Is Graduate School Worth It?

I finally completed my second-year of graduate school and I am so proud of myself. There were many times where I was uncertain whether I would make it through this year.

School is expensive, housing is expensive, groceries are expensive, and still, I must pay for so many things and everyday the cost of my education feels less worth it.

I am paying over $4,000 per class at my university and I can confidently say this price tag is not worth it. Why does this course cost so much? How much of this even goes to my professors?

Originally, I was mad when I received my first financial aid award months after I accepted my enrollment. I was surprised to see how much everything cost. It was $1,000 more per course than the website’s estimation.

It was too late to back out, I would just have to hope my loans could cover it and that I would find a good part-time job.

Let me tell you, finding a job took months. That first year, everyone was hiring but no one was hiring. Though the pay is higher here, the costs of living cancel it out completely.

I had to move once again to somewhere more affordable, all the while working full-time as an unpaid student. I focused on survival.

When I finally landed a part-time job, I had to deal with stress from working an undetermined number of hours. At times I had to prioritize school and other times work, neither one accepting a compromise.

Jobs truly expect part-time employees to work a range of hours whenever the job finds it convenient. Schools expect students to stop working and magically afford living expenses in a recession and housing crisis.

At last, I made it through the first year! I quit my job and started a seasonal one where I could work full-time during the summer with a consistent, set schedule. I was ready to start my second year being completely devoted to school.

However, I had a problem. All the stress from college, from my “gap year” (where I worked full-time and had nightmare neighbors), my first year, and more built up and had not been addressed. I never took a break.

Once the second year began, I was both excited and nervous. It was to be my last year as a student and I had a lot on my plate.

Even without work, I had in-person classes, an online class (which felt like two classes with its accelerated pace), and started at my first clinical internship. I was energized and felt like I had to find a way to balance my responsibilities perfectly.

My mindset was that if I just pushed through, soon I would be at the finish line and this race would be worth it. Fortunately, I left my internship before I started seeing clients.

I was too hard on myself and it became clear over the next several months that I had to be the one who looked out for me, because no one else would.

Now that more time has passed, I believe that I have people in my life who care about me and are here for me. I learned how to tell the difference between people who have my best interest at heart and people who don’t.

I met many wonderful people in one of the most difficult periods of my life and have gained a lifetime’s worth of wisdom and life lessons in such a short amount of time.

 That being said, I had to extend my time in my program to make it more doable. I needed to space my courses out so I could start a new job and afford to pay my bills.

I had a true break during the winter, which gave me time to have fun and enjoy myself. I had to start the internship hunt all over again, and was so glad to get a new placement for my true final year of graduate school.

The summer term just ended, and I am free. I know this last year will be tough. Not only will I start clinicals, but I will have to manage two online courses and one in-person (fate is a cruel adversary).

I need to prepare for my licensure exam and graduation exam, and need to plan how to maintain my job. This summer is all about hanging out with my friends, saving money, and devoting my time to my creative projects and relaxation.

This rest is well-deserved and the fruits of my labor are sweet. At this point in my career, graduate school is not worth the present financial stress and I hope to find a concrete answer after I graduate.