With loans, how much is too much?

[asarge]

So, I'm in a conundrum. I have been accepted to a few American Studies programs as a masters student, but without funding (which apparently, is common), and I'm looking at the prospect of having to take out loans for close to $40,000 to cover tuition and living expenses. My goal is to parlay my masters into a PhD program, so I'm definitely investing in a lifelong goal of becoming a professor. Any thoughts on how much is too much when it comes to loans for a masters program?

[waxingk]

I've always heard that it not worth going into debt if your career isn't going to pay you back.

I'm in a similar situation. I have 3/4 funding, but will have to take out loans for 1/4 tuition plus living expenses.

[Optimistic]

Even though everyone warns against going in debt, especially in humanities programs, if it's what you really want to do, then do it. I am in a similar situation because I didn't get any funding from either program that accepted me. One of them only gives funding to about 10 students and the other doesn't fund MA students at all. Still, all I want to do is go to graduate school and after all the hard work I put into the applications then the stress from waiting, I can't imagine not going at all next year. I'll probably be taking about that much out in loans (plus $27,000 from undergrad) for an MA in English, a pretty worthless degree, but I can't imagine anything else I'd rather do. So if your options are either taking out loans or not going to grad school at all, which seems like the worse scenario to you?

[daseinplushie]

I agree with Optimistic. I'm entering an MA program in philosophy, and will be taking out loans to do it. In my case, I took out nearly 50k in loans as an undergrad to pay for my education. I figure, my debt will already be substantial, I may as well do everything I can to ensure that I get into a career that I'm going to enjoy.

Also, most people take out loans one way or another. A lot of people who say as undergrads "I have to get funding, I can't take out loans for graduate study" wind up taking out loans to help with their living expenses, since most stipends aren't realistic for what the cost of living is in most places.

And for the humanities, the job outlook is so grim that you really should only be going to grad school if there's nothing else you'd be as happy doing. In fields like philosophy, English, classics, etcetera, you're pretty much in for a lifetime of self-sacrifice. I figure that if a person isn't willing to make initial sacrifices, such as taking out loans, then they probably shouldn't pursue that career path, because there will be much bigger sacrifices later on (having to choose between a social/romantic life and working on one's dissertation, salary, choice of geographic location, etcetera).