When you choose graduate school, do you think of the costs?

Hi Ena!

That is a great question. It is wonderful that you are thinking about graduate school. Cost may be a factor to consider when looking at schools, but you may also want to look into scholarships and other financial aid opportunities that are available to you. Some universities may even have graduate assistantships or offer other ways to work on campus, which could potentially help with the cost of tuition.

I hope this helps! Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Madeline

Hi Ena!

Yes. You look at an advanced degree as you would any business investment. You look at return on the dollar. You look at the benefit against the cost.

Too many people spend too much on an education and end up with huge debt that is hard to repay. Many times an employer will pay for or assist with an advanced degree if it is beneficial to the employee and the company.

When considering an advanced degree, it is very important to talk to people in your career area to see how they have benefitted from an advanced degree and seek their advice. Talk to the head of alumni relations at your undergrad school to arrange to talk to graduates in your career area of interest to see if and how and when they went for an advanced degree and how, if at all, it helped their career.

Let me know if and how this might help. Keep me posted. I would like to follow your progress.

I’d say it depends on your financial situation. I personally did consider the costs for my graduate programs and gave it about equal weight to the school rank and prestige. It probably depends on the field, and I can’t speak about med school or law school, but for my master’s degree, I decided to go to the highest ranking school that gave me full scholarship and a TA position.

I would encourage you to inquire and apply for any scholarships and TA/RA positions at any schools you apply to.