Experience With Graduate School?

[windcatcher 0]

Hey guys-
The more I think about it, the more I get serious and curious about considering going to grad school.
Can someone please help me out with a few basic questions???

1. Are you required to make payments on your student loans ( from undergrad, of course), while you are in graduate school? I don't have to pay my loans back until I graduate undergrad; so if go back to school, this time grad, will I have start making payments or no?
2. Do you work full time and go to graduate school?
I am wondering how people attend grad school and still have $$ for bills, etc. ( Obviously, with undergrad you live in dorms and have a meal plan, so no worries there)
3. Did you take any time off between undergrad and grad school?
I would like to go to grad school, but only after taking a year off. Would it be harder to get into/finish grad school after taking a year off??

Thanks for your help guys. Sorry my questions sound a little formal, you can answer them any way you would like.
Any advice?

Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

[NWFlyer 2]

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1. Are you required to make payments on your student loans ( from undergrad, of course), while you are in graduate school? I don't have to pay my loans back until I graduate undergrad; so if go back to school, this time grad, will I have start making payments or no?

You will need to talk to your lenders, but there is most likely an option to completely defer your undergrad loans or make interest-only or otherwise lower payments while you're back in school.

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2. Do you work full time and go to graduate school?
I am wondering how people attend grad school and still have $$ for bills, etc. ( Obviously, with undergrad you live in dorms and have a meal plan, so no worries there)

I went to grad school full time and borrowed pretty much everything. Between Federal loans (Stafford & Perkins) as well as private loans and work-study, I was able to pretty much cover my tuition & fees and living expenses without running the credit cards up too much (living with roommates off-campus in a city with relatively low housing costs). Depending on where you go, grad students may be more likely to live off campus, but lots of schools have housing/meal plans for grad students as well. And it's not like dorms/meal plan were free.

Also depends on what type of program you do, whether there are grants/scholarships and other types of support available that you don't have to pay back.

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3. Did you take any time off between undergrad and grad school?
I would like to go to grad school, but only after taking a year off. Would it be harder to get into/finish grad school after taking a year off??

Depends on what you want to do. For business school, you're pretty much *expected* to work for a few years, especially with the top schools - 5 years of work experience is average. For other programs, there's not that expectation, but I certainly can't imagine any program where a year or two or even ten is going to be a detriment. It's like anything else - it's how you spin it. If you're taking 10 years to be a dropzone bum, you might have a harder time making a case that it was valuable experience for your degree. But a year or two of work or travel or something else entirely is probably a good thing. I think far too many people leave college and go straight into grad school before they figure out who they are and what they really want. I knew some friends who weren't totally happy with their choice of grad programs after a while. I took three years, went back to business school, and had a great experience. I was ready and energized to be back in school.

[windcatcher 0]

Thank you Krisanne!!!

Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

[Dougiefresh 0]

Depends on what you're studying.

In the sciences, most people get a job as a research assistant, which pays your tuition and a small stipend. Subsistence level, pretty much -- it'll pay for rent and food. Skydiving will put you in a hole, quickly. Trust me.

I took a year off from school between undergrad and grad. I think it's a good idea, it lets you get out in the real world and discover how hard it is to make it with just an undergrad degree. Real world experience will only help your application.

One word of warning -- be very very sure that grad school is what you want to do, and go in with your eyes wide open. I made the mistake of taking the first assistantship that I was offered, and it made my grad school experience pretty dreadful. I learned a lot, and had fun, but I did not have the supportive environment I had hoped for. Ask a lot of questions about the group you're joining, and especially talk to the students in the group. They will give you the straight dope about the professor you'll be working with. Make sure that you are compatible with your boss before you spend 2-5 years under him/her.

I don't know about the loan repayment stuff. Ask the financial advisor at your school.

Hope this helps.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. --Douglas Adams

[jumper03 0]

The only thing I'll tell you about graduate school is don't go if you want more money - don't go because it's cool - don't go because your parents or friends want you to go...

go for no other reason than you want to learn more and you enjoy it - otherwise it will be a wash. I can garauntee you that at some point down that road you'll be sitting there working on something and you'll think - wtf am I doing? why????? and it will be your love of the subject that gets you through.

If that's why you want to go, I highly recommend it - the rewards vastly outway any loan payment
Good Luck!!!

Scars remind us that the past is real

[windcatcher 0]

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The only thing I'll tell you about graduate school is don't go if you want more money - don't go because it's cool - don't go because your parents or friends want you to go...

go for no other reason than you want to learn more and you enjoy it - otherwise it will be a wash. I can garauntee you that at some point down that road you'll be sitting there working on something and you'll think - wtf am I doing? why????? and it will be your love of the subject that gets you through.

