<p>I know most of the people on the board are looking to pursuit phd's.
However, for us Master degree aspired students, how do we make ends meet?
I am looking at 40k/year for tuition + living expenses :/ :/</p>
<p>From what I understand, there is little if any funding for Master students.
Is subsidized loans the best or the only way to go? Or are there better options?</p>
<p>Depends what type of masters. For 1 year programs it's almost always out of your pocket, but even a 40-50k degree will almost certainly pay for itself in 2-3 years. </p>
<p>2 year- research masters seem to get the same GRA/GTA funding that Ph.D students get. Both UIUC and GA tech have offered me tuiton+stipend as long as I do I work for the university in some way.</p>
<p>thanks for the heads up merper</p>
<p>I am looking to pursuit a 2 year, thesis based Master's degree.
The idea of graduating with close to 60-80k in debt scares me :(</p>
<p>For a one year master, you can also drastically cut living expenses just by pinching every penny. I had a friend who got a masters in europe and basically made it work by taking out a loan for his tuition, then living with some friends he knew in the area and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all year. You would be surprised how much you safe if you live a life of paupacy for a year!</p>
<p>jeez, that is called dedication</p>
<p>Many people get an entry level job in their field and then have their company pay them to go to night school for their masters. Usually you pay upfront and as long as you get a B they pay you back. This would be your preferred route.</p>
<p>I don't know what field you're in, but I applied to lots of MA programs in history, and all offered partial to full funding for at least some candidates. Do your research. What are you planning on doing with this degree? In my case, I am going on to a PhD, and I refuse to accumulate a bunch of debt for either degree. If it isn't funded, I'm not taking it. I can wait a year if need be to bolster my app and get funded.</p>
<p>I would NOT do an MA that put me in that much debt. YMMV.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, I should mention I'm Mechanical Eng. Major, so I'm not sure if this setup translates to non-engineering fields.</p>
<p>My field is Comp Sci., so I wonder if the funding in my field is similar to yours</p>
<p>You can apply for a fellowship/scholarship once you start school. They come in many variations so you qualify for at least a handful no matter what your situation is.</p>
<p>MS students can be both TA's and RA's (research assistant). These can be obtained AFTER you start school. A few lucky ones will get it within weeks into school but the standard process is you look for it for the following semester.</p>
<p>You can be an RA (resident assistant) at a dorm. Some schools even have graduate student dorms. Sometimes these are called RC(ounselor)s or whatever else name the dorms come up with.</p>
<p>You can be a TA in a related field, ie an engineering student TA'ing in math, stat, or even Spanish, whatever you're qualified for.</p>
<p>There are also lots of "graduate assistantships", random jobs for the school ranging from secretarial to webmaster/database/IT-related that offer the same benefits as a TA or R(esearch)A.</p>
<p>Many students enter paying tuition for the 1st semester and find a solution by the 2nd semester. There are many opportunities that you don't know about until you start school AND rummage for information.</p>
<p>thanks for the information LOS</p>
<p>Don't know about you Jon, but the main reason I want to go to Michigan is for a possible co-op with companies there. Thusly, I can watch football and drink (and limited studying :) ) in the Fall and work in the Spring if I don't get a TA or RA job. Try looking into co-ops or something? Or a job and do your masters part-time at night...</p>
<p>i will definitely look into the coop option!
Still waiting for the official admission letter ... :(</p>
<p>btw should i even bother applying for fafsa?</p>
<p>Captain Scruffy,</p>
<p>Whats the point of going to Michigan to watch football if you know they are going to get waxed by USC every other year?</p>
<p>Hahaha! Just kidding around with you.</p>
<p>One of my best friends is a trojan fan. We hate each other every other year :)</p>
<p>That being said, I'm also applying to usc :x</p>
<p>Scruff,</p>
<p>Hope you get into USC so you can watch them clean up for the next few years! My dad is a Trojan alumnus and my entire family lives and dies Trojan football (even though we live in Montreal!). Pete Carroll is trying to build an NFL dynasty down there with the recruits he is getting. Hahaha!</p>
<p>Get a job with tuition reimbursement and have your employer pay for it. You can take 1 or 2 courses per semester.</p>
<p>lol @ usc football discussion. I'm going to be a senior there next year and I'm hoping to win some tix to a national championship game (tickets distributed by lottery weighted on class standing)</p>
<p>Many MS students in engineering pay their own way (or loans), since the potential salary benefit over time does outweigh the costs in many cases. Additionally, if the job market is depressed, many students spend the extra 18 months or so getting a masters in the hope the market will be better when they graduate, and even if it isn't, they will be more competitive anyway.</p>
<p>It varies depending on where you go, but TA/RA positions for master's students can be limited. Many schools prefer to give TAships to PhD students who lack funding, and many professors are reluctant to give their RAships to students who will be leaving in a year.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it's not out of the question. One of my friends got a TAship the past two semesters as an MS student. Another thing is that graderships are often frequently given to master's students (since PhD students usually have TA or RA positions already)</p>
<p>Well, I am going to keep my fingers crossed :x:</p>
<p>I know this is old, but I was under the impression that co-ops are only for undergrads? It does seem like a really good option for engineering grad school, but I would think that leaving every couple semesters to work wouldnt be too beneficial to the school you're getting your degree at.</p>