April 2, 2013 by huerita

[dyavrom]

i dunno, im considering paying sticker price for SAIS.  if I do itll be heavily taking advantage of the IBR program.  ill end up paying more in the long run, but knowing ill be in the field I want, doing the sort of intl dev work I want (vs public policy at USC) makes it worthwhile...i hope

[Denisse]

I think it really depends on you and what you feel comfortable with. 70K doesn't seem exorbitant to me. I've made around 50K for three years now and my loan payments have been around 400-450 (my choice, I am paying more than the minimum to get a significant amount paid off before grad school not that I had 70K) and it hasn't been insanely difficult. If you know how to budget you'll be fine. Hell, I'm still able to travel around the U.S. to visit friends, travel abroad some, go out, eat out (I'm not a big cook) etc. and it hasn't been impossible. Granted, it's hard to save a lot, but even then, I've saved enough to cover almost all of my first year living expenses if I just wanted to take out loans for tuition and fees. It can be done.

 

I think everyone's experience is different. Some people might think the above sounds crazy because they are risk averse, or they haven't experienced it and think that to live comfortably you have to be making 60K + and be paying minimum bills, but that's not the case. An independent person really can live quite comfortably on a 50-60K salary even while making loan pmts. Of course, your goal is to minimize them and get them paid off as soon as you can, so you aim for higher, but it's not that crazy. Again, each person is different, your expected lifestyle after graduating + when/if you want to have kids soon, buy a house soon, etc. should all play a role in your decision.

 

I think 120K is too much, while some else might not. I don't think 70K for a two year program that will advance your career and which you need in order to get further than where you are isn't. Again mileage varies.

[JFactor]

How are you supposed to live in DC on 50K/year while making $800/month loan payments?

 

This is doable. Obviously it depends on one's circumstances a little bit (undergrad debt, medical expenses etc.) but if you make 50k a year in DC and all you have to do is pay off 70K of grad school debt, it's doable. Is it something you dreamed of, is it going to be awesome? Probably not. But sometimes I feel people overestimate the money they need to live ok in DC but maybe it's just different expectations that people have.

[huerita]

This is doable. Obviously it depends on one's circumstances a little bit (undergrad debt, medical expenses etc.) but if you make 50k a year in DC and all you have to do is pay off 70K of grad school debt, it's doable. Is it something you dreamed of, is it going to be awesome? Probably not. But sometimes I feel people overestimate the money they need to live ok in DC but maybe it's just different expectations that people have.

 

When you say this, I assume you mean as a single person living with roommates with no desire to buy a house or have a kid or go on vacation? I don't consider myself materialistic, but browsing apartment ads on craigslist left me pretty nervous. Even going into Virginia or Maryland, one bedrooms were running at least $1200/month.

[Denisse]

I know this wasn't directed toward me, but I figured I'd answer it anyway.

 

Well, yes. I have always lived with roommates, at least one or two. As for buying a house/having kids, I don't particularly have a desire to do that within the next few years (4-5). Of course, circumstances vary.

 

As for going on vacation like I said, I pay approx. 400-450 in loans each month, make around 50,000 (a little bit lower), live in a very expensive city (Boston) and I go on vacation rather regularly. For reference, last year I went Spain and the Caribbean. This year, I will be going to the Caribbean twice (one for pure fun and the other for a family obligation). Not to mention the countless times I've visited friends in D.C./NYC. And as I stated in my previous post, I'm not an extremely frugal person, so I eat out a lot (I actually don't shop much so there's that), but even with that I've managed to save some money. Not an extraordinary amount by any means, but I have a good chunk for living expenses while I go to grad school. AGAIN, based on just my experience, it's so much more doable than people assume or seem to think. But I do think that depends on the lifestyle you are used to. I like to enjoy myself a lot, but I'm also not dropping hundreds every night I do go out lol.

 

Also, before the idea even gets thrown out there - I do not come from money and my parents do no assist me. I've been paying for own fun and living expenses since I graduated college and for my own fun since college. In fact, asking my parents for help if something were to happen isn't even an option. So it's not like I'm a trust fund baby that digs into that whenever the bills don't add up.

Edited April 5, 2013 by Denisse