How did you/ are you planning to pay for school??

[grangeca]

Hello!

I just got my first acceptance into SLP school (yay) but the reality of how I am going to pay for it is setting in. This first school acceptance is one of my most expensive schools, its about 75,000 for the entire program. I have about 15,000 dollars in undergrad loans so I am looking at about 90,000 in loans minimum. Is that totally insane? Has anyone here put themselves through grad school independently? Whats the smartest way to go about this?

 

My school doesn't list any SLP specific scholarships, but I would like to look into that. I really want this, but I also dont want to drown in student loans.

 

Thanks!

[futureSpeechLP]

Congrats on getting into your first school! $90,000 is reasonable to have for student loans. It seems outrageous, but you will start getting a salary soon enough. I'm applying to different scholarships, but I only expect to get a small percentage covered with scholarships. I'm expecting to get at least $50-75,000 in loans. Hopefully, the school I get into will also be able to set me up with a work study or assistant position. This is the only way I would work during grad school.

I would recommend not getting a private loan if you can avoid it. The interest is much higher than un/subsidized federal loans. 

[jmk]

My goal!! is to take out less than $75,000 in loans. If I have multiple acceptances, cost is definitely going to be a factor. 

I have around 5k loans from undergrad. I also have about 4k in credit card debt (mainly because I couldn't get more in student loans) that I'm hoping to cut down with a summer job. 

[apslp]

My situation is a little bit different. I started working in the field after graduating from college 1.5 years ago and worked hard to save up as much as possible. I paid down my undergrad loans to 8k. If I am admitted into a program this year (finger crossed), I will have 20k of savings to fund my studies. I will also apply to scholarships and hope to receive funding from my schools.

The programs I am applying to cost ~25k total (not including living expenses), so ~40k (including living expenses). I will use my savings, in addition to any scholarships/funding I receive. I am also considering working PT in home health if the opportunity presents itself (very flex hours and great money). 

Edited February 3, 2017 by paceslp

[JcSLP]

Loans. I have about 70k from undergrad, and that's going to a state school. I'll be taking out loans again for grad school, but I'm hoping I get into a public school again so the cost is less than if I were to go private, and I'm hoping to pay less for cost of living than undergrad (my school made you live on campus and pay room and board the first 2 years.) There's no other way I could have paid since I'm doing it myself and I went straight out of high school. When grad school is said and done, I'll most likely have 100k+. It's a necessary evil for me... 

 

[wcslp]

Sorry, I'm gonna have to be the downer in this thread. Having gone through grad school already, I just want to say that anything nearing six figures is a ridiculous amount of money for this field... I understand it's your passion and your dream and so on, but so many young people underestimate the impact loans can have on your future. It's a general rule of thumb that you don't want to take out more loans than what you expect to make your first year out... and let me say that I do not know ANY SLPs who started out even remotely close to a six figure salary, and I live in one of the most expensive locations in California! 

 

You can try to bank on PSLF, but imo, putting all your eggs into one basket can be dangerous, especially when PSLF might not even be a thing in the future anymore. SLP is a great degree and I love the field as well, but please put some more thought into taking out tremendous amounts of loans. It is a crippling feeling to be shackled by such absurd amounts. Congratulations to you all for getting accepted into school, but realize that at the end of the day, your degree is your degree. Rankings and such don't really matter in this field. 

"$90,000 is reasonable to have for student loans." 

I am sorry, but I absolutely CANNOT condone this, AT ALL. In what world is 90 THOUSAND dollars reasonable to have for student loans? That is an INSANE amount of money!!! Few people realize how disastrous this will prove in the future. Think about it; you are nearing physician levels of debt at that amount! 

Take a look at a few of these threads to see what established SLPs have to say. You can see that a six figure loan is definitely, absolutely, no-way-in-hell a "reasonable" amount.

 

 

 

[futureSpeechLP]

$90,000 for grad and undergrad debt is reasonable if loans are your only option. Obviously, this is my opinion. I don't have the luxury of getting help from family, so loans are the way I have to go.

@wcslp what is your advice on how to move forward if loans are the only option for school?

