- Joined
- Mar 6, 2012
- Messages
- 275
- Reaction score
- 610
So I'll be starting my PhD in the fall. It's funded (hooray!), and the stipend is decent, but the area has a fairly high cost of living and I'm worried that it will be tough to make it work. Bearing in mind that I have no current debt, is it reasonable to take out small student loans, say about $3k/year, to supplement the stipend? Or is this financially irresponsible and something I would regret later? Has anyone had any experience with this or has everyone made due entirely on stipends?
P.S. When I was younger I planned to get a PsyD and just figured that kind of debt is something you pay off and it's no big deal. It wasn't until after college when I started reading forums (including SDN) and articles that I realized what a terrible mistake that would be. I ended up changing my entire plan and spent several years getting research experience (and learning that I actually like it a lot) to make myself competitive for PhDs. So thanks SDN people; it may seem like you're fighting an uphill battle in your regular attempts to dissuade people from taking on absurd amounts of debt, but you're fighting the good fight and probably have changed quite a few minds, even when it's not immediately obvious (because way more people read this board than those who post).
P.S. When I was younger I planned to get a PsyD and just figured that kind of debt is something you pay off and it's no big deal. It wasn't until after college when I started reading forums (including SDN) and articles that I realized what a terrible mistake that would be. I ended up changing my entire plan and spent several years getting research experience (and learning that I actually like it a lot) to make myself competitive for PhDs. So thanks SDN people; it may seem like you're fighting an uphill battle in your regular attempts to dissuade people from taking on absurd amounts of debt, but you're fighting the good fight and probably have changed quite a few minds, even when it's not immediately obvious (because way more people read this board than those who post).