I went to a state school out of state (U of Mich) for my MArch. Scholarship for about 1/2 tuition, loan to other half of tuition and savings from working f/t for 2yrs before combined with on campus job paid living expenses. My parents helped a bit with travel expenses when I studied/traveled abroad. At graduation I owed about $35K from undergrad & $35K from grad in debt...so $70K SL debt. It blows, I'm 40 & still owe $28K 15yrs after finishing. But I haven't worked f/t in 12yrs.
I have an MA, so I used a combination of loans and OOP. My H has a PhD, so his was paid with a stipend/funding and he worked as a TA for part of that. He also took out 1 loan of about $12k for living expenses, because living off of what was essentially minimum wage in Los Angeles was difficult, even in the 90s, and even with his approximately 200 square foot bachelor apartment. But those loans were 1) not too shabby for 5 years of school and 2) at an interest rate of like 2.1%, so we are in no rush to accelerate that payment.
ETA: Neither of us have undergraduate loans. I would not have been in a hurry to take out more loans if that had been the case.
My PhD and smallish stipend (enough to live on since I was very cheap and then-bf had an actual job so could split rent) was fully paid by fellowships.
I have a PhD fully funded by a combination of fellowships, teaching courses independently (I never actually was a TA), RAing, and holding an administrative position in the department. Every year we got new job assignments (though you could repeat the same assignment multiple times.)
Law school. I had a partial scholarship that covered about half of my tuition. My parents were very generous and gave me $5000/year (in the mid 90's). The rest was paid for with student loans. I only practiced law for 2 1/2 years so not a wise investment.
Post by jerseyjaybird on Apr 30, 2016 9:47:57 GMT -5
I have an MA and am ABD in art history. I had teaching/museum assistantships that included tuition remission and a tiny living stipend as well as a few scholarships along the way. I took out a small loan to cover the rest.
I start grad school in the fall. Luckily, it's a relatively "affordable" program. I only get $2k/yr from my employer so I plan to pay as I go over 3 years.
Post by keweenawlove on Apr 30, 2016 10:09:13 GMT -5
I had a fully funded engineering PhD paided out of an R01 Grant. I had full tuition + roughly 25k a year as a stipend. DH and I got married a semester in and he was working full time making a real salary.
I have an MA and a JD. MA was paid for with TA stipend, small scholarship and some of my own money. JD was mostly loans - all tuition and fees were paid with loans, and a portion of my living expenses as well. I paid for the rest with part time work.
I got paid with an NSF grant plus money from my university for my phd. I had to teach for two semesters, as opposed to four, but I chose to teach for three. Tuition was paid for and I got a stipend.
I have an MS in engineering, from tier I research school - so lots of money. I had a TA position for my first year, and then a research fellowship for my second year. My advisor paid me as a lab assistant through the summers. All covered tuition and fees, plus a small stipend which was (almost) enough to live on in our small town. I left school with about $4k in credit card debt that I called my high interest student loans.
I'm just started what might end up as a second masters. So far self-funded bc I don't want to tell anyone at work.
I have a PhD. I had a fellowship for four years (had to be a TA for two or those and an RA for one) that covered my MA and some on my PhD coursework. I funded my field-based research with a variety of grants. After my fellowship ended, I worked as a TA, a teaching fellow, did odd jobs (everything from limited time contracts to nannying/tutoring), and had a writing fellowship for a semester. I also got a sweet contract job during my last year that paid the bills while I wrote my dissertation at night. No loans, thank goodness, as I already had some from undergrad.
I have an MA. I had a research assistantship that covered the in-state portion of expenses. I took out loans for the out of state portion and living expenses. We have like $2400 left to pay on an original balance of $25k.
I was funded 100% by a research assistantship for an out of state university. So, it paid my tuition and living expenses.
My parents did provide money to help out on a few occasions when my car crapped out on me (<$2k total). It wasn't strictly necessary, but saved me from eating ramen.
I have 2/3 an MFA. Employer paid 75%, I paid 25% out of pocket, no loans. I didn't finish because I came to think it was a bullshit degree. Enjoyed the classes, though.
My grandparents put money away for me to go to college. I went to an in-state school and I had just enough to cover in-state tuition grad school (2 year, MLIS program) afterwards thanks to affordable UC tuition back then. I also worked full time for 3 years between undergrad and college and have saved up some, which helped with living expenses through the program. My parents helped me with rent during the program too. I also worked all through grad school (usually 2-3 part time jobs that were relevant to my field, including paid internships, and full time summer jobs in my field). I am surprised and grateful that I never had to take out loans. It's not a very lucrative career, but I love my job!