After finishing my undergraduate degree I was lucky enough to get a job… as a waitress at a new restaurant… because I had move back home with my mom since I couldn’t afford the college lifestyle (shout out to student aid!) after I completed my degree. I spent a year wandering the streets of Florida until my boss, who also became somewhat of a mentor, talked me into going to grad school. “You’re a smart girl,” he said; “You have potential and a masters degree will help you reach it,” he said.
Fast forward through the year of margarita and taco monotony and I am only a few months away from moving ten states away to attend graduate school in Massachusetts. I remember the thrill of the application process, the high of clicking the submit button and the euphoria of opportunity that came with getting that acceptance letter. All that was months ago, however, and the excitement has turned into an extreme anxiety of HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO PAY FOR THIS?!
Oh, student loans, you say? That sounds great, but is this even the masters degree that I want to pursue? Will I enjoy doing this for the rest of my life? Is another liberal arts degree even worth it? Did I have to pick a freaking out of state school? Am I going to even be able to afford to live in Boston? Will I be able to get a job to supplement the little amount of money I have saved up from waiting tables? I don’t know. I have no freaking clue. None.
$20,000 is a lot of money, and at this point in my life I’m not sure if I want to spend it (before I really even have it) to go to school again. But what other options do I have? Well, here are 20 ideas I have for what I could use the money on besides paying back a student loan.
1. Travel. Obviously. Because that’s all anyone ever wants to do anyways. Do you know the exchange rate in Uganda these days? I do, and it’s cheap as crap to hang out there. You could spend the rest of your life there on twenty grand and at this point it doesn’t sound like that bad of an idea.
2. Take time off to write that great American novel. You know it’s in there somewhere. It’s totally is. It’s just having trouble surfacing between the 13 hour doubles and day off drinking binges.
3. Start your own business. That crochet cat hat store you’ve always wished was there could become a reality. Name it something simple but clever like “The Cat Hat Store”. Self made millionaire right there.
4. Put a down payment on a house. Decorate the crap out of it and be able to look at yourself pleasingly in the mirror, as you realize that you’re settling down. Let me husband and kids and minivan commence.
5. Get plastic surgery. I mean, you were always pretty of course, but those double D’s and that new ass you have are sure to catch the eye of some really wealthy man who is going to support you for the rest of your life. Beauty requires no degree in this scenario.
6. Go south and become a drug lord. Who doesn’t want to be Alex from Orange is The New Black? She’s a badass, and $20,000 could get you there.
7. Get another bachelors degree. Double majoring is a thing right? And you could live those four years of beer bonging glory all over again.
8. Donate it to a charity. Zuccotti Park may be your only option of places to live after that, but you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that someone somewhere is better because of you.
9. Gamble. You may lose everything. You may become a millionaire, but either way you’ll enjoy a sh*t load of free rooms and buffets in the mean time.
10. Invest in the stock market. Similar to the previous option, but with less free food.
11. Buy a new car. You can drive across the country and sleep in it every night. No obligations, nothing to do, except drive and look and look and drive.
12. Buy $20,000 worth of alcohol to cope with the fact that you’ll never go anywhere in life without that graduate degree.
FAQs
Only half of the survey's participants said they felt certain the advanced schooling was “worth it,” and a majority said they would need more time than they had expected to pay off their student debt. A plurality said the total amount they owe is more than they'd thought they'd have to pay.
How much debt is ok for grad school? ›
Average debt by graduate degree level
During the 2019-2020 school year, the average graduate student borrower took on anywhere from $52,050 in debt for a post-baccalaureate certificate at a private non-profit institution — to more than $242,000 for a doctorate in a specialized health profession.
Is going in debt for a master's worth it? ›
Graduate school can be costly, but if the job one can achieve through the graduate degree pays well, enough to cover debt payments quickly, and ensure a well-paying job with earnings growth, then grad school may be worth the debt.
What is the average student debt for a masters degree? ›
Most master's degree holders carry a cumulative student loan debt balance of over $80,000. For graduate school alone, the average debt among master's degree holders exceeds $65,000. $83,651 is the average student loan debt balance among master's degree holders; $64,950 is from graduate school only.
What is the maximum student loan for a masters degree? ›
The lifetime graduate student aggregate loan limit for Subsidized and Unsubsidized federal loans is $138,500. Of this amount, no more than $65,500 can be in subsidized loans.
What percent of graduate students take out loans? ›
Roughly 54% of students take out loans for graduate school, according to the NCES. Debt is almost unavoidable for some programs — more than 84% of doctors in professional degree programs take out medical school loans, for example — but graduate students can take steps to limit their borrowing.
Is 20k in student loans a lot? ›
If those monthly payments look low compared to what most borrowers pay, it's because most borrowers carry a lot more than $20,000 in student loan debt. As of March 2023, the average federal student loan debt in the United States was about $37,720, according to a BestColleges analysis of Education Department data.
What is the average student loan debt per month? ›
Research from EducationData.org shows that almost 45.3 million Americans hold an average federal student loan debt balance of $37,338. Combined, student loan debt in the U.S. adds up to nearly $2 trillion. According to the same data, the average student loan monthly payment is $503.
Is 70k in student loans a lot? ›
What is considered a lot of student loan debt? A lot of student loan debt is more than you can afford to repay after graduation. For many this means having more than $70,000 – $100,000 of total student debt.
Do parents help with grad school? ›
A: Undergraduate financial aid is typically based on the family's (including parents) financial circ*mstances, while most graduate aid is based on the student (and spouse/family) only.
Completing a master's degree program could increase your earning potential, but this will really depend on the exact degree you obtain and the industry in which you work. According to research by Indeed, the earnings increase between a person with a bachelor's degree and a master's degree is about 20 percent.
Will student loans for graduate school be forgiven? ›
For every $1,000 borrowed above $12,000, a borrower can receive forgiveness after an additional year of payments. All borrowers on SAVE receive forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, depending on whether they have loans for graduate school.
What age group holds the most student loan debt? ›
Federal Student Loans by Age
However, people carry their education debt well into middle-age and beyond. Borrowers ages 35 to 49 owe more than $620 billion in student loans. This cohort has the highest number of borrowers who owe more than $100,000 in loans.
What is the average credit card debt? ›
On an individual level, the overall average balance is around $6,501, per Experian's data. Other generations' credit card debt falls closer to that average or below. Here's the average amount of credit card debt Americans hold by age as of the third quarter of 2023, according to Experian.
Does a withdrawal look bad for grad school? ›
1 Answer. It seems very unlikely that withdrawing from a non-major class will have any effect at all in the US (probably elsewhere too). It might be good to drop now and start over later with a spurt of energy. There are a lot of reasons for withdrawing.
Is grad school worth the investment? ›
The Bottom Line
But an advanced degree is about more than money. Graduate school provides you with knowledge, skills, a network, and a wider set of career opportunities. Even if you don't end up using your new degree or working in the field, having it will increase your value as an employee in the future.
Is it better to pay off undergraduate loans before grad school? ›
Paying for Student Loans Before Starting Grad School
Taking the time to work and pay off your undergraduate student loans before you start grad school can have some benefits. In addition to gaining valuable work experience, you would enter graduate school without any education debt.
