Going to school with no funding

[Curlylets]

How is everyone paying for school, does it make financial sense to wait to apply another year and see if you might obtain an acceptance with funding or attend a school that has accepted you with no financial aid? Is taking out all loans a risk worth taking?

Edited March 17, 2016 by Curlylets
spelling

[DeWi]

I'm taking out loans, applying for a GA position, and looking into available scholarships. It helps that the school I'm going to isn't crazy expensive for an out of stater, and I definitely won't be waiting to try again since this is my second time around. I think taking out loans can be totally reasonable and doable, especially because SLPs do make good money. It all depends on what you debt you may have from undergrad, how much your grad program is, and how much debt you are comfortable living with. Loans may not be right for everyone, but I think for a lot of people they're a reality.

[Pronounce]

Taking out loans is a decision most will have to make.   As a grad student, you can borrow $20,500 in federal loans each year at 6.8%.  At that rate, the monthly payment is $115 for 10 years for each $10,000 borrowed.  If you need to borrow more, you can get private loans with higher interest. 

How much are you considering borrowing?  Can you afford the payments?  

Use a rough estimate of 30% in deductions (income taxes, FICA, and health insurance) from your paycheck before you get it.  If you earn $52,000 a year, you will receive about $700 a week. Estimate your living expenses (rent, utilities, car expenses, auto insurance, food, entertainment, etc)  Now add the loan payment.  Can you live on what's left?  

[Punk28]

Oops, clicked into the wrong thread. Sorry! Carry on, I'll see myself out... 

Edited March 17, 2016 by Punk28
Attack of idiocy on my part.

[languagegirl]

I am probably going to be attending Northwestern, which is extremely pricey (about $106k for both years). As my friends know, I go big or go home. So I'm waiting to hear about funding, if not I have a little saved up for rent and living expenses, but I will be taking out my tuition in loans and whatever I can't cover for rent. I don't have crazy loans from undergrad, so that is definitely a factor. But I am also not scared of loans per say. It is my personal choice and I feel comfortable with it. Even if I went to a less expensive grad program, I would still be taking thousands of dollars in loans. Plus I feel it's worth it if it's a program I really want to attend. Is it a little nerve wrecking? Hells yeah. But I believe in being a positive person and believing things will work themselves out in the end!  

[Tish22]

21 minutes ago, Pronounce said:

Taking out loans is a decision most will have to make.   As a grad student, you can borrow $20,500 in federal loans each year at 6.8%.  At that rate, the monthly payment is $115 for 10 years for each $10,000 borrowed.  If you need to borrow more, you can get private loans with higher interest. 

How much are you considering borrowing?  Can you afford the payments?  

Use a rough estimate of 30% in deductions (income taxes, FICA, and health insurance) from your paycheck before you get it.  If you earn $52,000 a year, you will receive about $700 a week. Estimate your living expenses (rent, utilities, car expenses, auto insurance, food, entertainment, etc)  Now add the loan payment.  Can you live on what's left?  

This is such a scary thought, but very helpful! Thank you!

[flowerbloom]

I agree that taking out loans seems to be the best option. I personally wouldn't want to take the risk of denying my admissions this year in the hopes of getting an offer with funding the following year. I wouldn't do this simply because there's no guarantee that I would even get an offer next year, let alone an offer with funding. Most of us are concerned about debt and loans and from what I've been hearing from current grad students is they took out loans and got a part-time job. Hope this helps!

[Rorororosy]

17 hours ago, flowerbloom said:

I agree that taking out loans seems to be the best option. I personally wouldn't want to take the risk of denying my admissions this year in the hopes of getting an offer with funding the following year. I wouldn't do this simply because there's no guarantee that I would even get an offer next year, let alone an offer with funding. Most of us are concerned about debt and loans and from what I've been hearing from current grad students is they took out loans and got a part-time job. Hope this helps!

You have to remember that you're investing in a career, not just a job. Taking out loans and paying for school is expected, you will pay them back but it will be based on your income if you do an income based loan repayment. Also, your education and investing in it is something that will never fail you, unless of course you don't drop out. You'll be working for 30+ years, I think its more important to look at the experiences or specialty fields schools have, or some faculty members that you want to work with. Funding is great but at the end of the day you should go where you want for the experiences and really weight out your options instead of being lead astray by rankings or the though that just because a school is more expensive its a better school. 

 

Good luck! 

[thespeechblog.com]

I just want to make a note/clarification many people are saying "SLP´s make good money," which is generally true. But those "average" salary numbers we so often see are not "average entry" salaries - I think that is something important to keep in mind when projecting future financial scenarios.

