How much is a PhD program?

[Narmer]

My gf is getting her Masters right now and she's being encouraged to apply for a PhD program by professors at a certain school in Cambridge, Mass.. However, she's worried because:

1. She is a foreign student and isn't eligible for student loans in America.

2. Her parents make too much money for her to get a student loan in her home country or to get government loan from said country.

3. Her parents do not want to pay for her degree because, via anecdotal evidence, they do not think it's worth much. They are very rich but they're also accountants. The father is the main problem. Even the masters she's getting now is via a loan from her parents which she has promised to pay back.

4. Very few scholarships available for grad students.

What recourse does she have? Do universities heavily subsidize a graduate student's tuition?

 

[preslove]

She should not pay for a PhD. Either get a Teaching/Research Assistantship or don't go. A TA should get a tuition waiver and a stipend.

What field is she in?

 

[nonameo]

Assistantship?

 

[Balt]

Apply for an assistantship. If she doesn't get one, frankly I wouldn't bother.

 

[Narmer]

She should not pay for a PhD. Either get a Teaching/Research Assistantship or don't go. A TA should get a tuition waiver and a stipend.

What field is she in?

Labor economics.

 

[Narmer]

Thanks guys. She'll be happy.

 

[Narmer]

Can she also get a TA position during her Masters program?

 

[preslove]

Also, most programs have you apply for assistantships during the degree application process, which means that you find out if you got an assistantship after you get accepted, but BEFORE you actually choose to start the program.

 

[preslove]

Can she also get a TA position during her Masters program?

It all depends on the program. My program awarded assistantships right after acceptance, but the masters program was thinking about going to awarded them whenever. Some Masters programs don't even offer them.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Apply for an assistantship. If she doesn't get one, frankly I wouldn't bother.

This, go for a research one, cool projects and usually more pay.

Talk to the current employees of your prospective employer to see if he is an ass. My girlfriend's boss makes the folks in her lab work 7-days a week. He gives them tasks that take that long to complete, but covers his ass by saying that he does not care if they come in to work or not as long as they finish said tasks. She is also an international student, so if he fires her, back overseas she goes.

I have a research assistantship with a M.S. degree path, I know a few M.S. students that are teaching assistants.

 

[Mo0o]

Arent there people in the department she can ask about these things

 

[Narmer]

Arent there people in the department she can ask about these things

There are but

1) her parents have paid for her undergrad degree in cash

2) She is just now discussing them with me. I always tell her to talk to her (Masters) Advisor but I doubt that tuition came up. Also, she just talked to her parents and was telling me the conversation last night.

 

[Bateluer]

Arent there people in the department she can ask about these things

Was wondering that myself. There should be plenty of people she can get advice from within the school that will be more familiar with all her options and programs available. Better to ask them than the 22 year old millionaires on ATOT.

 

[Imp]

Financially, I was under the impression that they were mostly funded by the department. That plus TA'ing with pretty good pay.

Life-wise, wow, 3 to 4 years of your life, you'll be done when you're 30... Holy shit.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

She should not pay for a PhD. Either get a Teaching/Research Assistantship or don't go. A TA should get a tuition waiver and a stipend.

What field is she in?

Mostly. I think taking on a small amount of debt to earn a PhD is often worth it - i.e. having to take out maybe 10 Large over the course of 4-5 years is reasonable and a good investment.

 

[preslove]

Mostly. I think taking on a small amount of debt to earn a PhD is often worth it - i.e. having to take out maybe 10 Large over the course of 4-5 years is reasonable and a good investment.

That's pretty normal, I think. I took $8 grand out for my masters, though I spend 5 of that during my 6 month London internship

You just don't want to actually pay your tuition with loans.

 

[BeauJangles]

There are but

1) her parents have paid for her undergrad degree in cash

2) She is just now discussing them with me. I always tell her to talk to her (Masters) Advisor but I doubt that tuition came up. Also, she just talked to her parents and was telling me the conversation last night.

Here's how grad school works (barring law school, med school, and business school):
1) Apply.
2) Get accepted into certain programs
3) Only attend the programs that fully fund you through a Fellowship.

Most universities accept more students than they have funding for. If you are not offered a fellowship, you aren't really interesting to the school.

Btw these Fellowships usually run 5 years, but some schools (Princeton, for example) will fund for 7.

 

[preslove]

Here's how grad school works (barring law school, med school, and business school):
1) Apply.
2) Get accepted into certain programs
3) Only attend the programs that fully fund you through a Fellowship.

Most universities accept more students than they have funding for. If you are not offered a fellowship, you aren't really interesting to the school.

Btw these Fellowships usually run 5 years, but some schools (Princeton, for example) will fund for 7.

Fellowships are grants that fund you just to attend the program. Assistantships are grants that pay you to work for the program (teach courses/breakout sessions, assist in research). Getting a fellowship is a lot rarer than assistantship.

 

[GoSharks]

She should be getting:
1. Tuition waiver
-and-
2. Stipend through an RAship or TAship.

 

[dr150]

So which school in Cambrridge?......Devry?.......

 

[Printer Bandit]

if harvard or MIT, then sell a kidney if needed.

 

[Narmer]

if harvard or MIT, then sell a kidney if needed.

It's one of those two.

 

[SP33Demon]

Tell her to get a real job first, and then get the company to pay for the phd.

 

[Narmer]

Tell her to get a real job first, and then get the company to pay for the phd.

She can't get a real job unless she goes back to her home country where the job market isn't great. Her father said that he's read news reports of Chemistry and bioloy PhD graduates working normal jobs (jobs that have nothing to do with their degrees).

 

[zinfamous]

at a certain school in Cambridge, Mass

oh, how quaint...


PhDs in the various sciences are not only free, but are usually paid.

Oh, and Harvard has a ~$40 billion endowment. Most people pay nothing going to Harvard.

...well, for undergrad, at least.