Do you not have to pay full tuition price for the summer semester, if you only take 6 credits?
At my school, summer classes are done through the continuing ed department and they're priced on a per-credit basis, it's something like $320/credit, give or take a bit depending on the classes. In contrast, my tuition is around $5K/semester, no matter how many credits you take (assuming you're a full-time student). So no, it's a sort of a la carte system in the summer and isn't as expensive as a full-time class. But you can see why this is a highly individual thing.
For hard figures, I'd check the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook handbook, which will give you ballpark estimates of what you can expect; it provides median income ratings that are a reasonable estimate. (It's available online) Check for a lot of career paths, don't just focus on one - school psychologist, social work, organizational psych, and anything else you can potentially see yourself doing at the end of your degree, not just being a professor. Remember, psychology PhDs are extremely common, so it's a pretty tough career path. Don't put all your eggs in one basket on determining what's worth it.
For the rest, focus on what you need to get through school comfortably, but not extravagantly. I'd suggest working up a real budget, figuring out things like how much rent is going to cost you (factor in more if you need a ground floor flat or whatever), whether on-campus housing would be cheaper than off-campus, if you drive or need public transport, how much you need to eat, how much you need for books (your program should give you a ballpark, I'd suggest 1.5x because they always underestimate), what you need for clothes and travel and lab fees and etc. Be stingy, but don't cut it so close you're going to be hustling to keep from starving or paying your electric bill, because that will detract from your study time. Look at summer classes on a case-by-case basis, which you don't have to decide right now - you can always take more loans if you need them, and a lot of schools that do summer classes will let you increase your financial aid to cover them if you need to. Don't blow your savings to pay tuition, you need a safety net - Stafford loans are low interest and can be deferred if you need to (or even forgiven if you take the right job post-graduation), and they're there to support you. If you need to take private loans for gap coverage I'd suggest being even stingier, they love to give you lots of money but you'll pay them back at market rates, which sucks.
Again, thanks. This is the sort of information and indepth response I was hoping for.
I am fortunate that the place I am going looks to be a small college town, so walking is an option, and in the North East, the public transport system is not terrible. However, just renting a room is a real monster (550/month or thereabouts).
At my school, summer classes are done through the continuing ed department and they're priced on a per-credit basis, it's something like $320/credit, give or take a bit depending on the classes. In contrast, my tuition is around $5K/semester, no matter how many credits you take (assuming you're a full-time student). So no, it's a sort of a la carte system in the summer and isn't as expensive as a full-time class. But you can see why this is a highly individual thing.
For hard figures, I'd check the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook handbook, which will give you ballpark estimates of what you can expect; it provides median income ratings that are a reasonable estimate. (It's available online) Check for a lot of career paths, don't just focus on one - school psychologist, social work, organizational psych, and anything else you can potentially see yourself doing at the end of your degree, not just being a professor. Remember, psychology PhDs are extremely common, so it's a pretty tough career path. Don't put all your eggs in one basket on determining what's worth it.
For the rest, focus on what you need to get through school comfortably, but not extravagantly. I'd suggest working up a real budget, figuring out things like how much rent is going to cost you (factor in more if you need a ground floor flat or whatever), whether on-campus housing would be cheaper than off-campus, if you drive or need public transport, how much you need to eat, how much you need for books (your program should give you a ballpark, I'd suggest 1.5x because they always underestimate), what you need for clothes and travel and lab fees and etc. Be stingy, but don't cut it so close you're going to be hustling to keep from starving or paying your electric bill, because that will detract from your study time. Look at summer classes on a case-by-case basis, which you don't have to decide right now - you can always take more loans if you need them, and a lot of schools that do summer classes will let you increase your financial aid to cover them if you need to. Don't blow your savings to pay tuition, you need a safety net - Stafford loans are low interest and can be deferred if you need to (or even forgiven if you take the right job post-graduation), and they're there to support you. If you need to take private loans for gap coverage I'd suggest being even stingier, they love to give you lots of money but you'll pay them back at market rates, which sucks.
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I am fortunate that the place I am going looks to be a small college town, so walking is an option, and in the North East, the public transport system is not terrible. However, just renting a room is a real monster (550/month or thereabouts).
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I'm told that because it's within a 3 hour drive of NYC, you can expect NYC level rent.
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