How are you paying your tuition? Who knows any schools with lower tuition or have good financial aid?

[sarahcd]

Looking at the cost of attending the schools we work so hard to get into, its easy to feel....nauseated.

 

Has anyone found any schools that are less expensive than others, or are known for financial aid?

 

Or, does anyone have a creative way they're paying their tuition, besides loans?

 

Thanks everyone!

[Papaya91]

Aside from loans, I think scholarships and TA positions are your best options. Those are highly competitive, though. Your application (stats, LORs, SOP) needs to be one of the best in the applicant pool.

 

I'd be cautious about going for the cheapest school, though. I think it's really important to make sure you're getting what you want out of your education. Maybe that's a particular location, the opportunity to work with a particular professor, or the chance to get experience with a rare disorder.

As for scholarships, sometimes there are scholarships geared towards people who want to work in schools, or kids with autism, or in a nursing facility, etc. Just search for them. One recommendation I have is the Scottish Rite Foundation - they're big supporters of speech language pathology. I got a scholarship through them as an undergrad.

Worst case scenario, you have to take out loans to cover the entire thing. If you live frugally and budget well (a.k.a. live like a college student for just a few more years), you'll be able to pay them off really quickly. $40,000 student loans paid back in 2 years would cost an extra $3,000 in interest. Over 20 years, you'd be paying $33,000 in interest. I know that loans can be really scary, but they're not a bad deal if you can pay them back quickly.

[Yancey]

If you look at the results page people sometimes posted if they received merit scholarships, TA, or RA positions at/around the time of admission. Some private schools may be able to give more financial aid to select students at the time of admission. But I have also heard of state schools having small scholarships or out of state fee waivers. Many schools have opportunities for work study, applying for scholarships through the school, or applying for a graduate assistant position once you've decided to go to that school (you apply and some students are selected based on credentials like gpa, experience, etc.) I would look at the results page typing in schools that interest you or check the schools website directly. Many will say what financial aid they provide. And also like the above poster mention living frugally with loan money and paying it off quicker can help keep the cost down.

[sayjo]

Looking at the cost of attending the schools we work so hard to get into, its easy to feel....nauseated.

 

Has anyone found any schools that are less expensive than others, or are known for financial aid?

 

Or, does anyone have a creative way they're paying their tuition, besides loans?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Tuition was a HUGE factor for me as my husband had just finished grad school at a very expensive school when I applied.  I didn't want to put more financial burden on our family by taking out a ton of loans.

 

I applied to a variety of schools and here's what I found:

 

1. In general, big public universities aren't going to give you aid, because that is going to go to their Ph.D. applicants first.  I LOVED UIUC (it was my first choice), but they pretty much flat out said that it's really unlikely for you to get any $$$ as a Master's student.

 

2. I didn't have much luck getting any funding at the private schools either.  I declined both Purdue and Northwestern before they made funding offers; however, I heard that at Northwestern, funding doesn't really make a huge difference because their tuition for both years is something crazy like $100,000.00!!

 

3. When I was looking around (in Illinois, mind you) at schools, I found that the ones most likely to offer tuition waivers, G.A.s, T.A.s, and other sources of funding were the smaller public universities.  In Illinois, I know for sure that Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, and Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville all offer graduate assistantships.

 

In the end, as you can see by my signature, I turned down many "big name" universities in order to go somewhere less expensive.  I ultimately received a G.A. with a full tuition waiver and monthly stipend.  I, personally, didn't need to go to a big name school and I didn't need to work with a certain professor, so that certainly made my choice a lot easier.  I'm very happy with my decision.