If that's why you want to go, I highly recommend it - the rewards vastly outway any loan payment
Good Luck!!!

thanks for the advice, very true! ( OH Hi, Jumper03). The ONLY reason I would go to grad school is because the undergraduate degree I am graduating with will not allow me to work in my passion-counseling. If I go to grad school, I can become a counselor and the more I consider this is what I really want to do with my life.
I soooooo would love to help people have better self-esteems, feel more loved, have better relationships,etc. I can't imagine a cooler job for me.

Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

[Gone_Skiing 0]

I went back to grad school after working for five years. The time off was not a problem as I had been working in the field I wanted to study.

I did work full time while in school. It was nice keeping the paycheck but the workload was horrible. Two classes and work had me up until 2-3am every weeknight and I was still doing homework on the weekends.

I know many grad students who were either research assistants (RA's) or teaching assistants(TA's) or both to pay the bills. RA's usually cover tuition and a stipend. TA's give some extra cash.

I am in engineering so your experiences may be different depending on your field (not may RA's in business school).

-Nick

--
I used to pray to God for a bicycle.
Then I realized God doesn't work that way.
So I stole one and prayed for forgiveness.

[mouth 0]

I'm doing grad school after over 20 years off. I found all my classes online so I can still teach during the day and be a full time single mom of two at the same time. Yeah, it is tough but will be worth the raise when I finish. The Stafford loan is great as I don't have to repay it until I graduate and will be able to do so fully within 6-8 months of graduation using my raise. Well worth the time and a$$ pain filling the app stuff out.

I am encouraging my oldest to take a few classes online during the summer before she goes off to college. It will transfer, she can do it from home, and she will be ahead of the game as far as everyone else is concerned.

--
Hot Mama
At least you know where you stand even if it is in a pile of shit.

[TheAnvil 0]

I got mine paid for, so I can't help you there. I did take considerable time off between completing undergrad and going to grad school. In a way, I think it was a good thing, because the break gave my fragile little tequila filled mind time to heal from the unspeakable horrors GA TECH inflicted upon it.
However, coming back after a seven year break was a mathematical proctological exam for the first few weeks back at it.

I'd recommend taking a year or so off. Working in your field or perhaps doing the peace corps thing or just backpacking around the world (if you can afford it) or something of that nature. THEN go back. You'll be a bit more seasoned and mature, well rested mentally, and not so far removed from your field that you'll experience shell-shock coming back into the academic world.

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[windcatcher 0]

Sounds like a good idea, I would sooooooo love to travel and work for a year before going back to school. And how did I know you weren't gonna post without mentioning tequila???

Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

[micro 0]

some great advice here...

my grad school exp...

undergrad loans were deferred during school.

i worked full time during school, made life hell, but had to.

wife and i lived off loans inspite of working full time b/c i was at a non-profit mental health center and the pay sucked.

we're paying off my undergrad and grad now -and will be forever amen- and it sucks. it's another mortgage practically.

my grad was clinical psych. i quit my dissertation twice b/c my wife got really sick and couldn't work anymore. now i'm not REALLY in the field anymore... there's some crossover, but not alot... i don't know that i'd do it all over again if given the chance. now, it's too late to go back, we have 4 kids, and i make enough in drug research that i don't really care about the big letters after my name anymore.

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

[HeatherB 0]

Get a job at a company that offers tuition assistance, and then go to school during the evenings or weekends.

It has worked for me so far.

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[peregrinerose 0]

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1. Are you required to make payments on your student loans ( from undergrad, of course), while you are in graduate school? I don't have to pay my loans back until I graduate undergrad; so if go back to school, this time grad, will I have start making payments or no?
2. Do you work full time and go to graduate school?
I am wondering how people attend grad school and still have $$ for bills, etc. ( Obviously, with undergrad you live in dorms and have a meal plan, so no worries there)
3. Did you take any time off between undergrad and grad school?
I would like to go to grad school, but only after taking a year off. Would it be harder to get into/finish grad school after taking a year off??

1. While a student, you can defer loan payments until 6 months after your graduation with most lenders.

2. I did work about 30 hours a week while in grad school (and I was working on 2 full time degree programs as well). It wasn't easy, but by living very frugally, it wasn't impossible either to borrow enough for tuition/equipment and work for living expenses. Depending on what kind of degree you are going for, check out the possibility of grants by being a research assistant, teaching undergrad, etc. My MS was totally paid for with a grant.

3. I didn't take time off, but a lot of my classmates had graduated anywhere from 1 to 30 years previously.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[StreetScooby 5]

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Ask a lot of questions about the group you're joining, and especially talk to the students in the group. They will give you the straight dope about the professor you'll be working with.

This is absolutely essential before choosing a major professor.

I have a masters in Chemical Engineering that was covered through fellowships. I finished at the top of my class undergrad, and was paid to go to grad school. Other than problems with my major professor, I had a great time.

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