It's a great time to be in graduate school at ITP
Many experts believe that going to graduate school is a great strategy during a severe economic downturn. With jobs disappearing and new ones hard to find, salaries dropping, and hiring freezes abounding, a recession can be a great time to take stock of your career goals, gain important knowledge and skills, even pursue training for the career that will truly reflect your deepest, most heartfelt values.
Every recession, no matter how severe, eventually comes to an end. However, the benefits of a genuinely transformative educational experience last forever. And there are substantial data validating the economic value of an advanced degree. According to a 1999 report from the Commerce Department's Census Bureau, average lifetime earnings for a person with a high school education working full-time, year-round are approximately $1.2 million. Compare that to $2.1 million for an individual with a four-year college degree and you start to see the advantage of an education. A Master's degree takes the figure up to $2.5 million, while a PhD can bring it to $3.4 million. The figure is highest for full-time, year-round workers with professional degrees, with lifetime earnings reaching an average of $4.4 million. And that's in 1999 dollars!
Economic advantages aside, how can one place a value on being able to do the work you were born to do? Work that is soul fulfilling and of service to humanity? Why not take advantage of the economic downturn to change your life, re-invent your career, and come out eager to apply your knowledge and skills when the economy turns back up?
Many others have done just that in the past and ITP graduates are enjoying financially rewarding and deeply satisfying careers in clinical psychology, marriage and family counseling, organizational consulting, teaching, life & executive coaching, leadership, teaching, writing, leading workshops, program design, management and assessment, spiritual guidance, research, film-making, to name a few. In addition, some of our students chose not to change careers but to improve their financial and career success by applying the knowledge and personal growth obtained at ITP to their existing careers.
How will ITP support my career success?
We are committed to providing our students with every advantage and tool necessary for professional success. Toward that end, we are delighted to announce the formation of a practice incubator for ITP students. This innovative and unique program provides a series of trainings aimed at helping students obtain the knowledge and skills needed to build successful practices in whatever field they choose. Trainings include workshops on how to develop a client base, market your practice, navigate the managed care maze, understand the lifestyle and financial aspects of self-employment, network for success, break into the consulting business, write for both the academic and popular markets, craft a career as an independent scholar and many other fascinating and pragmatic topics. Courses, workshops, and programs are taught by successful practitioners who are delighted to share their secrets for success and to help students understand how to use the training to ensure their own success.
What about the cost? How has the recession impacted financial aid?
Congress has introduced legislation to ensure continued access to student loan programs. This legislation (Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act) signed by the President on September 27, 2007, instills liquidity into the student lending market and allows the Department of Education to purchase FFELP student loans (including Stafford Loans). President Bush signed legislation which extends the authority for the Secretary of Education to purchase student loans to avoid any uncertainty of access to loans.
The recent $700 billion economic rescue package also gives authority to the Treasury Department Secretary to intervene in the student loan market, if necessary, to prop up both FFELP and private education loans. The financial aid community is optimistic that the first piece of legislation mentioned, Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act, will continue to be effective in providing access to student loans and the latter option may not be needed.
Here are some important aspects to consider:
Private lenders are being supported.
- Other sources of funds and financial solutions are in the pipeline with the support of Congress, the President, the U.S. Treasury, and the Federal Reserve Bank.
- ITP students are eligible for up to $20,500 per year in U.S. Government backed Stafford Loans.
- ITP students may be eligible for private loans (rates vary depending on the financial institution) in addition to the Stafford Loan program, including the Government-sponsored GRAD PLUS loan program.
- ITP students are eligible for prior student loan deferments while they are enrolled in a graduate program.
There continue to be many strong lenders who are servicing students' needs. ITP is able to work with the following lenders, who provide Stafford Loans, private loans, and GRAD PLUS loans:
- Wachovia Bank
- Sallie Mae
- Wells Fargo
- Discover Student Loans
- Access Group
- AMS
- Charter One
- Chase
- Citi
- Citizen's Bank
- Susie Mae
- CUNA Mutual Group
- Edamerica
- KeyBank
- Nellie Mae
- PNC Bank Corporation
- Sallie Mae Education Trust
- Southwest Student Services
- Student Loan Funding Resources
- SunTrust Education Loans
But I'll have to pay all this back, right?
Of course you will. But new federal programs are making the re-payment far less burdensome.
The Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan was proposed as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 and will become available July 1, 2009. IBR caps monthly payments at 15% of your discretionary income, where discretionary income is the difference between adjusted gross income (AGI) and 150% of the federal poverty line, which corresponds to your family size and the state in which you reside. There is no minimum monthly payment.
IBR is only available for federal student loans, such as the Stafford, Grad PLUS and consolidation loans. It is not available for Parent PLUS loans or for consolidation loans that include Parent PLUS loans. (IBR is not available for Perkins loans, but it is available for consolidation loans that include Perkins loans.) It is also not available for private student loans.
ITP's financial aid office can provide information and guidance on your financing options.
To sum it up, given the current depressed job market, the economic advantage of graduate degrees for lifetime earnings, government support for student loans, the upcoming Income-Based Repayment Plan, and ITP's support of our students' getting the knowledge, skills and training they need for a financial and soul fulfilling career:
It's a great time to be in graduate school at ITP!
