Thanks to the generosity of my grandparents and parents, I have enough funds to pay for exactly 4 years of school at a private institution. Technically, the funds being used to pay for college are in my name and in my own private account. Should I spend all of this money at my top choice school, or instead choose a school that gives me a significant merit scholarship so that I will have money saved for graduate school? I will be paying for graduate school myself, without the support of my parents, and I want to plan wisely. I am most likely going to work for a few years to save before applying.
If I choose the full pay school, I will have close to no savings once I enter graduate school, other than funds from work. My expected contribution, according to the FAFSA calculator, will be close to $4,000. (An estimate, because I don’t know what my income will be at the time).
If I choose the school with the scholarship, I will have enough to pay for about 2-3 years of graduate school. My expected contribution if I choose this option will be closer to $16,000. (Again, an estimate).
Which is the wiser option? It is my understanding that aid for graduate school is very different from undergrad aid, and that only merit scholarships and unsubsidized loans are available. Should I pick the “name” school I prefer, or save a fair amount of money at one of my safeties? I know I am lucky to be able to even debate these options.
You can check with the school as to whether that’s an option in the first place. If it is, you can also look into what the requirements to TAing are. If you genuinely feel you can meet those requirements, then go for it. That’s my take.
Sorry, I can see how that was confusing. No, the $4,000 per year is hypothetically what my expected contribution would be for graduate school if I choose to pay ~$45,000 for undergrad and am left with close to no savings.
What will you major in and what do you want to study in grad school? Some fields are more likely to fund you for grad school. Most PhDs should be fully funded, but masters may not be.For instance, if you know you are going to Law school or for MBA or masters in education, chances of funding may be slim. Do you have specific schools you are looking at or is this hypothetical for next year.
You’ll get some good advice here about what full pay schools are really worth the money. In general, depending on school, I’d save money for later.
I am probably going to study history or international relations. I am interested in biochem, but I’m not sure I’ll actually end up on that track. I do not want to go to law school, but I am interested in potentially going to med school. PhD programs in the humanities are also of interest… I’ve got a lot of interests and I’m not currently sure where they’ll take me.
My safeties (most of which I’ve been accepted to) are top 50 LACs. The ones I’ve heard from have given me significant merit scholarships. My top choice schools are top 15 LACs. I received an early write acceptance from one, but I’ve yet to get information about merit aid.
This is a high school kid. He would have no idea of where he’d be going to grad school at this point…so there’s nothing to check about TA’ing or anything.
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but I am interested in potentially going to med school
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And if he goes to med school, then there is no TA’ing with that.
it is typically advised for a student NOT to attend the same grad school as undergrad…for a variety of reasons, but typically to expose oneself to a new set of professors.
@CourtneyThurston
Either way, this student wouldn’t know now where he’d be accepted to grad school…or if he would even have the stats for grad school.
Many kids stay at the same school (especially when finances are an issue and you can take advantage of TA/related programs) and do just fine. I see no reason to assume either way from what OP has said.
He/she seems pretty confident they’re going to make grad school happen given that they even asked this question. I won’t apologize for my suggestion: it was something to look into, and has helped friends in similar circumstances.
If finances are an issue than why doesn’t OP go to one of her ‘safeties’, then go to a top choice for grad school instead of going full-pay to a top choice now in hopes that that same college will still be a top choice in four years and will be able to fully fund OP? It really doesn’t make much sense.
Seems like that’s the question being asked here, yep.
TAing is only an option if 1) the school has a policy on the matter and 2) if OP is very much in love with his/her top choice and anticipates continuing to be. It’s contingent on those being true, and going with the plan of TAing is a risk, but it’s worked for others. If it’s not applicable here, OP is welcome to make that determination his or herself and move along to other suggestions of things to look into.
Look, you look into funding grad school when you are ready to go. Sure for some grad schools you can TA for some you can’t. OP has mentioned LACs which are not generally granting grad degrees… But if you don’t know what your are even majoring in yet, it is premature and distracting to the matter at hand to figure out if you can TA in 5 years or not.
@karystos1 It looks like you are still waiting for all your offers. Saving a bundle at one LAC over another may be a very good idea, since you don’t know what you are going to major in yet and you want to keep options open for grad school. I don’t know why you are estimating an expected contribution for grad school, it doesn’t work like undergrad that way. There isn’t any expected contribution based on your income and savings. You pay full price less any fellowship or tuition waiver. Here are some examples:
Med school - student is usually full payer via loans
MBA - student is usually full payer via loans or savings
Masters - student is usually full payer, excepting sometimes you can get tuition waived and/or a TA position - this depends on the degree and the university, and general availability. Sometimes employers will pay all or partial.
PhD - usually this is funded, meaning you get a tuition waiver and stipend in exchange for being a TA or RA - often, if you have prepared, you can enter a PhD program directly from undergraduate and get the master’s along the way.
Ignore that FAFSA calculator for grad school. It does not apply to grad school. Plus, all the FAFSA calculators give you is an EFC, not an estimate of aid.
For grad school, there is not need based aid like there is for undergrad school. The vast majority of financial aid for grad school is merit based and is based on the strength of your application, and the grad school’s desire to have you in their cohort. This aid comes in the form of scholarships, grants, assistantships, fellowships, and sometimes work-study. Loans are also available to grad students.
You are a high school senior. There is NO WAY for you to know right now how competitive an applicant you would be for grad school funding.
Now…to answer your question…if you absolutely want your money to stretch for both undergrad and grad school costs, then you have only one choice…take as much merit aid as possible for undergrad school, and save your money for grad school.
If this money is in a 529 account, however, keep in mind that you must use it for educational expenses.
If the money is in regular savings, you can spend it on anything…so if you happen to get funding for grad school after getting merit aid in undergrad, you can use that money for another purpose once your schooling is done.
This is your first lesson is buying. You’ve been given a gift, so spend it wisely. If you will be just as happy at the cheaper/merit school, that’s your best buy. If you really want the experience only the top name school can provide, spend your money on that. Look at all aspects. You may find that it really is worth paying for the more expensive school because it has the best major for you, you feel it is going to be challenging, you want to live in that area.