Need some advice (financing)

[seasick]

So far, I've gotten 3 rejections. I got accepted to one of my top 3 choices (the other 2 rejected me), and I'm waiting to hear back from 5 more schools. I got a scholarship, but it isn't very much at all -- it barely covers the cost of 1 class per semester. For my first year, I would exceed the annual limit for the Unsubsidized Direct Loan by over $10,000. I don't think I can get a PLUS loan because I filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy about 4 years ago. Should I reject and hope a cheaper school accepts me? My credit is horrible, so I don't think I can get a private loan. No idea what to do at this point.

Edited March 20, 2016 by seasick

[thepinkdragon76]

Do you have anyone who will cosign for you? I would look at every scholarship you qualify for and start applying for them. If you really want to go to this school, you will find a way. Don't give up.

[rising_star]

Personally, I would delay going to graduate school and try to find a job which offers tuition support.

[Need Coffee in an IV]

I would either wait to see if any of the other schools will fund you or work for a couple of years then reapply.

[ChrisTOEFert]

I agree with others here.  Hold out for a better financial package from one of your other options (even though they may not be as high on your want list) because grad school is really expensive and they pay you pennies.  You can't think if you can't eat or pay rent.  You could even ask the school you are currently accepted to to look for more possible funding and definitely apply for as many scholarships as possible.  Even a few $500-$1000 mini-grants would go a long way.  That could be 5-6 months of rent right there.  What you want to be careful of though, is a lot of those school offered small scholarships are only available to you once.  Since a PhD is 5-7 years or so (assuming you're a US student), you'd have to find and hope you land multiples of these scholarships each other without doubling up.  That could be tough.  There are also large government funding packages as well, while they are highly competitive such as NSF, they would definitely give you some breathing room.

I think your first course of action is to explain to your PI and the grad co-ordinator/person in charge of funding that you there is no way you can attend the school with funding how it currently sits.  Ask if there is anyway you could get tuition coverage, additional TAships/RAships etc to help cut down the cost substantially.  If they so no, I would decline their offer.  No PhD is worth making yourself basically homeless and starving or putting yourself in financial ruin.  Worst case scenario, apply for some jobs, get some money, build up your credit with a cheap credit card and re-apply in a year or two.  Who knows, maybe you'll love the new position so much you won't want to go back to school!

[Apogeee]

10 hours ago, seasick said:

So far, I've gotten 3 rejections. I got accepted to one of my top 3 choices (the other 2 rejected me), and I'm waiting to hear back from 5 more schools. I got a scholarship, but it isn't very much at all -- it barely covers the cost of 1 class per semester. For my first year, I would exceed the annual limit for the Unsubsidized Direct Loan by over $10,000. I don't think I can get a PLUS loan because I filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy about 4 years ago. Should I reject and hope a cheaper school accepts me? My credit is horrible, so I don't think I can get a private loan. No idea what to do at this point.

I'm sorry about your rejections. Do not take out loans for graduate school. I would wait. You should have until April 15 before you have to make an official declaration whether to accept or reject their offer, and by then, some of your other programs will have sent you their decisions. 

Have you written to the school that offered you a scholarship to ask about other funding opportunities? There could be some way for you to pull this off, still.

In the worst case scenario, you can work for a year, possibly while attending school part time, and beef up your CV and personal statement in order to apply in the next cycle.

Good luck!

 

[thepinkdragon76]

I guess I see things differently. Having filed bankruptcy 13 years ago and being in a somewhat similar position at the time I took out student loans to finish my undergrad. I don't know your situation or your location but I do know a good friend who has a Bachelor in Psychology and can't get a decent paying job around here to make ends meet. In fact, she had to file bankruptcy. She is running a daycare out of her home just to survive and her husband is active duty military as well. They have three kids. She has considered going back to school so she can get a better job and dig themselves out of the mess they are in. Her mom can co-sign student loans, so she is seriously considering it. 

