Loan for MA in RS

[Saad91]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm in a fix right now regarding my financials and I thought I should ask for advice here. I've been admitted to Graduate Theological Union for MA in Islamic studies with a 45% tuition waiver. This means that I'm left with an amount of about 17,000 in tuition fees for the two year program. I plan to take up around $22,000 in private student loans ( I'm an international student, so don't have access to federal loans) which will cost me somewhere between 8-9% over a period of 10 years. I just wanted to know if it is a wise decision to take up this much amount of loan for this degree? Given that this is a very academic oriented degree, what exactly are the job prospects after completing it? Plus, given that GTU might not be that well known, how would that effect my chances for employment? Moreover, being an international student, I'm assuming it'll be much tougher for me to find a job after my degree. What are your thoughts on it? I REALLY want to go for this option but at the same time, I don't want to end up in some financial crisis later on! I'd be really grateful if someone could guide me, especially if they have any personal experiences. Thank you so much for your time!

[sacklunch]

The job prospects after the degree are pretty slim. What kind of job are you wanting after the degree? With just an MA you won't be finding many academic jobs except maybe teaching part time at a community college. Realistically the degree most likely will not help you out much more than just having a BA in religious studies. I suppose there are other options such as working in publishing, especially if you happen to work for a company that sells/prints a lot of Islamic Studies related books/materials.

[Perique69]

Personally, I would not incur any amount of debt for any master-level degree in religion especially the purely academic degrees.  There simply is no reliable job market for these degrees without a PhD.  

Edited May 21, 2014 by Perique69

[hj2012]

The degree might help your chances for employment in your home country, I don't know. But you shouldn't take out loans expecting your MA in Islamic Studies to help you land a job in the States. Frankly, finding jobs stateside with a humanities degree is tough for American citizens, but nearly impossible for international students.

[Saad91]

Actually getting a job isn't be my first priority. I want to move on to a Phd after completing my Masters degree. But just in case I can't make it to a Phd, or can't make it right away to it, I just wanted to have an idea if I'd be able to make my loan repayments in that scenario or not. I can land a job in my home country, but the income here would be too low as compared to the US, and given that my repayments would be in dollars rather than my home currency, I'll be at a big disadvantage.

[hj2012]

I see. I still have to reiterate that it will be next to impossible to find a job in the States post-graduation, and you should not consider that to be a viable option. I don't think taking out 20K in private loans is particularly wise, either, especially if you're looking to go into a PhD program. (Interest will still continue to accrue while you're a student, and it'll be difficult to keep up with loan payments on a grad student stipend.)

 

Would it be possible for you to defer GTU for a year and apply to fellowships or scholarship programs (Fulbright, etc)?

[sacklunch]

If they were not private loans I would say no problem. Considering the insane debt many of us go into while attending the other big name div/seminaries, 20k is actually quite reasonable for two years. But, private loans are different. They won't care if you don't have a job. They won't cap your repayment at 10% of your income. They simply will not care and are the kind of people that will call you 5 times during your loved ones funeral service demanding their payment. They are loan sharks, basically.