All of the clinicians I have talked to (except the ones who work for specific universities) have told me to select the school that is most affordable because the programs are virtually the same (due to ASHA accreditation requirements leaving little wiggle room). 

As for funding - there are many SLP / therapy agencies that will offer a $5,000 scholarship if you agree to work with them during your CFY. (5 seems to be the average, but I bet you could negotiate more). One agency told me also that no matter where I sign on after graduation, negotiate for a sign-on bonus or a structured loan-assistance plan. 

[Curlylets]

The job outlook is what worries me.   In this economy, I'm always wary of believing that anything, even a master's will guarantee a job so taking on loans for tens of thousands of dollars is a scary thought. But like some of you have mentioned there is no guarantee that trying to apply in another year would bring about acceptances at a more affordable school :/

[racoomelon]

@Curlylets I don't think you'll have a problem finding a job, but someone else might have a different opinion.  From what I've seen, most schools report a 100% hiring rate out of the program and a lot of schools need SLPs. There are a few loan forgiveness options for rural or Title I school districts because these districts have such a hard time finding SLPs to employ. 

[Jolie717]

Plus there's this:

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

Public schools and non-profit hospitals qualify.  ?

[mr479]

On 17.3.2016 at 8:16 PM, Pronounce said:

Taking out loans is a decision most will have to make.   As a grad student, you can borrow $20,500 in federal loans each year at 6.8%.  At that rate, the monthly payment is $115 for 10 years for each $10,000 borrowed.  If you need to borrow more, you can get private loans with higher interest. 

How much are you considering borrowing?  Can you afford the payments?  

Use a rough estimate of 30% in deductions (income taxes, FICA, and health insurance) from your paycheck before you get it.  If you earn $52,000 a year, you will receive about $700 a week. Estimate your living expenses (rent, utilities, car expenses, auto insurance, food, entertainment, etc)  Now add the loan payment.  Can you live on what's left?  

Can anyone live on what's left? 

[Cowsy]

I live on less than that now. ? I don't have a car, though. And I don't have kids. And I've got an amazing rent deal that I'm sure I'll never be able to match. And I haven't bought new clothes or anything splurge-y in over a year, apart from plane tickets. But I have somehow managed to pay my way through 8 post-bacc classes. 

Anyway. I've been telling myself that after grad school I can just continue to live this way for a while and maybe pay my loans off more quickly just to get it over with. 

Edited March 19, 2016 by Cowsy

[Jolie717]

On March 17, 2016 at 6:16 PM, Pronounce said:

Taking out loans is a decision most will have to make.   As a grad student, you can borrow $20,500 in federal loans each year at 6.8%.  At that rate, the monthly payment is $115 for 10 years for each $10,000 borrowed.  If you need to borrow more, you can get private loans with higher interest. 

How much are you considering borrowing?  Can you afford the payments?  

Use a rough estimate of 30% in deductions (income taxes, FICA, and health insurance) from your paycheck before you get it.  If you earn $52,000 a year, you will receive about $700 a week. Estimate your living expenses (rent, utilities, car expenses, auto insurance, food, entertainment, etc)  Now add the loan payment.  Can you live on what's left?  

Nope - we sure can't, as a family.  However, we wouldn't have 30% deductions on that salary either, for a family of four.  Also, there is some flexibility as far as the monthly loan repayment amounts that might make it easier, particularly if you are aiming for loan forgiveness after ten years of payments.  Try to find a friend/classmate/relative in finance, and they should be able to help you work out the details so you can make good decisions.

[Jolie717]

15 minutes ago, Cowsy said:

I live on less than that now. ? I don't have a car, though. And I don't have kids. And I've got an amazing rent deal that I'm sure I'll never be able to match. And I haven't bought new clothes or anything splurge-y in over a year, apart from plane tickets. But I have somehow managed to pay my way through 8 post-bacc classes. 

Anyway. I've been telling myself that after grad school I can just continue to live this way for a while and maybe pay my loans off more quickly just to get it over with. 

Ha - I do have two kids and an old car, but for the rest of it, yeah...  ?

[racoomelon]

I think another big thing to consider after you've graduated and have those lovely loans to pay off is cost of living. The town I'm in has a super low cost of living, so living here on a salary of 52k and paying off a loan would be more reasonable than, say, living on the East Coast and trying to do it.

[Gingiestrong]

2 hours ago, Pennsatucky said:

Can anyone live on what's left? 

Idk why but I laughed at this comment for like 10 minutes, but also cried a bit as the reality started to sink in haha. I always thought the stress would be over once you get that first acceptance letter, but I was horribly mistaken! Every time I think about tuition and living expenses I die a little bit inside. 