I do agree however that you should contact the school about your current funding and see if there are any other opportunities for more funding or if you can attend part time while working. I do not think that after all the effort put into applying to grad school you should just walk away because you don't have a full ride. I understand your predicament. There has to be a way to make it work and not end up homeless. Good luck.

[seasick]

Cosigners are unfortunately out of the question. The only person I know who could is my mother, and she does not support me continuing my education. (Living in poverty with no education was good enough for her, so she feels it should be good enough for me.) I've missed the deadlines for most of the scholarships I qualify for, but I'm still looking.

This is a master's/certification level program to become a school psychologist. I know I'm lucky to even get any sort of aid, but I have no idea how anyone can afford school. I'm not even sure if any of the other schools would offer anything at all. The last two years of the program should be more manageable, but the first seems insane due to all of the credits/high cost per credit. I'm not sure if attending part-time is a possibility, but I may ask about that as well. 

Would waiting a a year (or few years) hurt my chances even more? I feel like I was already ill-prepared this year. I don't think I can find any jobs with my current credentials (I only have a B.A. in Psychology, and no work experience other than retail/office work) that would pay for tuition assistance for the major I want to pursue. I'm also a non-traditional/older student, which makes this a little more difficult, in my opinion. At this point in my life, I could have just been finishing up a doctorate or had a career for a few years already. Maybe it's me being paranoid, but I feel like this could all be a red flag to admissions.

I'm not too worried about federal loans -- I already have tons of debt from undergrad, and since I'll be (hopefully) working in a public school once I complete grad school, I can qualify for public service forgiveness after 10 years.

I did e-mail the school, and hopefully something could be worked out. I know they offer assistantships, but I would still owe quite a bit outside of the annual loan limit with one (or even two).

As pessimistic as it may sound, I feel like graduate school is my only way out of a really bad situation. I hope I can figure something out.

[thepinkdragon76]

Do some research. There may be some programs from the state or the local county in which the school is in that can help as well. Like you I'm an older student as well. I personally think if you can find funding or work while attending that I would do it. I know my opinion on this matter is not the popular one, but I also know the desperation and wish to do something better in my life. Even with my 22 years of IT experience, I cannot get an entry level GS job because my undergrad isn't in CS or CE. I tried exploring other interests but that didn't work out either. I'm waiting to hear back from the only program I applied to. If I get in, I will go, with or without funding. We are doing alright financially at the moment but we won't know for another year if my husband will have to retire early from the Army or not due to the downsizing. We have an 8 yr old son and we need to know that if something happens with my husband's job that I can work in a somewhat decent paying field while he looks for a job. The only way I can do that is by getting certifications (which I am studying for) and going back to school. Good luck, I wish you the best. I know the struggle and I will pray for you.

Edited March 20, 2016 by thepinkdragon76

[rising_star]

39 minutes ago, seasick said:

Would waiting a a year (or few years) hurt my chances even more? I feel like I was already ill-prepared this year. I don't think I can find any jobs with my current credentials (I only have a B.A. in Psychology, and no work experience other than retail/office work) that would pay for tuition assistance for the major I want to pursue. I'm also a non-traditional/older student, which makes this a little more difficult, in my opinion. At this point in my life, I could have just been finishing up a doctorate or had a career for a few years already. Maybe it's me being paranoid, but I feel like this could all be a red flag to admissions.

No, waiting a few years isn't going to hurt your chances. My understanding is that many people in fields like school psychology only go into those programs after spending several years working in schools and gaining hands-on experience. As for options to help with tuition, you could try to get an entry-level office position at a college or university or do Americorps (because you get a tuition award at the end). 

Try not to think about what could have been in terms of your career and focus on the present and the future. How can you best set yourself up to have a successful career as a school psychologist? Though tuition costs may go down after your first year, you'll have to consider that the required internships in schools will reduce your ability/flexibility to have outside employment to pay the bills so you may end up with about the same amount of debt for each year...