How do you go back to school as an ADULT? (master degree, high school)

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by NCyank

It sounds like OP is in a better long term situation but I still would like to see them have some cash reserves and a plan for income before proceeding. It seems the prudent way to go....but then I'm fairly risk adverse and carry no debt. The idea of living on loans with no savings and uncertain income is way beyond my comfort zone.

Do you know these people? Are you their financial advisor? If not, then why worry over what they do? It may be beyond your comfort zone, but it is not your life changing situation at hand.

Not to sound morbid, but you are not going to carry this debt forever. I do not like the idea of paying off my student loans, either, but the immediate raise to my income is worth it. It may take twenty years to pay off, but there is also the extra $2,000 a month that would not have been there otherwise.

I find it interesting that so many people have this notion that going into student loan debt is somehow not worth it, it's ludicrous; but yet going into new car debt, credit card debt, or even new home debt are worth it. The reason for this is that it is socially acceptable, and even expected, to go into these kinds of debt. The whole student loan debt issue is a relatively new development in our country, and let's face it; having a formal education in this country is not something that we as a whole deem 'cool'.

Yes, you can say that a degree may be useless or that the bearer may be out of a job in a few years and will find themselves SOL. Well, you can also be out of a job without a degree and still be SOL in regards to your mortgage or car payment, too. Not to mention that the $30,000 car that you bought is going to be worth less $10,000 in a few years. To me, that is a huge waste of money but many will disagree with me on that.

My GFs mom bought a home nine years ago for $150 grand. Four years ago it was worth $400 grand, but now it is only worth $200 grand. It has been on the market for a year and half with no interested parties. Eventually, it will go up in value. But when? Five years from now? Some return on investment.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by changeyourthoughts

My husband is 35 and wants to go back to school for a masters program that is full time, and cannot be done part time or online. I am wondering how adults afford to do this? We are a family of 3 with 10 year old. I may or may not be able to work full time when he goes back to school, I may only be able to provide a part time income. We have no fall backs like 401k, savings, credit cards, equity lines etc. I know he could get a stafford loan for tuition, but what about living expenses? I have heard a little about grants and scholarships, but can these be applied to living or just tuition? I have heard of families in which one or both of the adults went back full time and scraped by between what was left over from their loans and grants. Scraping by would be fine, but how do you know if youre going to have extra left over from loans or grants until you actually start school? Is it a chance you just go for and then see what happens? i have researched this online and just come up with stuff like use your savings, use your equity line, etc. Anyone have any experience or thoughts? Much appreciated and thank you!

Yes, grants and scholarships can be applied to living expenses. Loans, too. When you receive these monies, they first go to paying for your tuition, then the school cuts you a check for the remainder. They do not check up with you to see how you are spending this money, so if you want to apply it paying rent, bills, food or the horse track and crack is up to you.

How do you know if you are going to have extra left over? Well, you can estimate the cost of tuition (and be sure to include all fees, too), then factor in how much you have been awarded. After that you can easily figure out if you need, or want, to take out extra in loans.

Grad students in Masters programs can get jobs as a research assistant within their department. The money is peanuts, but it is better than nothing.

Federal grants are not available to grad students. Scholarships are available, but they require more work to obtain than undergrad scholarships that tend to fall onto some students laps.

The best thing to do to make it happen would be to cut out everything that is not of absolute importance to your day to day living for the interim. You may be surprised when you realize that you can live comfortably without much 'stuff'.

[NCyank]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

Do you know these people? Are you their financial advisor? If not, then why worry over what they do? It may be beyond your comfort zone, but it is not your life changing situation at hand.

Not to sound morbid, but you are not going to carry this debt forever. I do not like the idea of paying off my student loans, either, but the immediate raise to my income is worth it. It may take twenty years to pay off, but there is also the extra $2,000 a month that would not have been there otherwise.

I find it interesting that so many people have this notion that going into student loan debt is somehow not worth it, it's ludicrous; but yet going into new car debt, credit card debt, or even new home debt are worth it. The reason for this is that it is socially acceptable, and even expected, to go into these kinds of debt. The whole student loan debt issue is a relatively new development in our country, and let's face it; having a formal education in this country is not something that we as a whole deem 'cool'.

Yes, you can say that a degree may be useless or that the bearer may be out of a job in a few years and will find themselves SOL. Well, you can also be out of a job without a degree and still be SOL in regards to your mortgage or car payment, too. Not to mention that the $30,000 car that you bought is going to be worth less $10,000 in a few years. To me, that is a huge waste of money but many will disagree with me on that.

My GFs mom bought a home nine years ago for $150 grand. Four years ago it was worth $400 grand, but now it is only worth $200 grand. It has been on the market for a year and half with no interested parties. Eventually, it will go up in value. But when? Five years from now? Some return on investment.

