Buying House while in Grad School (in Chicago)?

[wannabePHD]

I am delighted to be going to a grad school in chicago where both my husband and I have family. In light of the economy situation, we thought this might be an excellent opportunity to buy our first home together. I am concerned, however, that this will hurt my chances of getting an internship in a few years. Does anyone have any advice on limiting myself to this geographic location? And how competitive are internships in the Chicagoland area (I'd be willing to drive a bit). I might also add that with my husband working here, it would be difficult, but not impossible, for us to relocate for an internship anyway.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[NewPsychStudent]

I am delighted to be going to a grad school in chicago where both my husband and I have family. In light of the economy situation, we thought this might be an excellent opportunity to buy our first home together. I am concerned, however, that this will hurt my chances of getting an internship in a few years. Does anyone have any advice on limiting myself to this geographic location? And how competitive are internships in the Chicagoland area (I'd be willing to drive a bit). I might also add that with my husband working here, it would be difficult, but not impossible, for us to relocate for an internship anyway.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Internships are very competitive in the Chicagoland area, as you are competing with not only a number of PhD programs (Loyola, UIC, DePaul, Northwestern, University of Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology), but also a number of Psy D. programs (Roosevelt, CSOPP, Adler etc...). However, with it being a big city, there are obviously more internship opportunities. Everyone I have come in contact with stressed that, in case of a worst case scenario, you should apply to several positions outside of the area. Most people do not take this seriously and limit themselves to regional internships. PhD's are typically more competitive than PsyD's, at least in Chicago, but I would not rely on this. Be safe, apply all over!

 

[Ollie123]

Good internships and lots of them in Chicago, that being said it IS very competitive because, not surprisingly, there's lots of other folks in your situation and lots more (like me) that plan to look at Chicago internships anyways since UIC has a really solid internship program.

You make it harder anytime you limit yourself geographically no matter where it is. Better chicago than someplace there's only 1 internship slot, but still. Whether that's worth it, etc. depends on your situation, how hard you plan to work in grad school and how productive you expect to be, your willingness to spend an extra year in school in the event that you don't match, etc. So its really a judgment call.

 

[paramour]

I nth all of the above. Internships in the area are extremely competitive simply because of being in an area that many people want to live in, the extremely large number of students produced by doctoral programs (PhD and the "army of PsyDs" already in the area who wish to stay in the area, and the programs themselves that attract competitive applicants from outside of the area.

Limiting yourself geographically, in my personal opinion, would be foolish. But, people do it and some are able to succeed in doing so. So, do what you wish, particularly as I suspect that most people know what they plan to do when they ask questions such as these, regardless of the response. Keep in mind that you aren't even in your first semester yet. A LOT changes in the course of those years leading up to your internship, which might require a reevaluation of your plans for internship.

G'luck!

 

[psychanon]

I will concur with others that it's a bad idea to limit yourself geographically for internship, especially in a geographically desirable area like Chicago. But you should also consider that you will be in grad school 4-6 years before you go off to internship. I've never owned a house, but I've heard that a rule of thumb is that 3 years is the amount of time you need to earn back your closing costs (although who knows what it would be in this market). So you'd still probably have enough time to have it be worth it to buy a house, even if you sell it when you leave for internship if you don't match in Chicago. There's also the option of renting it out when you're on internship, and then moving back afterwards. So I think that it'd be a good idea to buy, that is if you have the capital to invest-- the market does seem to be perfect for 1st time home buyers, so it's a great opportunity.

 

[Psyched77]

I'm in a slightly different situation...but one that might provide useful info to you. I'm starting grad school this fall. My husband & I own our current home (our 1st house), & we've owned it for 5 years. We are selling it to move for grad school, & we are likely going to make $50k off of it (after the agent's commission, title insurance, etc.). This is even accounting for the market conditions. (We would have made $20k or so more if not for the market.)

I think most financial advisors would tell you that if you're going to be in one area for 3 or more years, it's smarter to buy than rent (if you can). And the reality is, it's likely that in the next 5 years, the market will stabalize & start heading back upward, so it would be really smart to buy on the low market end to build your equity. As far as it limiting intership options, it doesn't have to. (A) You might get a spot in Chicago. (B) If not, lots of people sell homes to go to grad school, & lots of people sell homes to go on internship. It may add an extra element of stress, but it's financially sound (not only in equity, but also in the tax benefits). You could actually come out of grad school in a MUCH better financial situation than if you were renting.

 

[Cosmo75]

Good question. I'm a Chicago native, go to grad school here, and secured an APA internship here starting this summer. I consider myself very fortunate to have gotten a spot here because, as others have said, it is very competitive. When I applied I did not limit myself to only Chicago. My school for one strongly advised against it. So I applied in a bit of a geographic circle around the area (Milwaukee, St Louis for example). I picked places that were easy to get to via car or plane so that I could come home on a somewhat regular basis. I did also apply to a few further away places, though in the end I did not rank them (for several reasons, not just geography).

I own a house and will be getting married next month. My fiance' had no inclination to move with me for the year. So yes, you can buy a house here but be prepared to move away for a year. And figure that into your finances. My fiance' is a working professional so money wasn't a large issue.

Good luck!