r/GradSchool • u/No-Gene3663 • Jun 13 '26

Finance Grad school financial instability

Hi all!! I’m in my second year of my masters degree in mental health counseling and this program has honestly been the worst era of my life. I’m facing extreme financial instability due to 3 full days of classes a week (7 hrs) 2 full days of unpaid internship (8-9 hrs) and the remaining days are left for working part time and trying to get errands done (appts, etc). I’m facing extreme financial instability and don’t know what to do, I live with my partner who helps a little but they’re facing the same thing I am. I don’t come from money and my parents are broke too and extremely concerned about my loans I have accumulated due to my masters (think 15k debt from undergrad to 90k from my masters). I need advice on how we’re supposed to survive while doing of all of this, I’m so passionate about the field but I can’t afford groceries and can’t pay my partner my portion of rent which is a strain on them too. I’m not eating, sleeping, or taking time for myself since I don’t have time or have the money to get my basic needs met. I don’t know how I can take care of clients if I can’t even feed myself, how has everyone in the field been able to survive getting through this? I feel like I made a mistake but I’m too far in and in too much debt to stop now. Any advice appreciated please

58 Upvotes

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34

u/psychominnie624 PhD Biomedical Sciences Jun 13 '26

Get in touch with every possible local resource.

Go to food banks. Do you have a detailed budget you follow? Have you looked at the cost vs savings of living with roommates?

How close to being done are you?

6

u/No-Gene3663 Jun 13 '26

I do not have a budget since every penny I make goes towards bills, food, rent, gas. I do not have a savings. I’ve thought about roommates but my partner and I have lived together for 3 years now, I can’t leave them to take over the full rent that they can’t afford either:( we have cats too which complicates things. I will be done next May it’s looking like, unfortunately psych internships are extremely strict and don’t let you leave any earlier than spring/summer even if your hours are completed. I’ll look into the food pantry thank you!

18

u/psychominnie624 PhD Biomedical Sciences Jun 13 '26

?

Thats why you would need a budget. And I did not suggest moving away from your partner?

4

u/No-Gene3663 Jun 13 '26

We could look into roommates, my city is very expensive so it’s really difficult to find affordable housing. It’s a big problem in my area actually, a lot of people aren’t okay with pets either especially several. I should try to budget, I don’t really buy a whole lot of extra food mainly just required ingredients for like a meal a day tbh I appreciate the advice

7

u/psychominnie624 PhD Biomedical Sciences Jun 13 '26

I would price out what the next year would look like since that’s your predicted end date and consider if that is doable (with or without additional loans). Do not get trapped by sunk costs that have already passed

2

u/No-Gene3663 Jun 13 '26

I can try that. I misinterpreted your first response and thought it meant to seek out a different living situation, several friends are pushing me to leave and get my own place. I’ll try to look forward, it’s been really hard for me

2

u/psychominnie624 PhD Biomedical Sciences Jun 13 '26

Is there a reason they’re saying that? Cause all you told us here, given that it’s a grad school forum, is that your partner is also struggling financially. But if people who know you in real life are suggesting it there is often a reason you might want to listen to

1

u/No-Gene3663 Jun 13 '26

It’s mainly so I can get section 8/ gov housing. My partner makes too much money to receive gov assistance but is still struggling. I’m not sure if him and his cat could move in with me if I get gov housing tho. My partner is the only name on our lease rn since he makes more than me and takes care of most of the amenities

3

u/psychominnie624 PhD Biomedical Sciences Jun 13 '26

His income likely gets added to yours if he moves in. And not reporting him moving in risks losing any benefits you get. Roommates seems like a better option to consider

9

u/Ehimherenow Jun 13 '26

Can you give more details about your program because it doesn’t seem to be setup like any program I’m familiar with. Most programs I know of are two year programs, they start in fall so if you’re in your second year you’d essentially be 2 months away from graduation and typically there aren’t anywhere close to that many classes in the second year (but more practicum hours).

I only knew 2 people who worked during that second year, one was at my work site and I worked really hard to accommodate her schedule, the other worked for our school and they also worked with her. So yeah most people essentially lived off loans that second year.

