Chicago Harris - International Student Loans

[economixed_policy]

Hi I'm considering Chicago Harris' offer for full tuition both years for the MPP. I am an international student with over 6 years of work experience. I'd need to take bank loans of 25k/ year to finance living costs and health insurance etc (I don't have a stipend). That means 50k in debt for the two years. Once I arrange a U.S. cosigner, I'm still left wondering if that kind of debt is worth taking given that if I don't get a job / sponsorship to work in the US (I'm interested in international organisations as a first choice or consulting second) then I would have to return to my home country where salaries would make servicing this debt in USD pretty challenging. I'm not even sure - despite looking at bank offerings - how much the monthly payment would be, but I imagine at least $500 / month.

Any thoughts if this is worth doing? I have a Masters in Economics from a top UK school and am interested in the Harris MPP to further develop my quant skills that I think would make me competitive for WB / international deveopment type positions in DC or elsewhere in the world.

Any thoughts welcome. Thanks!

[CakeTea]

Full tuition for Harris is an envious position to be in and many applicants would love to be in your shoes. Short of a full tuition plus stipend deal, you won't find a better deal around. Full rides are rare as gold dust and sometimes you would trade in for lower rank of mid tier school. You can bite the bullet and get the loan, at least you manage to find a US cosigner. Some students have even a higher debt level. I know that for international students, $40K debt is a lot in local salary. It is simple decision analysis 101. As a rule of thumb, US posters suggest that your debt load </= first year's salary

 

To mitigate your debt load, can you take on a student job (15 hours a week) in both years? You can earn and learn, hence need t borrow less. What about savings from 6 years' work, surely you have a nest egg? Live frugally in a house share and you can cut spending. I can imagine that it is a culture shock to regress to a student budget after being a professional. Your idea is right to keep debt at a minimum.

 

Good luck

[economixed_policy]

Thank you CakeTea for your advice and suggestions - much appreciated. I actually don't have savings (although I should given my salary) due to wider financial circumstances. I take your point about working: I have applied for a community resident position and am waiting to hear back from that. I am conscious about how difficult it is to get a free ride at the masters level and which is why I really don't want to let this go because I know I might regret it. I also know if I defer now in the hope of saving some money I probably won't be offered the same level of funding (they've said they can't guarantee funding and I would be reconsidered).

I have asked my cosigner to see what banks are willing to offer me in loans. I think if all that works out then I might go ahead with it. Thanks again!

[Cags]

Hi, 

 

I also received a full tuition offer from Harris, but have the same inquiries about the debt of 50K for 2 years. This is really making me crazy because I also have an two others offers: LSE - Public Administration program (1 year) and NUS - MPP (2 years) with full tuition and life scholarships. 

 

Any ideas?