Loans for Grad School

[ZachBoyer]

Hi, just starting to consider graduate school as a possibility. This may be a naive question, but how do I find out how much loans I would qualify for, i.e., what % I would have to pay up front vs. what % would be covered by loans? Do I have to apply and be accepted before I find out that answer? Because such information would greatly influence whether or not I'd want to apply in the first place. Thank you. Appreciate it.

[rising_star]

This really depends on your field and what degree you're going for. In most of the social sciences, PhD programs are fully funded (that is, PhD students receive a tuition waiver and a stipend to cover their living expenses in exchange for working as a teaching or research assistant). In that case, the amount of loans you'd take it would probably be pretty minimal. If you're doing a MBA, by comparison, it's likely that you'll be responsible for funding your entire education + living expenses yourself.

[Neist]

You might poke around at program's websites that you're interested in and see what they typically offer as a funding package. You could even consider emailing said departments graduate coordinator (if they have one) and ask what the percentage of accepted students receive funding. Many schools list their funding on their websites, even if you have to dig around a bit. Here's an example in the college I'm currently an undergrad in.

http://cas.ou.edu/funding-your-graduate-education

Someone here can probably give you a broad idea of costs, but most of the details are going to be provided by either someone who's currently in the exact program you're interested in or an administrator or support staff within said program.

 

 

[socgrad]

On 1/21/2016 at 11:05 AM, ZachBoyer said:

Hi, just starting to consider graduate school as a possibility. This may be a naive question, but how do I find out how much loans I would qualify for, i.e., what % I would have to pay up front vs. what % would be covered by loans? Do I have to apply and be accepted before I find out that answer? Because such information would greatly influence whether or not I'd want to apply in the first place. Thank you. Appreciate it.

After taking out loans to pursue a grad program in the field I love, I encourage you to look for programs that can provide you some funding to offset your loans. I was completely unfunded my first year and received half the amount I needed to live on in funding in my second year. Think about whether you want to pay $400-500 a month for your grad degree.