I know a few of you are getting merit scholarships, but for the rest of us who aren't - how are you planning on paying for your MPH program?
MPH - How are you paying for it?
- Thread starter MPHNut
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I told my wife when we got married, that I would support her for the first three years of marriage while she was in grad school and since they say the first few years of marriage are the hardest, it is only fair that she support me for the next 50.
I am hoping that my wife makes enough money to cover living expenses, then I will just take out what is necessary to cover the cost of tuition.
*Sigh* Loans. I realize I'll be paying them off forever (or at least 10 years...here's hoping the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program sticks around that long!), but I know that I want to be an epidemiologist so I'm ok with that.
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Even though one may not get a scholarship I would definitely look into graduate assistant/teaching assistant/graduate student instructor positions at the school. This usually waives the tuition and offers support in trade for the student "workin" to help profs with undergrads and stuff like teaching a lab, leading discussion groups, helping grade...also maybe look into research-related positions that may pay or be under a grant where a prof can help support. Opportunities vary by school and department but I would def look into it.
FAFSA doesn't provide anything else other than loans---am I understanding this right?
FAFSA doesnt provide anything, its the form that determines your estimated family contribution (EFC). It determines your need. The schools then give you loans/works study/grants based on that information. Most schools do not have much need based money and thus most students end up with loans/work study. Some schools have a small amount of need based money. You need to demonstrate extreme financial need to get this money. Merit based scholarships are a whole different arena. Most come from departments, some from the school themselves. Generally the school wide ones are extremely competitive. Hope this helps!
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From the loan forgiveness website:
"Full-time professionals engaged in health care practitioner occupations and health care support occupations"
"employees of tax exempt 501(c)(3) organizations"
Most hospitals are 501c organizations I believe. So I am assuming most physicians working for hospitals or academic centers would be eligible for the program right?
Seems pretty crazy especially since most loan forgiveness programs required docs to work in rural Arkansas
"Full-time professionals engaged in health care practitioner occupations and health care support occupations"
"employees of tax exempt 501(c)(3) organizations"
Most hospitals are 501c organizations I believe. So I am assuming most physicians working for hospitals or academic centers would be eligible for the program right?
Seems pretty crazy especially since most loan forgiveness programs required docs to work in rural Arkansas
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So can we participate in this loan forgiveness program by working as a physician in a hospital...
it seems that would qualify since many hospitals are non-profit
it seems that would qualify since many hospitals are non-profit
I looked a lot into loan forgiveness programs, but most of them only qualify Ph.D. or other doctoral students, not masters. Is this true or otherwise? I was looking mostly at the NIH programs though
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That's interesting. I can't imagine a lot of folks taking advantage of that because most doctoral students do not pay to go to school.
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Well if you still have loans from undergrad...nih will take care of it if you have your PhD
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Ah, gotcha. So it covers all student loans, not just the portion you took out for your grad education.
wow NIH is nice to doctors... Maybe that's because only doctors are good at doing research😳
I plan on taking advantage of http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/ loan repayment. My husband and I already decided that once I'm finished, we will stay where we are for two years and put half my salary towards my loans. That, with the 50K will pay off my loans almost completely. The idea is we want to have them totally paid off before we move and settle. Luckily, we live comfortably off his salary, and even with only half of what I make as extra for those two years, out standard of living will still increase exponentially. This only works for people who's training is clinical in nature.
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I checked out the site and was looking at job opportunities... seems its only for physicians, psychologists, nurses and social workers.... no MPH professions? anyone know of a program like this that pays off public health loans?
Yeah, that why I said for clinical people. I don't know of one solely for public health.
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I know people that did that nih program who had PhDs in epi and biostats. It is not just for medical doctors.
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Bank of Mom. At least initially, then loans and maybe a work study/TA-ship. The NHSC looks great too and I'm also young enough to give Officer Candidate school a thought, though it would significantly delay work entry. Before I started my employer had offered a tuition subsidy which in this economy has since been revoked (yeah recession!)
