Grad School?

[ToLEEdo]

Should I go to grad school and get paid around $16,000 total for three semester or should I get a full-time job. I am graduating with a BS in Civil Engineering and I'm engaged and we're both considering grad school. She's in early education and want to be a college professor eventually.

I'm interviewing for a lot of different jobs right now and also trying to figure out how grad school would go.

What are your opinions?

[MobCounty]

Should I go to grad school and get paid around $16,000 total for three semester or should I get a full-time job. I am graduating with a BS in Civil Engineering and I'm engaged and we're both considering grad school. She's in early education and want to be a college professor eventually.

I'm interviewing for a lot of different jobs right now and also trying to figure out how grad school would go.

What are your opinions?

Go for it!! Competition is getting tough nowadays. Education is the one thing you can never spend or lose. You will never regret investing in yourself. If you don't who will?

[jonyrotn]

<p>I say go now...If things in your life were to change you mightn't go back..</p>
<p>I thought becomming a professor was something you did after you failed at what you really wanted to do..</p>

[A.J.]

Do it and get it over with. I told myself I'd go to grad school someday and now I never will.

[Tallman388]

Why not do both? Some schools will let you start a grad program at night, that way you don't have to take a full courseload, and you're not putting it off until later.

[ToLEEdo]

Why not do both? Some schools will let you start a grad program at night, that way you don't have to take a full courseload, and you're not putting it off until later.

The classes are at night but it is really research intensive so I would spend a lot of time doing that. It's two semesters of course work (around 21 hrs) and one semester of research and the thesis.

I'm going to do some undergrad research and that would likely turn in to my masters thesis. So I would be able to have to do less research in my grad work.

[Jujubees2]

By all means, do it. I went straight from undergraduate to grad school and was glad I did as if I took anytime of in between, I probably never would have gone back to school.

[DrDrew319]

My girlfriend is in a tough situation with grad school right now. She is going for Occupational Theropy and she got into Columbia UIniversity and SUNY Downstate. Both are great schools and well-known for their programs, but Columbia is $40,000 and SUNY is 5,000. Is Columbia worth the extra loans on top of undergrad loans, or should she just choose schools based on costs?

Any help would be great.

[ZigZagBigBag]

the more you learn, the more you earn.

[Thebazile78]

My girlfriend is in a tough situation with grad school right now. She is going for Occupational Theropy and she got into Columbia UIniversity and SUNY Downstate. Both are great schools and well-known for their programs, but Columbia is $40,000 and SUNY is 5,000. Is Columbia worth the extra loans on top of undergrad loans, or should she just choose schools based on costs?

Any help would be great.

Are the programs comparable in terms of rating and respectability in the field?

While taking on more debt is always scary, student loan debt is an investment rather than a detriment. It may be more challenging to pay off $40,000/yr. in loans, but if the program is rated higher, or it has better resources for placement, internships, etc., I would go with Columbia. If they are equal, your GF should go wherever she feels the most at-home.

Another big advantage to going to a place like Columbia is its alumni networking opportunities ... taking full advantage of offerings like that works for you on multiple levels. You learn how to handle yourself in a business-social situation AND you may be able to schmooze yourself into a sweet job.

As for the money, are there any grant or subsidy programs your GF could apply for in addition to taking out more loans?

[SouthSideJohnny]

My girlfriend is in a tough situation with grad school right now. She is going for Occupational Theropy and she got into Columbia UIniversity and SUNY Downstate. Both are great schools and well-known for their programs, but Columbia is $40,000 and SUNY is 5,000. Is Columbia worth the extra loans on top of undergrad loans, or should she just choose schools based on costs?

Any help would be great.

Congrats to your girlfriend. It's a good position to be in.

My advice to anyone going to grad school is to go to a public school. BUT, the only exception I would make is if it's a top ten school. If the SUNY program is well known, I would go with that one, especially if it's not too difficult to find jobs in that field. It the market is tough, there may be some advantages to a big name school, but I think the amount of help you really get is less than what people think.

Think long and hard about the student loans and how long it will take to pay them off. I know alot of people that graduated with $75k in student loans. If the loans are consolidated and spread over 30 years, which is almost the only way you can afford to pay that much, you will still have a huge balance owed after 10 years. At 5% interest rate, your payment would be $402 per month, and you would still owe $61,000.00 after ten years. Due to the way a loan amortizes, most of the earlier payments go to interest. If the rate is higher, the situation is even worse.