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The shelter of grad school in a challenging economy
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(AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)
The conventional wisdom during times of recession is that recent college graduates will often find shelter from the difficulties of a job search by entering into graduate programs. Thousands in the class of 2009 were planning to do just that. However, the standard way of coping with a down economy is not working this time. In a recent article following a Clemson University student, “The normal set of open doors is shrinking in this economy,” said Bruce Rafert, dean of Clemson's graduate school. Applications were up approximately 20% for 2009. While applications are on a double-digit climb among U.S. citizens, the Council of graduate Schools announced that a CGS survey found that applications from prospective international students to U.S. graduate schools increased 4% from 2008 to 2009. Though showing growth, it is the 3rd consecutive year that the growth rate declined.
Prospective California grad students face an additional pressure, like other states that boomed recently because of real estate, as the state budget woes are threatening higher education funding. The ironic problem of increased student interest in graduate programs during economic downturn is a repeated problem for state schools. As state coffers dwindle, schools –both graduate and undergraduate – are forced to cut programs, staff, and available seats. Similar to the deference given to K12 budgets during education cuts, graduate programs are often faced with more drastic cuts than undergraduate programs. This may be due to the perception of graduate school being more of a luxury than a necessity.
A tactic common to circumvent the funding problems at state schools during past downturns was to shift the focus of graduate applications to private schools. Because of the dramatic drop in the stock markets since last fall, even private schools have had to make cuts as their endowments have shrunk. The University of Southern California (USC) endowment ranks 22 in the nation at a reported $3.7 billion. As late as March of this year, financial aid continued to outpace tuition according to an article by James Grant. While the overall news is more positive at USC than at other private institutions, Grant goes on to note the undergraduate bias in assistance. “At USC, nearly half of the expenses funded by endowment income relate to student aid and scholarships, meeting the university’s commitment to enabling access to all qualified students from all backgrounds. Much of that student aid is targeted to undergraduate students.”
As a graduate student, you must be able to differentiate between the financial aid statistics for undergraduate versus graduate program. Inevitably, the numbers will be rosier for undergraduate assistance, as compared to graduate assistance. Using graduate school as a shelter from the current economic storm has become increasingly challenging from admissions and financial perspectives for students and the graduate schools they are interested in attending.
For additional information regarding graduate student issues you can check out:
4 tips for grad students balancing studies and family
What doe scholar-practitioner mean?
For more information about college at any level, please visit Edusistance or Race to College Success. You can contact Janelle via email.
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