For many students, pursuing a master’s program in their area of interest is a dream come true, but the attached price tag of a master’s degree is more like a nightmare. Due to the high costs of popular masters degrees and professional programs, many otherwise talented and passionate students struggle with the financial pressures of grad school. The sad truth is, financial anxiety represents one of the greatest sources of stress for grad students, while also disproportionately impacting students belonging to under-represented and under-served communities. For these students, financial adversity isn’t just an interesting topic for a diversity essay to help them get into grad school. It’s a lived reality that they have to manage all through their academic career.
Today, we will provide some tips to help mitigate some of this stress and reduce the anxieties related to financial obligations.
Assess your financial situation honestly
A significant mistake many students make is to follow the mantra of “if I can’t see it, it doesn’t exist” – a very dangerous maxim when applied to debt. Employ the same honesty and focus when managing your grad school debt as you did when writing your graduate school statement of purpose or answering your interview questions. The figures may be scary to look at, but they’ll only get scarier if you keep ignoring them. You can create a practical budget and efficient financial plan only if you know the exact details of your financial situation.
Keep track of your finances
This may seem obvious, but it’s actually very easy to lose track of your micro-transactions and then get some shocking bills at the end of the month that seriously stress you out. The reality of being a grad student is that you’re probably cash-strapped; it’s a period of preparation and study in your life, moving towards bigger and better things in the future. So, try to have a saving mindset and create a monthly budget that helps you bridge the grad school debt rather than adding to it. Stick to the budget by tracking your financials via a journal or an app.
Keep researching alternative funding sources
Most grad students start figuring out their plan to pay for their school tuition and living expenses before or during the application process. Whether you opted for loans, received scholarships, or signed up for university-funded teaching gigs, it’s always good to keep researching alternative funding sources to add to your plan. For example, if you’re a medical student, new medical school scholarships and grants come out every year. Moreover, it’s likely that if you did your funding research during the hectic applications season, while jugging a million other things such as interviews and secondary essays, you might have missed out on key funding opportunities. So, keep your funding research current and grab any chance you get to update your funding sources.
Create an emergency fund
Financially stressed grad students often find themselves taking on multiple jobs in addition to their studies, living pay-check to pay-check, not bothering about savings. This might be a perfect example of “penny-wise, pound-foolish”. While you will most likely have medical insurance from your school, insurance does not cover all costs and you can never predict when an emergency comes along. Having an emergency fund will give you that peace of mind that you have something to fall back on. In case an emergency does occur, this fund can be the difference between a decision to quit grad school or stay on and finish your education.
Don’t take on too much
So, you’ve come from a rigorous undergrad program, say, one of the best undergrad business schools, and you’re now attending a top MBA course. You’re used to being top of the class and always having a million side projects, extracurriculars, and so on. This is all good as long as the pressure remains at a manageable level. Don’t compromise on crucial aspects of your health such as sleep, fitness, diet, and so on. All of these things accumulate to cause tremendous mental and physical pressure that you’ll end up paying for eventually, both in terms of time and money.
Conclusion
Grad school is a crucial period of your life, and it is important not to crumble under the many pressures you might face. Try to be pro-active in managing your financial obligations so that they do not start negatively impacting your mental health and ultimately, your studies. Start with the tips we’ve identified above to try and stay on top of your finances!