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I graduated in August of 2014 and have been unsuccessful in finding work in my field that pays more than $10 an hour. I have worked a few temp jobs and seasonal but they we're very low paying and, temporary. I realized my BA in psych was pretty much worthless and would like to return to school to major in something more practical. My masters would be in TESOL and my goal is to be a university instructor overseas. I am in the process of applying for deferment of my loans or forbearance as I am unemployed and can not start paying in March. If I do find another job it would most likely be VERY low paying.
If I prove that I am unemployed/unable to find a career that pays enough to start making loan payments on top of my other bills (car, phone, housing) would I be able to get loans in the fall for graduate school? This would hopefully lead to a more lucrative job. What advice would you give me? Would I be able to get loans for masters if I prove I am unemployed/experiencing financial hardship (car is about to be repossessed).
As long as you are not in default you should be ok...as well as not having committed any crimes, academic dishonesty, and other pre-reqs of getting the loans. People go right from undergrad to grad school all the time and defer student loans.
You basically just graduated. As the second poster said, people go directly from undergrad to grad school all the time and defer the loans. So don't worry about not having employment in the field.
As Qwerty said, if your existing loans are not in default, you would be eligible for add'l loans if you entered a new degree program (you don't have to "prove hardship"). However, your post was a bit vague - your title says "graduate school" but your post talks about "another major."
You want to be careful there - just because you have a bachelor's in hand doesn't make any new program you join "graduate school" - grad school would be a Master's/PhD/first professional degree (MD/JD/etc.). That wouldn't be a "new major" partly as a matter of verbiage, and partly for the fact that typically graduate work is an extension of your undergrad work. I.e. while not impossible, it's not very common to go from a BA in Psych straight to an MS in Physics or Public Policy, since grad programs will typically assume you already have a foundation in that field, esp. ones likely to be worth the investment. You want a long term plan, and not just to end up back where you are now with one more degree and more debt in hand.
You could, as you say, opt for a "new major" but that would be as a 2nd bachelor's (or "post-bac") student, or even go back and get an Associate's degree. Just be aware that, if that's your plan, your eligibility for loans could be fairly limited on a variety of fronts (annual and lifetime borrowing cap, might still be "dependent", etc.) and what you're able to borrow as an undergrad might not cover your tuition, much less living expenses depending on where you enroll.
You can get loans for anything so yes. however if you cannot pay your current bills I would not, I'd work on improving my credit score/ pay may bills down or off first. But yes some vulture out there will still give you a loan to go to school as long as you have nothing too offensive in your credit report.
We still live in a world where free access to credit is given away like candy and its up to you to use it in a way that will help you.
As Qwerty said, if your existing loans are not in default, you would be eligible for add'l loans if you entered a new degree program (you don't have to "prove hardship"). However, your post was a bit vague - your title says "graduate school" but your post talks about "another major."
You want to be careful there - just because you have a bachelor's in hand doesn't make any new program you join "graduate school" - grad school would be a Master's/PhD/first professional degree (MD/JD/etc.). That wouldn't be a "new major" partly as a matter of verbiage, and partly for the fact that typically graduate work is an extension of your undergrad work. I.e. while not impossible, it's not very common to go from a BA in Psych straight to an MS in Physics or Public Policy, since grad programs will typically assume you already have a foundation in that field, esp. ones likely to be worth the investment. You want a long term plan, and not just to end up back where you are now with one more degree and more debt in hand.
You could, as you say, opt for a "new major" but that would be as a 2nd bachelor's (or "post-bac") student, or even go back and get an Associate's degree. Just be aware that, if that's your plan, your eligibility for loans could be fairly limited on a variety of fronts (annual and lifetime borrowing cap, might still be "dependent", etc.) and what you're able to borrow as an undergrad might not cover your tuition, much less living expenses depending on where you enroll.
The OP is going out for a MA in TESOL (teaching English as a Second Language). No particular background beyond having a bachelors degree is required. It's definitely graduate work, so no issue with the loans there.
The OP is going out for a MA in TESOL (teaching English as a Second Language). No particular background beyond having a bachelors degree is required. It's definitely graduate work, so no issue with the loans there.
Yes, it is an MA program. I am still applying for jobs in the meantime to attempt to pay my current loans. Thanks everyone!
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