I am a soon-to-be Graduate student next year and I am wondering if I will be able to qualify for any financial aid. My husband just got a job as a lawyer making 160k a year before taxes, but he has almost that much to pay back in loans plus we live in DC (which is expensive). It would be ideal that I could get some money to go to school- does anyone know if I will be able to? I understand that he will be making quite a bit, but I am quitting my job to go to school so I don’t want to make him completely carry us financially
File your FAFSA See https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/graduate-professional-funding-info.pdf
Can you wait a year or two before going to grad school? That would give you more time to investigate possible sources of funding. Right now you are eligible for grad student loans, and possibly for private loans, but it would be even better for your family finances if you could score some money from the place where you would be studying.
I could wait, but I’m already going to be 26 this year and I’m in a job that I don’t love. This degree is a stepping stone to my dream job. Waiting a few years to go makes that even further away with a 3-4 year grad program.
Crunch the numbers, and see what can work for your family. I just hate seeing couples like you start out with so much educational debt.
It is worth noting if I do well and am able to get the job I am aiming for (which is very much in the realm of possibility) then the job will help me pay back my debt. If I do as well in Grad school as I did in undergrad (I kept a 4.0 in psychology which is what I’m going to grad for) then I should be set for this 
If you eventually want a PhD, I would look for programs that give a stipend and a teaching assistantship. If you only want a Master’s, I’d calculate the total cost and see if it is affordable or not.
If you quit your job, nothing is stopping you from taking a part-time job. Could you downgrade to part-time maybe, instead of quitting?
I have to say, no one will give a flying hoot about him having to pay back student loans. His salary is around our family’s total income, and we have a bunch of kids and our aid is not very much.
I’d think you could get loans without much of an issue, but sit down and do a budget - can you pay your college costs on a monthly plan? Will the costs be offset by a job later? Do you have any investments that can help, or can he minimize his retirement contributions until you are out of school?
Check out the Direct Plus Loans from the government. Generally speaking they give almost anyone in school a loan. It’s not a great interest rate AND had a disbursement fee but they are easy to qualify for.
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/plus#eligibility
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Today at 11:13 am in Financial Aid & Scholarships I am a soon-to-be Graduate student next year and I am wondering if I will be able to qualify for any financial aid. My husband just got a job as a lawyer making 160k a year before taxes, but he has almost that much to pay back in loans plus we live in DC (which is expensive). It would be ideal that I could get some money to go to school- does anyone know if I will be able to? I understand that he will be making quite a bit, but I am quitting my job to go to school so I don't want to make him completely carry us financially
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There are no Pell Grants or anything like that for grad students.
As a grad student, there isn’t need-based aid. Aid for grad students is usually loan or depending on the degree, merit from the dept because of high stats.
Debt doesn’t matter. Yes, your H will be paying back large loans, but that will be over many years. He won’t be paying $150k back in a year or two.
You need to talk to your H about how much of his salary can go towards your tuition. You won’t need room & board since you’ll be living at hoe.
I’m going to be honest. How much debt for college do,you and your husband want? If he has in excess of $100,000 in debt, and you need to take the same amount of debt…or even close, that would be a lot of debt…even for a lawyer and another professional.
It is unlikely that you will receive any need based aid based on your family income…which is your husband plus your income.
Can you pay the costs to attend this program? Since you are married, I am assuming you have a place to live! You are looking at tuition, fees, and books only. What is that cost?
You can easily take the Direct Loan of $9500 as a college freshman…as an independent student…which is what you are.
My program in total should cost me roughly $45k, assuming that I do well and stay on track as well as if I only complete the required hours to graduate. He will absolutely help me pay out of pocket costs, and I am only looking at tuition, fees, and books.
Books - use ebay as much as possible. Don’t fall for the college bookstore sales pitch.
45K over how many years? Is it a professional master’s or other trade degree where you have strong career options available after graduating?
And did you consider getting a paid summer internship or a co-op to earn money in between going to classes?
If you are married and he has considerable debt, a student loan may be your only option, but the rates are likely to be high.
Again, if it is a PhD, you should be getting funding. If it is a Master’s degree, doubtful. If it is a professional master’s or other “trade” degree, there should be a well-defined plan to get you co-op or internship experience while you are in the program, and that will equal earning money while not paying tuition.
Sorry, I didn’t read carefully enough. The student is a grad student. They should be able to take a Direct loan (unsubsidized) or the Grad Plus loan.
How many years will this take? How much per year can you pay from current earnings or the like? They to minimize your loan debt if possible.
First I would encourage you to take out some term life insurance, so you have that in place. 20 or 30 year level term is fairly cheap.
You can cash flow your graduate school while paying minimum on student loans. Get on a written budget and as Dave Ramsey says “beans and rice, rice and beans”. If you are paying down your school debt as soon as possible, you will be way ahead.
Is it 3 years or 4 years? You should know going in what your course sequence looks like, when you will start your thesis research (or practicum or whatnot, depending on the program) and you should have a solid idea start to finish what your trajectory is. Have you met with this U’s career services advisers with experience in this discipline? Have they told you how they are prepared to help you launch once you are done with the program and what summer opportunities exist to either earn money or get a leg up on finding a job?
I know so many young people who are burdened with… dare I say it- marginally useless grad degrees. Either they fundamentally miscalculated market demand for their degree (and this is regardless of their GPA), or fundamentally misunderstood where their particular grad school “ranks” in the eyes of employers, or they assumed that more education is always better than less.
In some fields, more education means a higher starting salary which means MUCH harder to get hired. In some fields, the Master’s is extremely useful after several years of working in the field, but is pretty much not helpful early on. And in other fields, the Master’s is a just a profitable way for the university to spread the cost of its faculty over more bodies.
Unless you can afford to pay your tuition, fees and books outright, you need to verify (not just having someone at work say, "oh, you’d have a much better job with a Master’s degree) before you spend a dime. This is going to be a lot of debt for a young couple, and your husband wouldn’t be the first lawyer by the time he’s a third year associate to decide he wants to work for a small firm for a better lifestyle/financial haircut…