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Is it worth it to go back to school and accumulate tons of - student debt? sm

Posted: Sep 26, 2013

I really, really, really want to go back to school. Problem is, I'm a single parent living on my one income which is going down pretty much every month. Being an MT just isn't working anymore. I want to go back to school, but in order to do that, I would need to take out some serious student loans just to help me pay my bills, let alone pay the school debt. I have an AA degree already, so I think it would take me about 2 more years to get my bachelor's degree in either social work or go for the master's in psychology. I don't know what to do. The thought of having thousands of dollars in student loan debt freaks me out to the point of me not taking the next step. Any advice or anyone in this situation? Also, I'm only 36 so I've literally got 30 more years of working life ahead of me!

I'm in the same boat as you.sm - mt2

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm 38, single parent. I have one daughter in college full time at a University and another who is a junior in high school. The only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger is trying to figure out how to make sure I can keep my head above water while in school. I wish there was an easy answer. Quite honestly, I'm terrified!

really is not as hard as you think - I made 100 or above all 3 tests last week

[ In Reply To ..]
BUT i am up at 5:30 studying, plus I work full time. It's not too hard if you are determined.

Good luck!

There are no guarantees. You don't have - to do a full-time

[ In Reply To ..]
semester. Take a class at a community college or online to get your feet wet. Google MOOCS. Social work is notorious for paying poorly so look into what jobs are paying in your area, ditto jobs for psych grads. If you have a community action program in your area, check to see if they're hiring and get a foot in the door.

My niece graduated in 2011 with her masters in psychology and could not find a job that paid well. She's working as a make-up artist (where there is plenty of money to be made, btw).

Financial aid - MT

[ In Reply To ..]
If your income has been declining and you are a single parent, I would hope that you could qualify for financial aid. Have you gone online and filled out a FAFSA application? Start there. You can always add schools to your application later if you change your mind about where you want to attend. That way you have an answer before you decide. If you qualify for financial aid, you will also qualify for government student loans which don't have to be paid until you are out of school and are usually of lower interest than going through a bank. Also, depending on where you are located, some states have funding to help people go back to school so check with your local workforce center and see if they have anything to help assist people who need to go back to school. I live in MN and they prefer their students not to work because they want you to focus on your studies. Here in MN, you could get the help from the workforce center, in combination with the government financial aid, and you could use whatever was left of your financial aid to help with bills...thus eliminating a need for student loans...however, you can still take out student loans above and beyond that for living expenses if need be.

If I was your age, I'd dive right in! Otherwise, it's low wages and little - MomHere

[ In Reply To ..]
opportunity out there...This job market is really horrible. You're still young! I have two daughters around your age. One started college, but she dropped out. She works as a server at a Cheese Cake Factory restaurant. The other daughter, who was a single mom, persevered. Yes, she accumulated tons of debt, but she now has her master's degree! She and her son bought their first house, and it's absolutely adorable, fully remodeled, and perfect for them. She just bought a brand new car. She has a career that she LOVES. So, yes, she has a giant and painful student loan, but the trade off is so worth it! I just wish my other daughter would do the same thing, but she's scared of student loans! And she's nowhere. Sometimes it's just worth it. My daughter who earned her master's degree told me that it is always a gamble to go to school, but overall, it usually opens doors that would not be opened otherwise, and her future is so much brighter and more secure. She is also already the second person in her division! I'm so happy she did this, and it was not easy as she worked at Taco Bell and Sears, etc., scraping by while handling a tiny tot, too. She just set her mind on the goal and went for it with everything she had and stopped second guessing herself. In five years, she will have received even higher pay, etc., but my other daughter will still be a server and have really very little future or financial security, which as a mom, concerns me greatly.

So, as a pseudo mom here, I think you should set your sights on the goal and pull the pieces together and dive in!

Thank you for your post - it was very encouraging! - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

I would give my right arm to go back in time - Old Single Mom

[ In Reply To ..]
Yes, it is worth it. I had all the concerns you have but seriously thought about going back to school as well, however, the thought was exhausting and the expense considerable, and I was earning quite a good income. So I did not. Now I am in my 60s, recently laid off after seeing my earnings go down and down, my savings gone. I am scared about my retirement and I don't want to be a burden to my struggling children which I fear I will be. I wanted to be more than an MT in those days, to advance professionally, but I felt the time and money was too much. Now I know otherwise. You have a family to take care of, this job is no longer cutting it financially, there is no future in it, and I don't want to see you in my position. Get yourself back in school ASAP. It is never going to get easy and the younger you are when you decide to bite the bullet and get additional education, the more opportunities for career advancement there will be for you in the future. Start school in this January, that gives you 3 months to to get ready. Do this for yourself and for your family. You are probably already just getting by now, but scraping by and making the sacrifice for a better future is far better than scraping by and knowing it is only going to go downhill from here.

I say yes! - New graduate

[ In Reply To ..]
I am 49 and I did it. I also have an AA and finished school this week, which took me just over a year. I feel the same way about MT - it just wasn't working for me and I knew I had to do something.

I was also worried about paying the bills and paying for school. It took me well over a year to finally get the courage to enroll and I am so glad I did. Here are a few things I did to come up with/save money before I started. First, I had a huge yard sale and got rid of a ton of things I obviously didn't need. For the year or so prior to starting school and while I have been in school, I stopped daily coffee purchases. It may not seem like much but at almost $3 each, that was a savings of at least $60/month. I also have been coloring my own hair (oh, how I hate doing it), a savings of about $50/month.

Also, I live in a big city, so I can walk to most places. I drive my car very rarely and choose to walk when I can, a big savings on gas/car maintenance, and also the exercise is good for me. We also have not been dining out at restaurants very much at all over the past two years (huge savings), but this weekend we are going to one of our favorite restaurants to celebrate my graduation!

Good luck to you, whatever you decide to do!

wow you and I are in a parallel universe! I will be 36 tomorrow - going for my masters in social work

[ In Reply To ..]
started back this semester. Got a pell grant that will help me finish my associates. I was born with some bone and joint issues so i'm currently trying to get the necessary paperwork to have vocational rehab step in and hep with the rest. At one point I had 4 years paid for them and I foolishly threw it away. 20 years ago I never thought I would need college!! yeah right!

Try fastweb.com you can apply for scholarships there too.

Good luck!

Also look into what fields offer loan forgiveness--sm - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
There are some fields like teaching in underpriviledged areas or social work that offer loan forgiveness after you have worked in that field for so many years. There of course is no guarantee that this will be there when you need it but it is a possibility.

A benefit to being older when attending school is you can use your life experience to help prevent taking on more student loans than necessary. It would be better to be on the track for something else before MT ends for you than to have to face schooling while in crisis mode. Good luck.

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