I need help with college stuff?

Question

I'm a senior right now, and I'm goning to be going to college in the Fall, but no one, not even teachers, has told me this...

How much does is cost for 4 years of college? Plus Graduate school? Because, I heard that in order to have a Ph.D. in Psychology, I have to go to graduate school. And I looked at the tuition for in-state students and its about 6 to 9 thousand dollars. So does anybody know how much is 4 years of college plus graduate school is going to cost me?

By the way, I'm thinking about going to Clemson, South Carolina State or North Carolina Central, if that helps.

Answer 1

a private school depending on where you go will set you back 80,000. graduate school, depending on where you go is about 2,000 a class, it a total of about 25,000. Again it depends on where you go. A public school is much less. To finance your education, there are scholarships, loans grants, a number of different sources. My four years of private college and graduate school was worth every penny.

Answer 2

Like many people have said, it really does depend on what schools you go to. Clemson, for example, is a private school, and the tuition will be much higher than if you went to a state (public) school.

Here's my advice. Don't go bonkers accruing debt if you're pretty sure you want to go on to a graduate degree. You may have to pay a little bit then (or for the whole thing), so if you're already $50K in debt, that would be bad. But keep in mind that if you have an outstanding/really quite decent track record in college (find professors, help them with their research, do a senior thesis project), when you apply for a PhD, you're bound to "get funding." That is, most big schools (and all of the "hot-shot" ones) will pay your tuition FOR you when you're getting your doctorate. Some even give you a small living expenses stipend on top of that. It's not like you'll be rolling in it, but the idea is that they want you to focus on your work and your research.

Also keep in mind that if you're interested in research psychology (conducting experiments, etc.), a PhD is the way to go. This is not necessarily necessary to work as a clinical psychologist (therapy, etc.)-- I think.

You've gotten some good advice to look into financial aid. I would also apply for any and all scholarships you can find and are eligible for. $200 here and there really adds up. Check out www.fastweb.com
Hope this helps! I applied for a bajillion scholarships when I was a senior in HS and ended up funding my entire education. I went to a (very good!) state school, though, so it wasn't too expensive to begin with.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Easiest thing to do is contact the Admissions Office in either school and ask them about tuition and fees (don't foget the fees--those are the killers!). You can also go online at both schools (if they have decent websites) and find out about all the costs, then multiply by four (at a minimum). Some programs also charge additional fees or higher tuition rates than others, so ask specifically about the psychology program. Consider also that it'll take you at least four-six years to get your bachelors degree, then maybe another couple for the masters. When Ph.D time rolls around, costs will be much higher than they are now, but you might be able to swing a graduate assistantship (helping with teaching, research, etc.).

Answer 4

You can find the tuition for any college on their website. Plan on about 5 years of undergraduate school. (So for semesters it is 2x the fee per year. For quarters the fee is 3x a year.) Summer school is additional money. You should go and see you school counselor, or contact the schools you are interested in and ask them all the questions you have. Also, books in the library will tell you information about college. You will have to apply the fall October before the September you wish to go to college. don't forget the SAT or ACT and entrance essays. You need to factor in housing, food, books, parking stickers. This costs my children about $1,300 a month to live without the tuition. You are correct that you need a PHD in Psychology if you want to be a psychotherapist. You will probably choose a different graduate school for graduate degrees. Again, look at websites.

Answer 5

OK, I will be VERY blunt, but don't let this scare you. If you are going to pay out of pocket (IE- no scholarships, financial aid, etc) and either pay per semester or by student loans for a PHD plus housing.....said and done probably close to $100k. Don't let that discourage you from pursuing your degree. It's just money, and with a PHD you'll be able to pay back that amount of student loans without a problem. If you are interested in saving some $$$, go to a community college first (generally much less $$$) and live at home. Good luck to you and keep in mind that most college students change their major at least once!!!
I did about 4 times!

Answer 6

At today's cost about $60 thousand dollars for tuition and books for BS, Masters and PHD all together. - if you go on the absolute cheap. Add $3000.00 a year if you live near campus, with a roommate (not at home). Add another $3000.00 if you have a car to keep up.

Due yourself a BIG favor - don't look at the ending cost - just look at the beginning. Take one semester at a time and say - "I can handle this." If you have to --- take it one class at a time. The whole of it can be overwhelming. Graduating from college doesn't take 'all of the brains' in the world - nor 'all of the money on earth' - but it does take "all of the perseverance in the universe"!!!! Good Luck and God Bless - You can do it!!!!

Answer 7

Its going to be expensive. I left home at 17 with $1,000 I had saved from working the summer before school started. Lived in a rooming house with a bunch of foreign students and worked part time.

Finally I had to work full time at night and weekends, and go to classes during the day. After working full time all those years after paying for books, tuition and living expenses I had $500.00. I got a job and my employer paid my moving expenses.

I wouldn't worry about Graduate School till you get through college. You can apply for as an assistant which should pay your way through graduate school.

The total will be thousands of dollars, probably all you can earn during the time you are at school. The main thing is to work on one goal at a time and stay focused.

Answer 8

Clemson costs 15,500 in-state and 25,000 out-of-state for one year. That's pretty typical for a public school. Undergrad is usually 4 years, and a Ph.D. is another 4 to 7 depending on the program. However, science Ph.D. programs usually pay your tuition and give you a salary for teaching their labs/grading homework, so you probably won't have to worry about grad school tuition. You can take out loans to pay for undergrad if you can't get a scholarship.

Remember though, you're not encouraged to go the same school for undergrad AND grad school - that looks bad to future employers. Doctors don't get paid to go to grad school, but more science Ph.D.s do.

Answer 9

it depends on where you go, but most in-state public universities cost between $7000 and $12000 a year. But, you can get plenty of scholarships if you know where to look. Talk to your guidence counselor. They can help, trust me, it's their job.

if you're interested in searching for colleges and prices, set up an account at www.collegeboard.com

you can search any school and it can give you the info in a nutshell.

graduate school is around the same price as being an undergraduate. I know Clemson has a great psychology program. you can look at clemson by going to: www.clemson.edu

Clemson is a great school and has so many things to offer! Go Tigers!

Answer 10

You best source of information would be the financial information page at the website of the college you are interested. Several things will have a significant impact on the cost.

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/collegecosts/index.html is a good site. It's hard to tell without knowing your family information too, since that affects what kind of help you might get with the cost.

What are your grades like, are you going to get any grants or scholarships? You are looking at 4 years, plus 2 years for your masters or close to it, and then additional time for your PhD.

Good Luck!! I admire your goals.