I am no more their financial advisor than you are. FYI, OP ASKED for opinions and advice.

My advice is consistent....I also don't suggest car debt or CC debt or even mortgage/student loan debt---but I do understand the latter is much more difficult to avoid. Before taking it on I suggest folks have some money in the bank and an overall financial plan in place. We're not talking about a young, single kid living at home, he's a grown man with a family and responsibilities, extra preparation for extra risk is warranted. That's pretty basic advice and even 'real' financial planners will tell you the same thing. I've never heard anyone who knows what they are talking about who would say...yes, go get into tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt at a time when you have no savings and no income. It makes no difference if it's student loan debt or mortgage debt or car debt, etc.


I don't know why you don't like that advice...have some cash for an emergency fund and have a budget/plan for income. That's pretty basic and that someone would argue with it seems astonishing to me.

[K-Luv]

Saying, "I would like to see them..." steps over the boundary of advice into the realm of having a vested interested.

I am not disputing the notion of having money saved up prior, I am just saying that it is not required. The OP asked for first-hand experience and advice from others who are/were in the same boat. My parents both entered college when I was young, at a time when my mother says that they did not have two pennies to their name. In the end it worked out. While we did not have what the Jones' had, we did have food in the fridge, clothes on our backs, and a roof over head. My parents managed to have ON TV, an Atari 2600, and a few other luxuries not to mention that I was the envy at Christmas time due the the amount of cool toys I got; and I was the 'poor' kid.

How did it happen? Well, prior to going broke due to Reaganomics, my dad was self-employed; he ran his own business. He knew the ins and outs of managing finances. Not to mention that when he decided to go to college, he went for an accounting degree. They figured out what to sacrifice and where. When my friends went away to summer camp, my dad took me camping. When my friends went on vacation, my dad took me fishing. They didn't buy new cars. They never paid for anything on credit. If they couldn't pay cash, they simply did not purchase that item. When one of the vehicles needed repair, my dad did it himself.


My point? It can be done.

Yes, the OPs husband is an adult with responsibilities but, the OP also said that scraping by would be fine. No one said anything about not having an income.

[NCyank]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

Saying, "I would like to see them..." steps over the boundary of advice into the realm of having a vested interested.

Well now you are just nit-picking semantics

Originally Posted by K-Luv

My point? It can be done.

Yes, the OPs husband is an adult with responsibilities but, the OP also said that scraping by would be fine. No one said anything about not having an income.

My point...it's a big risk. I'm glad it worked out for your parents but your personal story doesn't constitute sound advice.

I know a 15 year old girl who got pregnant and married her 16 year old boyfriend. Their marriage lasted 60+ years. Would you also recommend that other teens follow this example because it worked out for them?

Similarly, I know a couple who bought a house way over their means. They got seriously underwater after sinking another $40K into it and losing 50% of their income. They had no savings to back them up. They got out by the skin of their teeth. I sure wouldn't recommend that anyone take on that kind of risk based on their story, even though it worked out fine for them in the end. Would you?

My point is...Saving money in advance of taking such a risk is sound advice. Having a plan to cover his lost income while he is in school instead of relying solely on loans is sound advice. True, some people don't mind the extra risk and even beat the odds but it doesn't nullify sound advice.

[StinaTado]

Actually, I'm the one with the parents who went through school while raising a family, and my point was that it was very tough and we had to sacrifice a lot of material things. My parents also spent 4-6 years each in jobs they hated to pay for our living expenses. They got scholarships for tuition, but they chose to work jobs they hated to keep from taking out loans for living expenses.

I'm going back to school now because I want my terminal degree before I have kids. My BF and I are putting off our wedding for a couple of years because I have a much better chance of getting grants and federal loans on my own. Our standard of living will take a hit since we will lose my income when I go back to school.

It can be a worthwhile investment, but getting into massive debt is not the way to do it. The non school spouse gets a job that can support the family and the student picks up the home slack. You take out as little debt as possible and apply for every scholarship. That's the best way to do it.

[mekia02]

Originally Posted by changeyourthoughts

My husband is 35 and wants to go back to school for a masters program that is full time, and cannot be done part time or online. I am wondering how adults afford to do this? We are a family of 3 with 10 year old. I may or may not be able to work full time when he goes back to school, I may only be able to provide a part time income. We have no fall backs like 401k, savings, credit cards, equity lines etc. I know he could get a stafford loan for tuition, but what about living expenses? I have heard a little about grants and scholarships, but can these be applied to living or just tuition? I have heard of families in which one or both of the adults went back full time and scraped by between what was left over from their loans and grants. Scraping by would be fine, but how do you know if youre going to have extra left over from loans or grants until you actually start school? Is it a chance you just go for and then see what happens? i have researched this online and just come up with stuff like use your savings, use your equity line, etc. Anyone have any experience or thoughts? Much appreciated and thank you!