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loans..but hoping to get scholarship or grants
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How are people paying for their MPH education? If you don't get a scholarship, what's the plan for funding your education?
I am wondering this too, I need to get loans but have yet to do it in my life! Can anyone give guidance on how you do this... and where? I will also google it but would love some real person advice.
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I mainly plan on using loans... I'm also going to look into work study and assistantships and such. Once I get out of medical school (if I get in...) I may look into some loan forgiveness programs, but I'm not 100% sure... I have a friend who is working as a child psychiatrist in Wyoming. The hospital he works at is paying off some of his loans on top of paying him a killer salary. I hate to say "I'll worry about money when the time comes" because that's not what I mean... but I don't want it to prevent me from attending the school I want to attend and pursuing the things I want to pursue.
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I have the sense that most people in this forum are going into Epi and or/are quite young, so the loans are less of a worry. Is there anyone in their 30s who already has an established career that wants to do Health Promotion and Education, or Sociomedical Sciences? Are you worried about starting salary in comparison to the loans you may take on? I already make $50K/year, and though I want to do something more meaningful, spending upwards of $50K on loans only to get a job that puts me right where I already am on the salary scale is a terrible investment of time and money.
It's all well and good to say "money isn't going to hold me back from doing what I want to do" but those loans will come due someday and I know I wouldn't be happy downgrading my current lifestyle (which isn't that high to begin with) after going to grad school with the idea that it would improve my salary, even if I was doing more interesting work.
It's all well and good to say "money isn't going to hold me back from doing what I want to do" but those loans will come due someday and I know I wouldn't be happy downgrading my current lifestyle (which isn't that high to begin with) after going to grad school with the idea that it would improve my salary, even if I was doing more interesting work.
Well, I received a merit scholarship from BU (15k), so that leaves 65k left to pay 😱 I have some money saved for living expenses (rent, books, student health insurance, etc), and I hope to find a part-time job to stay afloat in that regard. I also plan on applying for a ton of scholarships soon - hopefully whatever is left will be covered by loans!
What scholarships are you finding??? I havent found much of anything in regards to grad school.. 🙁
I haven't started looking yet, but I do know there are grad-based scholarships out there. Have you tried search engines or websites like Scholarships.com and FinAid? Sometimes it takes some digging but they are around!
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If this is a concern for you, you may want to think about doing an MPH through an accredited online program or taking webinars/training sessions though a Public Health Practice program (like SUNY Albany, Hopkins etc any SPH in your area will have center focused on training current health department employees). And using that training in combination with your current experience to apply for more a position in a public health setting. For the most part, the entry level positions for someone with an MPH in Health Behavior will be paying in the $40-50K range. Now if your previous experience can be applied to public health then you could look at mid-career level positions.
You can move up the career ladder in public health with out an MPH but it will take you longer and you may never be eligible for the higher level/leadership positions. Many of those positions require a doctorate and if you decide later on in your career that you want a doctorate it will be very difficult (not impossible) to be admitted to a doctoral public health program without a master's degree (MPH, MA, MSW etc)
The big decision is how much upward movement do you feel you need in your career. Would you comfortable managing/evaluating a program or set of policy initiatives? Or do you feel the need to create/develop programs on city, state or federal level?
I did my MPH right out of undergrad and now at 30+ I'm going back to get my DrPH. One of my the reasons why I decided to go back now is that after getting my DrPH the salary I could expect at a post doc/non profit/state health department/CDC would be with in 10K of what I currently make. If I wait any longer the discrepancy between my current salary and entry level doctoral salary will continue to grow.
I'm hoping that after a DrPH I'll be able to land a permanent job similar in salary to what I would be making if I stayed in the workforce during that time. The salary would be the same but I'll have more freedom in my career and more opportunities for advancement than if I continued to work with my current degree.
