Any ideas?

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-09-2002
Any ideas?
2
Tue, 10-21-2008 - 12:32pm

I am having a dilemma of sorts.

Avatar for mahopac
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-24-1997
In reply to: debvt36
Tue, 10-21-2008 - 3:23pm

I'd say it depends on what you will get at the end of your grad school education and what you have to invest to get there.

If you can get a scholarship to grad school or find some way of doing it relatively cheaply, and you end up with a degree that substantially increases your earning potential, it's probably worth it. If it means going $50K or $100K into debt and you don't see a way to pay it off within 5 years of graduation and still coming out ahead each year, as well as in the long run, maybe it's not worth it. Don't forget to factor in the opportunity cost of giving up the job you have now; if you're making $50K a year and you quit to go back for a 2-year degree, the cost of your education goes up by $100K.

When I went back to grad school 20 years ago, I had nothing to lose. I was 22 when I left a job that paid $20K a year (in 1985), sold my car, and had no debt other than $4000 from my undergrad degree (repayment could be put on hold while I went back to school). I got a full tuition waiver and a graduate assistantship stipend from a third-rate grad school, and graduated with an MBA that cost me just $4000 in additional student loans to cover what the stipend didn't. I got a great job with a Fortune 100 company that paid $30,000 (back in 1987) and within 5 years was making twice that.

On the other hand, I know people who've gone $100K into debt to get graduate degrees that didn't pay or led to careers in fields it turned out they hated - and then they were stuck there until they'd paid off the $100K.

I was always brought up to think education has an intrinsic value, which it does, but as I've gotten older and college has become insanely expensive, I also feel you have to look at return on investment of your education.

Kelly

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-09-2002
In reply to: debvt36
Wed, 10-22-2008 - 10:25am

Well, I'm a writer and looking to get my MFA possibly for teaching writing.