<p>So the grad program I got into offers no help the first year, which means I have to find a way to pay 41 thousand dollars in just tuition. I know if I fill out a fafsa form I could get government loans but that can't add up to much. So how do I pay for it? Is being 41k in debt worth it for a masters in immunology? Also the second year I only have to pay about 10k so approximate total debt will be 51 thousand dollars. </p>
<p>Some input would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>Nope, don’t join an immunology department that doesn’t pay for your tuition and stipend. It’s just bad policy. As painful as it may be to do right now, the right thing would be to get a job as a tech and work for a couple of years before applying to a Phd program.</p>
<p>Normally I would have taken your advice but the school I got into is jhu’s masters program which could open a lot of doors when I apply for a phd program. Is being around 50k in debt then earning a phd for free with stipend at a great research institute worth it? I have been accepted to a phd program (with all the benefits) but it does not compare in terms of research options to jhu.</p>
<p>You can open just as many doors by doing a research internship (where you’ll be getting paid instead of paying), working in the field, beefing up your resume in other comparable ways that don’t involve taking on $51K in debt on top of whatever you’ve borrowed in undergrad. Assuming the national average of debt from undergrad ($22K), we’re talking over $70K in debt before you even hit a PhD program. That’s a lot of debt to take on, and can be crushing in a post-doctoral fellowship or low-paying VAP that you may take before getting a professor position somewhere.</p>
<p>I’m less familiar with your field, but in psychology (my field), working as a research assistant or lab coordinator for 2-3 years is far more valuable than getting a master’s degree in psychology. In fact most of the credits from an MS in psych won’t even transfer to most PhD programs, so you’re just out money. In a lab tech position you’re actually making money, not paying it. I’d imagine that similar is true in natural science fields - research is research, and when you go to a master’s program is the research that will get you into a subsequent PhD program, not the classes (although proving you can do well in graduate level immunology classes can help, especially if you have a less-than-stellar undergraduate GPA).</p>
<p>Ultimately the choice is up to you. JHU is a great place to be as far as biomedical research goes. But “worth it” is such a nebulous question. Financially worth it? That depends, immunology salaries are generally higher than my field’s, so you may easily be able to handle $51K in debt especially if you get a job at a high-profile university, hospital, or in a government lab. Worth it from a philosophical enjoyment standpoint? That’s up to you. I wouldn’t do it.</p>
<p>I totally agree with juillet here. I just finished applying for PhD programs in the biosciences with just my undergraduate degree and 3 summers of research experience coming from an UNKNOWN institution. They don’t care what program you are coming from (although it can be impressive). If you have had meaningful research experiences (such as working in a lab as an intern, as many of the people I interviewed with did), that is just as good as getting a masters. And you don’t build up unnecessary debt.</p>
<p>Thank you belevit, juillet, and Christine 2010 I really appreciate the responses.</p>
<p>…I think I’m going to be alright…financially.</p>
<p>In total I’m going to be around 80K in debt when all is said and done. It’s a lot of money but I’m confident that I can secure a high paying job. Getting a research position in immunology would be great but I have not applied yet and all of my undergraduate research experience is in environmental science so securing a position might be unsuccessful, especially in the current job market. So…I guess I’ve decided? Whats the worst that could happen anyways?</p>