Advice Needed Desperately

[LauraH8214]

Deleted message

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[LAPsyGuy]

I'm not sure what you're asking for. Is this just cold feet/anxiety or are you having real second thoughts? You'll get over the culture shock, but the money may be a real issue. You want to be a psychologist, you got into the best program you could given that you'll never apply again. Do you want us to tell you that you should give up your dream because it's too expensive? If your husband loves you, he'll understand either way.

 

[LauraH8214]

I am defintely having cold feet. I am unhappy about moving and scared about the program/money daily. I loved the past year of having actual free time compared to when I did my masters. I am confused as to how I went from loving psychology one minute to not caring if I ever have a job in psychology again. Thus, I guess I am asking about thoughts about the money issue? Why I may be feeling this way? Is it worth it to put myself though this? Thanks for your thoughts

 

[futureapppsy2]

Hello,

I graduated a short time ago with an M.S. in clinical psychology. For the past year, I worked closely with a professor to get into a ph.D. program. Getting my ph.D. has been a long time dream of mine and I felt shocked that this professor thought it was even possible. This professor freely gave up hours of her time to vamp up my research experience, as well as to prep me for interviews. I got into a few programs. However, none of them were funded. I ended up picking a program that this professor worked very hard to help me get into. While I thought I would be happy after accepting the offer, I have been nothing short of depressed. It is a VERY good school but also VERY expensive. The area that the school is in is expensive and will be a huge cultural shock. We will be in about 120-50k in debt when I am done. My husband put in notice at his job and his position is being replaced. It was a well paying job. He is excited about the opportunity and does not want me to give up on my dream, but I feel awful about the whole situation. If I back out now, there will be a lot of clean up and I fear I may regret it later. At the same time, moving to this place and accumulating so much debt scares me. I should mention that I would not apply to programs again since this was the second time I applied. The first time I got into a cheaper program but would have had to do a research topic I strongly disliked. Any thoughts are much appreciated because the stress is overwhelming.

This is going to be blunt, but no "VERY GOOD" program in this field is entirely unfunded, IMO.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

If you are worried about money right now…that is probably something to pay attention to because a lack of funding means $100k-$200k+ in loans, that is nuts.

 

[LauraH8214]

This is going to be blunt, but no "VERY GOOD" program in this field is entirely unfunded, IMO.

It is a private school but yes it actually is "very good". It does offer some funding, just not much because it is private. Also, it is ranked well and has a high match rate.

 

[therapyyy4life]

If it's your dream, I'd so go for it. You may regret it if you don't follow through with it. You could always pay back loans.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I'm going to be the wet blanket here…make sure to take a long hard look at the finances because $120k-$150k is a mortgage payment after you graduate; it is very stressful to have that over your head.

 

[LauraH8214]

I'm going to be the wet blanket here…make sure to take a long hard look at the finances because $120k-$150k is a mortgage payment after you graduate; it is very stressful to have that over your head.

I do have some questions 1) How is it that some people do psyd programs and leave with 200k in debt and make it work? (this is a serious question) 2) Obviously it is past April 15th so how bad is it to tell the school now that you are not coming?

 

[cara susanna]

After seeing how poor internship and post doc can make a person, I would not recommend any unfunded program to anyone.

 

[deleted343839]

I do have some questions 1) How is it that some people do psyd programs and leave with 200k in debt and make it work? (this is a serious question) 2) Obviously it is past April 15th so how bad is it to tell the school now that you are not coming?

(1) If you have federal loans there are repayment options that can help lower your monthly payments. Even so, you have to live within your means and that might mean living on a strict budget, choosing less expensive housing, deferring saving for retirement or other goals, etc.

(2) No one will applaud you for backing out, but you wouldn't be the first nor would it be the end of the world. You'd move on and so would they.

 

[smalltownpsych]

I took on a lot of debt to get my degree. I just got 50k tax free for a two-year contract in an underserved area. I will get another 30k for the next two years. If I didn't have the debt, that would have been preferable, of course, but I don't regret it. The income-sensitive repayment made it so my payments were manageable the first few years and now that I am in a higher income bracket, I can still service the debt and still just took on another 150k in debt to buy a house. Another advantage of underserved area is low housing costs.

Another factor to consider is the trade of your partner and employability as you travel around the country during internship, post- doc, and early jobs. It can be hard on the significant other and if they can easily make a decent salary that can help.

 

[HomeworkHelper]

I have a quick question LauraH. You mentioned a range of debt you would be in. Does that include housing and living costs in that estimate? That would add a significant amount on top of that estimate if not.

In response to how people have done it with debt before, unless they have a significant other that makes enough to make up for things, people probably defer getting a house, having kids, or saving for retirement if they don't get some kind of loan repayment through their job. I don't know often it happens to get loan repayment--maybe check out current job ads on indeed.com to see how many mention it as a benefit. My friend took a VA position that had loan repayment. He had almost 100k in debt. He's living like a pauper right now with a roommate while he dedicates money to paying back loans (for him, he has to pay the loan first and then gets a check at the end of the year for loan repayment). He's on track to pay things off in 3 years, but he doesn't have a family, won't buy a house or save for a down payment, and isn't saving for retirement until after he's done (and he'll be around 35 by then I think). It's tough. I feel for him and he doesn't have it nearly as bad as I imagine most folks do with that amount of debt or more.

 

[LauraH8214]

I have a quick question LauraH. You mentioned a range of debt you would be in. Does that include housing and living costs in that estimate? That would add a significant amount on top of that estimate if not.

In response to how people have done it with debt before, unless they have a significant other that makes enough to make up for things, people probably defer getting a house, having kids, or saving for retirement if they don't get some kind of loan repayment through their job. I don't know often it happens to get loan repayment--maybe check out current job ads on indeed.com to see how many mention it as a benefit. My friend took a VA position that had loan repayment. He had almost 100k in debt. He's living like a pauper right now with a roommate while he dedicates money to paying back loans (for him, he has to pay the loan first and then gets a check at the end of the year for loan repayment). He's on track to pay things off in 3 years, but he doesn't have a family, won't buy a house or save for a down payment, and isn't saving for retirement until after he's done (and he'll be around 35 by then I think). It's tough. I feel for him and he doesn't have it nearly as bad as I imagine most folks do with that amount of debt or more.

Hi, thank you for the advice. The hope is that the position my husband will be offered will cover cost of living ( we will find out soon). It is a very hard decision to make at this point.