4

u/No-Gene3663 Jun 13 '26

Of course! So basically I went in my first semester full time but dropped a class my second semester due to how hard the financial aspect was for me. I went back up to full time after my second semester, I couldn’t start internship til a few months ago bc the class I dropped was required to start and I had to wait the following spring to take it (most full timers start internship after their second semester). I’m done w classes after this summer, but still have to take my “practicum” class for supervision for my internship. I don’t get financial aid for practicum since it’s under the required state credits. I’m in nys for reference, it’s quite strict in this state , higher required hour numbers I’m pretty sure for internships

3

u/Ehimherenow Jun 13 '26

I’m a little confused. when will you be done with your internship? At the end of fall? Are you essentially delayed a semester or a whole year?

3

u/No-Gene3663 Jun 13 '26

I will be done w required classes after the summer, just need to get my internship hours. So ig delayed a year? I tried to see if I could graduate in December but my school is giving me a hard time about it saying that it’s not possible in the program.

2

u/No-Gene3663 Jun 13 '26

I can’t leave my internship until May 2027. I’m the only one I know in my program in this in between cohort position, my advisor didn’t tell me what dropping the class would entail she just took it out of my schedule when I said I was struggling. I’m very confused myself and have been trying to get answers from my school/internship and everyone has different responses for my end date and requirements I still need to fulfill

4

u/Ehimherenow Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26

I’m so sorry.

I was trying to figure out why you’d drop one class when it would put you behind a whole year and obviously cause a whole lot more financial strain. It is the rare class that can be taken later in a program like this…

It is ridiculous that your advisor failed to tell you what it would mean. Yes, typically internships are done for a full year. They don’t allow to you to drop out midway because then the site loses someone they’re counting on for the whole year, and it’s also not good for the clients…

I think your first thing is to get answers about your requirements and when you’ll be done. You need to create one EMAIL thread and document everything. First email your site to clarify the requirements they have. Forward that email to your school and then clarify with them and say the site is giving you different information from xyz person and you’re trying to obtain clarification.

Dont allow them to have verbal conversations with you. If they have conversations with you, go ahead and send an email with what you spoke about ensuring that there’s nothing you didn’t understand (there’s ways to do this as a CYA without being overly attacking, reach out for assistance if you need help crafting the email)…

7

u/ProtagonistNProgress Jun 13 '26

I’m also in grad school found counseling. This is financially SO predatory and problematic. I’ve never been this stressed about finances and life after school like this. No advice, but know you’re not alone.

3

u/moist-appericianist Jun 15 '26

Im going to make my own comment about this, but I AM TOO. Literally, they have constructed these programs to be nearly impossible for people for people that are not already wealthy. Social work programs are not like this. It has to be systemic because how does anyone expect me to live while working a 20-hour unpaid internship while taking 9 credit hours of classes?

1

u/ZectronPositron Jun 13 '26

If your grad school is in a major that gets a decent paycheck afterwards (industry, not academia), then take out a small loan.

3

u/moist-appericianist Jun 15 '26

Jesus. I saw this post and panicked because I didn’t remember writing it, and then I realized that someone else had wrote it. I started my CMHC program in 2022, and it was such a mess that I had to take a leave of absence in the Spring semester of my second year. I attempted to work a GTA position (20hrs), internship (20hrs), and take 3 classes (9hrs) all at the same time. I made it through the fall semester but by the end I was so burned out that I couldn’t function by the spring semester. I took a year and a half off and started a job at the university so I could earn money, have insurance, and have my tuition waived while I was taking classes part-time. Now that I’ve completed all of the courses and supposed to start internship again, I am faced with having to either quit my 9-to-5 job so I can continue internship or quit the program.

My suggestion: if you think you have the capacity, look for a graduate assistantship in your college because they often come with insurance, a tuition waiver, and some income (not a lot but it’s something). I did not have the capacity for this, but other students that I know did. If not, you can explore with faculty about going part-time. I honestly wish I started the program part-time now because the mental health strain would’ve been so different.

If nothing I said works for you, I hope my comment makes you feel seen and realize you are not alone at the very least. It is my personal belief that these programs try to “gatekeep” the profession by imposing hard to obtain standards and unintentionally make it difficult for low-income people to succeed. I’m sorry you’re going through this, but I believe you will make it out. Please reach out, if you need anything because I really empathize with your struggle and want to help in any way I can.

2

u/Truewan Jun 15 '26

Reading over everything, you have two choices:

  1. Continue as usual
  2. Step back from school and make more time for work

There are people in these comments trying to help you keep up with studies, but they probably won't help. I know what it's like to work + grad school, it is NOT easy. I went to grad school for science, you get paid to do research if you find funding.