First It is wonderful that you are supporting your husband in this. Like you've read from some of the other posts some people don't understand how an education especially in the right field is an investment and well worth the student debt.

Now, you need to gather all of the tuition and FEE info about the program, speak to some one at the Pharm D school as ask them specifically what fees will need to be paid out each semester because fees can be high. Will he be required to take insurance from the school, or will you want it? How much will insurance for a family of 3 be each year, get that info. I keep a spreadsheet for this. I list every conceivable bill I know I will have to pay out monthly. I list a column for each month for the entire year. I have one row for "miscellaneous" this is leisure money, if I want to see a movie, if I want to take a drive to visit my family, etc because it is unrealistic to think that you are never going to do anything for leisure time. Good thing is that I don't always use up the amount aloted at the end of the year and it can be put towards other things, something fun or paying the interest building on your loan principle! If you are able to work even part time figure out how much money you will be able to bring in and add that to your "incoming money row".

You and your husband will need to figure out how much "safety net" money you will need- this is to take care of the car if it breaks down, if unexpected medical bills should come up, emergency stuff etc. If nothing unexpected comes up during the first year then this money roles over, I would keep this money in an account separate from your checking account.

Lump sum payouts like tuition and then monthly expenses are added and any incoming money is subtracted. The grand tally for the year should be a negative number and this is how much money you need to borrow from financial aid.

He will need to fill out a FAFSA. He will be able to take out a stafford loans. I believe PharmD qualifies him to be categorized as a health professions student, because of that the Stafford subsidized loan amt per year is $8500, the Stafford unsubsidized loan is 32,000 (that is what it is for me, it might vary by school/ program so check with the financial aid office at your husbands school). Should you need more than that, next you can get a Direct Plus loan, there is no limit per se but you can't exceed the amount of money that the school budgets for you. The financial aid sets a budget for you they take into account your school finances, cost of living in the area if you are not living "on campus" and at least the school that I got my masters form had another category for "living expenses" where they say that is the amount that you will need for other basic living expenses.

If a PharmD is in the health professions, which is what I am currently in, that is why I know this, people in the health professions are alloted more money than regular graduate students, instead of the maximum financial aid allotment of 138,500, we are allowed to borrow up to $224,000. You can read more here, but you need to speak with the financial aid office at this school and they can give you more information because the health professions loan program takes into account that most of the students taking this course of study will need more money because they can't work while pursuing this type of an education and they need money to live off of.

It is absolutely doable, albeit it can be scary I live as cheaply as I can and I keep careful records of my financial aid, the amount of interest that I have accrued, Oh and have your husband look into work study. Its a job but it is alot different than "a real job" and might be worth it if he qualifies.

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by NCN

Pell Grant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

not for graduate study.

[Prettygyrl777]

I went to grad school as an adult. It was rough. I had a flexible program so working and going to class was manageable. It worked well for me the first year but during my practicum, I had to quit AND relocate to another city to complete the final year. The 'class work' part is easy- the practicum part is tricky. At least you guys have the understanding that he won't be working during this time.

If you are comfortable with loans, I would suggest applying for the loans AND applying for scholarships. If a loan is awarded to you (as well as the scholarship), you do not have to accept all the money. Just plan out carefully, what you'll need and decline the rest. I had received 8 scholarships over the course of my 2 1/2 years of grad school. In order to apply for the scholarship I had to fill out the fafsa. I would always decline the loan if my scholarships came through.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by NCyank

Well now you are just nit-picking semantics

Say what you mean and mean what you say. Or in this case, write.

Originally Posted by NCyank

Similarly, I know a couple who bought a house way over their means. They got seriously underwater after sinking another $40K into it and losing 50% of their income. They had no savings to back them up. They got out by the skin of their teeth. I sure wouldn't recommend that anyone take on that kind of risk based on their story, even though it worked out fine for them in the end. Would you?

I wouldn't buy a house that was way over my means. I wouldn't buy a house unless I knew I could afford to pay the monthly mortgage payment and taxes at the end of the year, but I would buy a house without prior savings.

Originally Posted by NCyank

My point is...Saving money in advance of taking such a risk is sound advice. Having a plan to cover his lost income while he is in school instead of relying solely on loans is sound advice. True, some people don't mind the extra risk and even beat the odds but it doesn't nullify sound advice.

Sound advice, but not always practical or necessary. If a family had enough disposable income to cover four years of living expenses-just in case-then chances are high that they would not need the benefit of receiving a PharmD in the first place.