Your Lifestyle

Question

I'm a year away from even applying to a program (to start in Fall of 2013) but I'm already getting worried about supporting my wife and I for two years on zero income from me.

I will be relocating to go to school and therefore my wife will also be unemployed when we move. She is a teacher and I'm a CPA. I'm hopeful that she will eventually be able to get a substitute teaching position or something of the sort so that we can have some modest additional income while I'm in school. However, I'm not positive on this as I'm sure that larger metro areas are just filled to the brim with education majors looking for jobs.

Our expenses will include all the regular stuff (rent, utilities, phones, etc...) plus she will have a student loan payment and we might still have a single car payment. I'm not at all scared to take out TONS of loans to go to school, because I have faith that this is a great investment. What I am however worried about is the possibility of not getting a lot of loans beyond the cost of my schooling. We will have about 30K in savings when I go to school, which is enough to live on for at least a year but I'd rather not completely drain my life savings during my 2 years at school.

Does anyone have any anecdotes/stories/advice that could possibly help me in getting a grasp on this? Will I receive significantly more loan money than I need?

**Please note, I'm operating under the assumption that I will get ZERO scholarships and ZERO teaching assistant type positions, etc... I'm planning in the most conservative manner possible.

bakfed · Answer

Getting straight to the point - no, you will not receive any additional loans through school other than the indicated amount in each school's financial aid. Each school has a set limit for the amount you can borrow and you may not exceed that. However, it will all depend on how you live and what you want to do while in school. I am attending Darden right now and I've taken out the absolutely maximum of what I can borrow through school and I know for a fact that if I had a wife (which I don't), we both can survive modestly using that loan. Couple this with your 30k savings, I'd say you don't have to worry too much about financial aid. But if you decide to eat lobster every night and fly to Hawaii every weekend, yes, you won't be able to survive on loans alone.

MU2011CPA · Answer

Thanks for the reply. Darden is actually my top choice reach school.

I certainly won't need to live a lavish lifestyle. I just was unsure as to whether or not this would work (generally speaking) somewhat similarly to undergrad. Meaning... cost of attendance is $XXX, and I get a check in the mail for $XXX + $3000 or $4000 dollars for living expenses. Hopefully with some supplemental loan money, and savings, I should be fine.

Again, thanks for the reply!

bakfed · Answer

You're very welcome. Here's some more solid information for you regarding Darden.

Tuition for out of state student (excluding internationals) is roughly $52,000 a year. If you were to take the maximum loan out through school (which utilizes FAFSA), you can get about $78,000 a year. Less tuition comes to about $26,000. Again, you won't be able to live luxuriously, but certainly should be able to manage even if it means to support another person on that loan. Combining the loan with your savings, I doubt that you'll have any problem living for those 2 years.

mbasurvey123 · Answer

Apply for financial aid.

nabila1230 · Answer

nice to read, all brother are getting interest in the post, keep it up guys

extrastarch · Answer

I know many Booth students who work part-time while going to Full-Time MBA. They schedule their classes on mon, tues, wed, and work thurs, fri, and weekends. That might help.

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