<p>Hello.</p>
<p>I am an undergrad student and for my field (Biochemistry) I really need to attend graduate school for at least a masters.</p>
<p>I am taking out a lot in private loans (up to 40-50k by the time i graduate), and my payment is going to be close to 500-600 a month!!!</p>
<p>My parents won't be able to help me make this payment while I'm in grad school.</p>
<p>What are my options? I'm really scared about my future. I hear it's really not possible to work and attend grad school at the same time, and to make that much of a payment every month I would have absolutely nothing left if I were to even work part time! Living expenses :(</p>
<p>Stretching out my grad school by taking fewer courses does not seem like a good idea to me. I really would like to finish as soon as I can and get on with my life.</p>
<p>What do people in my situation do? What are my options? Any words of advice? :(</p>
<p>1) If you are good enough to be admitted to graduate school, you should be good enough to receive at least partial funding.</p>
<p>2) There are lots of jobs out there in biotech for people with a Bachelor’s degree. Look for a position in industry and work for a couple of years to pay down some of your debt. Then go back to grad school in a specialization that you are particularly interested in. Alternately, look for a position at a university as a lower-level lab tech., and work while you take classes for free!</p>
<p>3) Ask your lender about what happens while you are in grad school. Will they let you make only interest payments? Will they defer the loan repayment (interest will continue to accrue)?</p>
<p>Its a private credit union loan, and they have no deferement or repayment reduction options.</p>
<p>I feel like if I stop between undergrad and grad for a couple years I might not end up back in school ever, so I would like to do it all in one shot.</p>
<p>So it sounds like my only option is to work in a college? What type of payment do students receive?</p>
<p>Find a job in a lab at a university and attend part time grad classes while working.</p>
<p>Sounds like a plan to me.</p>
<p>How do the different colleges handle students working in their labs? Do I get the job first or get admitted first? If I get the job first do they automatically allow me to attend grad school there?</p>
<p>Where are some places I can look for these types of positions? And are there any other ways I can increase my chances besides a good GPA and work experience?</p>
<p>You will need to do some research. Identify schools that you are interested in and pose the question to them. You will need to apply and be accepted as a grad student. I guess the easiest way would be to find a job and then apply for admission as a student. The school you are looking for will offer free or discounted tuition to employees. Better yet find a program where you would get a stipend for doing research, perhaps reach for a PhD program which will usually come with a yearly stipend.</p>
<p>I think your biggest problem will be the $500- $600 a month in loan payments. With a BS you will probably not command a salary of more that the high 20’s low 30’s. your loan payment will be a huge chunk of that. Even if you find a job and get free tuition, meeting living expenses won’t be easy.</p>
<p>“I feel like if I stop between undergrad and grad for a couple years I might not end up back in school ever…” </p>
<p>But if you are making a decent living, why would that be a bad thing? Nowhere is it written that you MUST get an X degree.</p>
<p>As for working and studying, many employers offer tuition reimbursement programs, so there is a fair chance that you would be able to study and work. As for the suggestion of getting a job at a university, most colleges/universities allow staff members to take a certain number of credits each term for free. If you are on the staff it isn’t that hard to gradually work your way into whatever academic program you want to be in. You just need to accept that it might take some time.</p>
<p>But since your central issue is money, I have to ask why are you at a college/university that you can’t afford without private loans? Do you have a more affordable option?</p>
<p>It’s not necessarily true that if you are good enough to get into graduate school, you should be good enough to get partial funding. At the master’s level at least, it can be very difficult to secure non-repayable funding - although I do know that it’s generally more common for MS students in natural science programs to get funding. (In my field, virtually no one gets non-repayable aid for their master’s.)</p>
<p>It is true on the doctoral level that generally if you get into a doctoral program, you should get funding (and in fact you should not attend an unfunded doctoral program, especially in the sciences.) However, even if you do get funding it won’t be enough to repay $500 a month in loans. The most you’ll get is probably around $30,000, and you have to pay taxes on that. I am a doctoral student on an NSF and trust me, I couldn’t afford to repay my loans right now (and my payments would be less than half yours).</p>
<p>Generally, though, I agree with the wisdom that you should probably take a few years out of graduate school and pay down that debt. You can’t imagine being out of school because you probably haven’t ever been out of school that you can remember! But with a biochemistry degree I think you could command a salary higher than the high $20K to low $30K range. Pharmaceutical reps make more than that, and you can do that with a BS. You could also do consulting. Even most of the lab research assistants I know make at least $30,000. In fact, I have a lot of friends who are out there working with just a BS and none of them makes less than $30,000 a year. Most make more than $35,000.</p>
<p>High $20K/low $30K for a college grad? That’s ridiculous. People who don’t go to college can make more money than that. $40-50K is more reasonable.</p>
<p>Anywho, do you have parents or family that can spot you on some cash (or at least pay for the interest while you are in school)?</p>
<p>You’re planning to borrow $40-50K in addition to Stafford loans? Looking at your other thread, I think you’re going to be in debt over your head and it doesn’t sound like your family will be able to help bail you out. How are they going to qualify to cosign for these loans every year? I think you really need to consider going the CC to SUNY route…$70 to $80K is far too much for an undergrad degree.</p>
<p>What year are you in college?</p>
<p>I really doubt you’ll be able to keep qualifying for all these credit union loans unless you have parents with good incomes. </p>
<p>Who has been co-signing your loans? </p>
<p>You are borrowing too much money.</p>
<p>What cheaper options do you have to go to school?</p>