Edited March 19, 2016 by Gingiestrong

[racoomelon]

9 hours ago, Gingiestrong said:

Idk why but I laughed at this comment for like 10 minutes, but also cried a bit as the reality started to sink in haha. I always thought the stress would be over once you get that first acceptance letter, but I was horribly mistaken! Every time I think about tuition and living expenses I die a little bit inside. 

Yeah, funding is getting stressful.  I don't even know where to start with the loans-- How much should you take out to be able to live during grad school? And will we need to take out a mixture of private and federal loans? WIll I get lucky with a few schools and get offered enough funding to avoid some of these loans? 

Working part time for ~15-20 hours at minimum wage probably won't cover rent and utilities in some of the pricier areas. It barely covers my rent right now, and I'm not paying all that much! So in my mind PT will help, but I think we'll still need to use the loan(s) to get through the rest of living expenses. So add that on to the loan for tuition, and holy hell that's gonna suck.

You'd think that states would offer scholarships requiring you to spend a few years working for them, what with the high demand for SLPs and all. I know New York does it, and I know a few districts in Texas will do it for teachers... why not make this more of a thing? I wouldn't mind agreeing to be employed upon exiting grad school in exchange for my tuition being covered. That's a win-win.

[mr479]

Everyone working in Higher Ed in the US should be in jail. 

[Gingiestrong]

4 hours ago, racoomelon said:

Yeah, funding is getting stressful.  I don't even know where to start with the loans-- How much should you take out to be able to live during grad school? And will we need to take out a mixture of private and federal loans? WIll I get lucky with a few schools and get offered enough funding to avoid some of these loans? 

Working part time for ~15-20 hours at minimum wage probably won't cover rent and utilities in some of the pricier areas. It barely covers my rent right now, and I'm not paying all that much! So in my mind PT will help, but I think we'll still need to use the loan(s) to get through the rest of living expenses. So add that on to the loan for tuition, and holy hell that's gonna suck.

You'd think that states would offer scholarships requiring you to spend a few years working for them, what with the high demand for SLPs and all. I know New York does it, and I know a few districts in Texas will do it for teachers... why not make this more of a thing? I wouldn't mind agreeing to be employed upon exiting grad school in exchange for my tuition being covered. That's a win-win.

I feel like if you're not offered funding from the program, the best option is to stick to federal loans? On another thread about this, someone mentioned that you can take out a maximum of $20,500 per year, which depending on the program and if you're in-state or not, should cover tuition at least. I'm super hesitant to consider private loans, considering how heinous interest rates can be. I guess it also depends on where you'll be living. I'm highly considering Portland State, but after browsing apartments and realizing most decent places in Portland are $1000+ a month for a 1 bedroom, I can't imagine surviving without like selling my soul to the devil lol. 

I think as far as working PT goes, it may be best to start your program first and get a sense of the work load and such before taking on a job. Being able to cover expenses is super important obviously, but I'd be afraid that I'd start failing miserably in school if I added on the stress of working too. At best, I think most of us could only afford to work on weekends, since it seems like the majority of programs require you to be on campus or in clinic from 8-5 (maybe even later than that) Monday through Friday. So basically it seems like loans are unavoidable lol. Another option would be to just work your ass off during the summer and hope that you can save up enough to at least make it through the first few months of school.  

[Gingiestrong]

Wow, that post about the $20,500/year was from this thread. Sorry ya'll, ignore me. 

[katie88post]

3 hours ago, Pennsatucky said:

Everyone working in Higher Ed in the US should be in jail. 

Donald Trump, is that you?

[racoomelon]

@Gingiestrong The more I look into expenses for my top choice, I'm not sure if I could pay the out of state tuition without federal and private loans. So if I don't get funding, I'll have to decide whether or not I'm going to lump it. But at least Tucson is cheap!

Are you still leaning towards Portland, regardless? A roommate (or three) might make rent affordable.

[SLPgradstudent]

3 hours ago, Gingiestrong said:

I feel like if you're not offered funding from the program, the best option is to stick to federal loans? On another thread about this, someone mentioned that you can take out a maximum of $20,500 per year, which depending on the program and if you're in-state or not, should cover tuition at least. I'm super hesitant to consider private loans, considering how heinous interest rates can be. I guess it also depends on where you'll be living. I'm highly considering Portland State, but after browsing apartments and realizing most decent places in Portland are $1000+ a month for a 1 bedroom, I can't imagine surviving without like selling my soul to the devil lol. 

Haha!  $1000?  Try $1500 for a 1BR in the DC area (not including utilities).  Cost of living (and housing) definitely varies dramatically depending on what part of the country you're in.  Coasts are going to be much more expensive, generally than anywhere in between.  And cities are generally more than rural areas.  But at least the pay is a little higher to compensate generally.