It's a gamble to wait another year to get into an in-state public school if you've only gotten into private/out of state schools. I don't recommend taking that gamble. 

I totally agree that rankings don't matter BUT don't go a to a cheap school just to save money. That cheaper school may be miserable for you or not give you the opportunities you need/want. If you get into a more affordable school that you like, then I recommend going there. By getting through school sooner, you will get into the work force sooner.  

Obvi, if your family has money or you are able to get scholarships then I recommend that 100% over taking out loans. If loans are your only option, then be smart. Do your research and do what you think is best for you. It's not an easy decision to go into student loan debt.

 

[lindsayg1993]

5 hours ago, wcslp said:

Sorry, I'm gonna have to be the downer in this thread. Having gone through grad school already, I just want to say that anything nearing six figures is a ridiculous amount of money for this field... I understand it's your passion and your dream and so on, but so many young people underestimate the impact loans can have on your future. It's a general rule of thumb that you don't want to take out more loans than what you expect to make your first year out... and let me say that I do not know ANY SLPs who started out even remotely close to a six figure salary, and I live in one of the most expensive locations in California! 

 

You can try to bank on PSLF, but imo, putting all your eggs into one basket can be dangerous, especially when PSLF might not even be a thing in the future anymore. SLP is a great degree and I love the field as well, but please put some more thought into taking out tremendous amounts of loans. It is a crippling feeling to be shackled by such absurd amounts. Congratulations to you all for getting accepted into school, but realize that at the end of the day, your degree is your degree. Rankings and such don't really matter in this field. 

"$90,000 is reasonable to have for student loans." 

I am sorry, but I absolutely CANNOT condone this, AT ALL. In what world is 90 THOUSAND dollars reasonable to have for student loans? That is an INSANE amount of money!!! Few people realize how disastrous this will prove in the future. Think about it; you are nearing physician levels of debt at that amount! 

Take a look at a few of these threads to see what established SLPs have to say. You can see that a six figure loan is definitely, absolutely, no-way-in-hell a "reasonable" amount

Unfortunately this is the reality and only option for many people. I am attending NYU, which I'm fully aware is very expensive, but not very much more than my state school would be. 

[babykoala]

@wcslp: I agree that 90k is pretty extreme, but if you don't receive an assistantship/scholarship/etc. and have exhausted all other options, what's the alternative: switching fields?

[wcslp]

I think my original point is being slightly misinterpreted. I believe that if SLP is all you've ever wanted to do in life and you've responsibly looked at other avenues of financial aid (assistantships, choosing the cheaper school (which in no way correlates to lower quality), etc), then there may be no other choice than to take out loans. 

However, all I'm saying is that prospective students SHOULD consider that six figures of loans is in no way reasonable. Impressionable students may come to believe that this is the norm and no big deal. That amount is basically like having a second mortgage before you've even graduated, and I honestly think that a lot of people underestimate how much of an impact it can have on your quality of life. My only goal here is to encourage others to research, research, research and think of the future. I agree mostly with what is being reiterated here; I think my main pickle is with classifying six figures of loans as reasonable (i.e., normal and not a big deal), which... let's be real, that is in no way reasonable. 

[grangeca]

@wcslp i appreciate the honest opinion. I haven't heard back from quite a few schools at this point (ones that are cheaper), but with this new acceptance it just had my mind thinking if this was the school I chose.

Thanks for the advice, and your experience!

It is intimidating, and I plan to look at every possible option to lessen the burden of six digit student loans.

[SpeechLaedy]

@wcslp I couldn't agree more.  I was always brought up to go to school and basically worry about paying loans later. My husband however disagrees wholeheartedly and believes that alternate avenues of funding schooling is absolutely paramount. So as lazy as I can be with writing essays and such, I'll definitely be doing my best to apply to all the scholarships &  assistantships I can out there. I used to think that loans are the norm and that since I've heard of people having to pay $150K back in loans in certain fields that it's perfectly acceptable to have to pay close to 100K in loans. Thank God my husband snapped me out of that. So hopefully I'll have success with these scholarships . Good luck to everyone as well in their financial endeavors! ?