Challenge completed: No loans for Master's!!!

[Britan]

I just finished my Master's degree last week! Most impressively, the full and total amount of loans I took out was $0.00 over the course of the 2.5 years!!! I did this by:

1. Choosing a state school rather than the spendy-pants university I did undergrad at. I had to do it online because the state school was actually across the country but it turned out that the online option there was cheaper than in-state in my own state, when you consider commuting costs! And from what I've heard, the quality was better too. Definitely better than my spendy-pants undergrad university was.
2. Doing it while working so that my employer would cover $3,000 per year
3. Took 2 years to do it so that (a) I didn't go insane, and (b) I could save up that amount between tuition payments!

I didn't even need to take the monthly payment plan - I payed the whole semester up front each semester.

AND it's in a useful degree - statistics - which I have already started using to fix things at work!

AND my boss, boss' boss, and my boss' boss' boss have all congratulated me and I am moving up in the world!!!

AND now I'll have at LEAST an extra $10,000 each year now that I'm no longer paying tuition. On top of the $12,000 I've already saved this year.

Feels *so good* after taking out nearly $80k for my useless undergrad degree at Spendy Pants U!

*Dances*

[cdttmm]

Awesome! Congratulations!

[milliemchi]

Fantastic!!! Congratulations! Yay you!

Do you mind sharing which program you took? I was looking at Penn State online program.

[Zamboni]

Well done.  Smart choices all around by you!

[MrsPfennig]

Congratulations!!

[forummm]

Now that's how it's done! Nice going!

[I'm a red panda]

Congratulations!

Being able to pay for my Master's degree out of pocket is one of my better accomplishments, even though it totally sucked to be working full time at the time.

[Britan]

Fantastic!!! Congratulations! Yay you!

Do you mind sharing which program you took? I was looking at Penn State online program.

I did it through Colorado State University. The degree is exactly the same as the one you get if you go in-person. It was about $10,000 per year, but the online degree cost is the same in or out of state. I found the whole experience to be incredibly well organized and engaging. All of the lecturers were mic'd up and writing on smart boards so I could see and hear everything, and the professors were all amazing teachers. There was a lot of discussion on the Blackboard forums, and the professors and TA's were very responsive both there and through e-mail. There were regular homework's due, usually 1 per week per class, and loads of tests, which kept me on track. The administration was great too - always sending reminders for registration add and drop deadlines, and they were very helpful in filling out some of my paperwork which required signatures from folks in Colorado. I would highly recommend it. Oh and being able to watch and re-watch and pause and re-wind lectures was PRICELESS.

All in all, an amazing breath of fresh air after Spendy Pants U where the teachers didn't care, the administration routinely didn't have their act together, and I didn't learn anything useful.

[milliemchi]

I did it through Colorado State University. The degree is exactly the same as the one you get if you go in-person. It was about $10,000 per year, but the online degree cost is the same in or out of state. I found the whole experience to be incredibly well organized and engaging. All of the lecturers were mic'd up and writing on smart boards so I could see and hear everything, and the professors were all amazing teachers. There was a lot of discussion on the Blackboard forums, and the professors and TA's were very responsive both there and through e-mail. There were regular homework's due, usually 1 per week per class, and loads of tests, which kept me on track. The administration was great too - always sending reminders for registration add and drop deadlines, and they were very helpful in filling out some of my paperwork which required signatures from folks in Colorado. I would highly recommend it. Oh and being able to watch and re-watch and pause and re-wind lectures was PRICELESS.

That is a nice endorsement. I went straight to their web site to check them out. Did you do the MAS degree? And how did you first go about finding a good program, and checking the quality? Is there a ranking site a la US News? All I could think of is googling, which unearthed Penn State which seemed OK (same degree online and on campus) and several other programs which would not work for me (either don't offer online, or require relatively quick studying, and I would need to stretch it out over several years). I know I haven't come accross Colorado State in my googling. So how did you get information?

[Bearded Man]

Congratulations!

Being able to pay for my Master's degree out of pocket is one of my better accomplishments, even though it totally sucked to be working full time at the time.

Hear you on that. New full time job, rental properties AND grad school at a top 10(%) school. Paying upfront for each class. Since it's only one year for me (undergrad major was business :P) it will only cost about 12K assuming I don't do the concentration in CIS. That doesn't count potential tuition reimbursement of 5K a year from my company. I figured I might as well do it since it's a state school, and a AACSB accredited school offering an MBA for that price in one year (if you have a degree in business already, otherwise 2+ years) is a no brainer. 

[2ndTimer]

This is not just smart, it is totally flapping BRILLIANT.  No need to wish you well, you have already taken it way past wishing.

[iris lily]

Very great, so cool! Yay for you!

I do SO wish that more students would get smart about the downsides of financing higher education.

I really do think that anyone taking out giant loans today for anything other tha super payback guaranteed employment ifs a complete fool. I no longer have any sympathy, post 2015.

[Britan]

That is a nice endorsement. I went straight to their web site to check them out. Did you do the MAS degree? And how did you first go about finding a good program, and checking the quality? Is there a ranking site a la US News? All I could think of is googling, which unearthed Penn State which seemed OK (same degree online and on campus) and several other programs which would not work for me (either don't offer online, or require relatively quick studying, and I would need to stretch it out over several years). I know I haven't come accross Colorado State in my googling. So how did you get information?

I think I also did a google search, though it helped I knew people attending in-person there at the time, and could talk to people. I do remember seeing the Penn State one as well... but I can't remember why, 3 years ago I decided on CSU over Penn.

And yes, I did the MAS. I considered the MS in statistics, but I figured given what I wanted to do, I was more interested in the application than the theory, and the MS is more designed for going on to your PhD in statistics, which is not my cup of tea.

I really do think that anyone taking out giant loans today for anything other tha super payback guaranteed employment ifs a complete fool. I no longer have any sympathy, post 2015.

Yeah, I remember at the start of my undergrad saying "but... this is a pretty expensive school" and everyone - parents, teachers, counselors, neighbors, people on the street - telling me "don't worry, you'll just take out loans and then pay them off in your first year with your high paying job that you will definitely get." It took me 9 months to find my first job, and it paid 25k/year - that's what my tuition for one semester cost. Now, at every opportunity, I act as the voice of reason for all my younger cousins who are, for some reason still hearing that stupid opinion.

[Mrs. D.]

Congratulations to you! What a huge accomplishment. My husband and I started a similar process 3 years ago. He started a full-time master's degree at a public state university and I was funding our household with my teaching income and we paid for school as he went. Last year I also started a master's while still working, adding to the school costs. It is not an easy thing to do, even with 2 very committed people. Fortunately it has paid off and hubby got a good-paying job in the field of his degree.

[arebelspy]

Setting a goal and sticking with it is awesome.

The wife and I both paid for Master's Degrees in cash, though I wish we had taken loans (for two reasons: loan forgiveness and cheap leverage)--that was a financial mistake that cost over five figures.  On the other hand, I've made many that cost six figures, so.. small potatoes.  :)