YoungEconomist Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Essentially I'm just wondering what the cost range of going to a school unfunded is? First let's assume that you will be funded for years 2 - 5 if you pass prelims. How expensive would that first year be? Would you have to pay out-of-state tuition and living expenses? Or do many schools still give you a tuition waiver or some sort of reduced tuition? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICECOLDECON Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Essentially I'm just wondering what the cost range of going to a school unfunded is? First let's assume that you will be funded for years 2 - 5 if you pass prelims. How expensive would that first year be? Would you have to pay out-of-state tuition and living expenses? Or do many schools still give you a tuition waiver or some sort of reduced tuition? I can provide you with estimates for US students at public universities. First, yes you usually would have to pay full out of state tuition (unless you were to receive a tuition waiver as partial funding which I believe to be quite rare). For a year's worth of out of state tuition you are looking at around 23,000 USD and for a year's worth off in state tuition you are looking at around 12,000 USD (so obviously staying in state is a big advantage if you have a good in state school......times like these make me wish I lived in VA or MI). Beyond these costs, one's cost of living is going to vary widely based on both location and spending preferences, but an out of state student is easily looking at over 30,000 USD for the 9 months.....and perhaps approaching 40,000 USD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rule Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Right, and in opportunity costs terms, you're looking at forgoing about 20K in stipend and 20-30K in tuition and fees, so 40-50K total difference, between the funded and unfunded offer. It varies a lot whether schools give strictly funded and unfunded offers, or if they also give something in between (like tuition waivers). I think there's also a federal tax credit you can take for paying up to 10K in tuition, that's worth up to 2K each calender year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicunomics Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 12 months of private school tuition is in the neighborhood of about 40K alone is it not? At least, it is every time I've seen it stated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICECOLDECON Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Right, and in opportunity costs terms, you're looking at forgoing about 20K in stipend and 20-30K in tuition and fees, so 40-50K total difference, between the funded and unfunded offer. It varies a lot whether schools give strictly funded and unfunded offers, or if they also give something in between (like tuition waivers). I think there's also a federal tax credit you can take for paying up to 10K in tuition, that's worth up to 2K each calender year. Well one thing to ask is are you able to get the CAFE (I think thats what theyre called) loans for that amount. I have horrible credit, so I am only able to borrow up to the Stafford limit of 21,000 and that constrains me...but I think most US students can get a CAFE loan to cover the cost of that first yr. Then the question becomes a time-value of money question. Lets say that your only decent offer is unfunded, but you know that you are still going to reapply next year to PhD programs b/c you really want to become a research economist of some sort. Now by delaying the start of your program (assuming itll take you the same amount of time to complete the program regardless of when you start), you are delaying one year of future income as a research economist. That must be weighed against your next best option for this upcoming year and a probabilistic statement about your likelihood of obtaining funding next yr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICECOLDECON Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 The loan I was thinking of is called the PLUS loan. Another case of me showing that I am bad with names :( I imagine CAFE loans would have someting to do with CAFE stds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigleaguechew Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 The answer to this question varies widely based on tuition costs and location. However, a rough estimate could be 30k for tuition + 20k in living expenses = 50k in loans. Now, you won't start paying those back for a while, and you will probably continue to pay them down over the course of at least 10 years following degree conferral. Thus, there is massive interest to account for in addition to the principal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AREStudentHopeful Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 You can also get an interest-free loan (can't remember the name of it right now), but there are a limited number and you do have to qualify. Plus a lot of the loans don't begin accruing interest until you get out of school, so you must take that into accout as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnviroEcon Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Anyone the wiser as to if subsidized loans (Stafford) that start accruing interest after you finish your BA will freeze again if/when you go back to grad school? I really need to get on the ball and find out. Kinda worried about this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rule Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Now by delaying the start of your program (assuming itll take you the same amount of time to complete the program regardless of when you start), you are delaying one year of future income as a research economist. You also have to weigh in the benefits of one (or an additional) year off where you get to be in your 20s not being in grad school and not being an economist and perhaps earning some reasonable level of income to make up for this future forgone income. Anyway, short-run happiness has typically dominated long-run wealth in my decision-making process. I'm very glad I got to be a yuppie for my early 20s, and I wouldn't trade it for any forgone income. The answer to this question varies widely based on tuition costs and location. However, a rough estimate could be 30k for tuition + 20k in living expenses = 50k in loans. Of course, you're assuming people wouldn't have some cash on hand to pay out of pocket. 12 months of private school tuition is in the neighborhood of about 40K alone is it not? At least, it is every time I've seen it stated. Yeah, I guess I underestimated. I just checked my account, and the tuition+fees paid by my fellowship amounted to 18K/semester this year. You can also get an interest-free loan (can't remember the name of it right now), but there are a limited number and you do have to qualify. Plus a lot of the loans don't begin accruing interest until you get out of school, so you must take that into accout as well. So there are Perkins loans and "subsidized" Stafford loans which are interest-free WHILE YOU'RE IN SCHOOL. I think it's something like 14K is the maximum you can get from the two programs per year. Anyone the wiser as to if subsidized loans (Stafford) that start accruing interest after you finish your BA will freeze again if/when you go back to grad school? I really need to get on the ball and find out. Kinda worried about this... So I have a consolidated loan from undergrad (it was like a Perkins and Direct loan originally I think). My repayments stopped, but the loan is indeed accruing interest. Of course you can choose to pay off just the interest, or continue regular payments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnviroEcon Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 So I have a consolidated loan from undergrad (it was like a Perkins and Direct loan originally I think). My repayments stopped, but the loan is indeed accruing interest. Of course you can choose to pay off just the interest, or continue regular payments. I'm under the impression that Perkins and Direct loans aren't subsidized though while in undergrad, not like some Stafford loans, so it's a little different I think. Thanks for the input though. Are you paying down the interest? I figure it'll be difficult enough managing lowly stipend amounts to cover everything else without this piled on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungEconomist Posted February 19, 2009 Author Share Posted February 19, 2009 So it's rare to get an offer were they give you a tuition waiver but no money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICECOLDECON Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 So it's rare to get an offer were they give you a tuition waiver but no money? Im pretty sure this is true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckykatt Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 So it's rare to get an offer were they give you a tuition waiver but no money? It's pretty rare at the top schools, maybe less so at the bottom of the ranking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treblekicker Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 12 months of private school tuition is in the neighborhood of about 40K alone is it not? At least, it is every time I've seen it stated. My university is almost 50k a year (thanks dad!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
italos Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 So let me understand what is the best strategy from student's side.To accept the unfunded offers form the schools who is particularly interesting and the see what happens/? And eventually to decline offers even after April 15? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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