<prompt> Human: Hello and thank you for looking at my post.I have recently been accepted to GA Institute of Technology GA Tech to join their MS in Economics program. While this is beyond exciting, I am unsure on how to proceed financially. Lets begin with the figures:- I have 7,000 in savings - I do not currently have a car so I was planing on buying one- I have no debt aside from 29,000 in student loans all of which is subsidized save for 4,000 which accumulates 96 in interest per year- Tuition is 6,894 per semester with 1,005 in extra mandatory student fees This fee structure will apply for two semesters fall and spring - After those two semesters, my summer semester will be 5756 364 3814- One of the biggest costs, in my opinion, will be housing I want a one bedroom apartment - I plan on living with my long-term girlfriend in an apartment near the south side of Atlanta I was looking at the college park area reason being that she is an angel and is willing to commute to her work in Macon for the year- I was planing on living close to Marta to take the train to school every day to help my girlfriend cut her commute time a month pass is 68.50- I estimate moving costs to be 300 since I dont own much stuff and would rent a U-Haul- My parents help me with my phone bill, but will be unable to help me with other expenses since my siblings are entering collegeI realize that Ill need to take out loans, but I dont know how to do so. Im pretty lost as far as financing my future goes. Thank you so much for any and all advice.Assistant: No one should be going to graduate school with the intention of becoming a professor. The risk is just too high. Economics has good fallback options but youd be much better served just going straight to a phd program that will fund you and planning on getting a private sector job afterwards. Most programs even give you an en route masters, so if you end up not liking it you can leave after 2-3 years with a masters you didnt pay for. You mention average salaries; those are meaningless if youre talking about academia because you are far more likely to end up adjuncting doing a limited term post-doc fellowships than ever getting a professorship. Theres just too much competition. Just 30000 in student loans is already fairly high, and you would be looking at adding another 30k for a masters provided you pay for your living expenses by working. Thats a big hole to work yourself out of. Human: Thanks for your reply. Youre right about the difficulties of securing an academic position. Nevertheless, its something I want and something Ill apply myself to.I feel like were discussing more whether my career plans are valid moreso than my question about how to fund my schooling. I dont mean to sound disrespectful, but I perceive them to be valid difficult yes, but still valid.I recognize that I have high student loans and that more debt adds more repercussions, but I dont feel like I have more options. I dont want to work a job I dont like, but if I do, Id rather earn a Ph.D.-level wage. Thats why just working and no graduate school is not an option for me. Thank you again for your reply. I appreciate you trying to keep me level- headed.  <response>: I gave you an answer on how to fund your education: go straight to a phd program. Its discouraged but no one is going to care at the end of the day if you get an MA en route to a phd that youre being paid for, transfer to a better school, and finish your phd there again, all while being paid to be there. If thats your ultimate goal it doesnt really make sense to pay for a degree out of pocket. And if youre not working through this, youre adding another 10-20k in debt on top of tuition and fees and health insurance and a car loan etc. I recognize that I have high student loans and that more debt adds more repercussions, but I dont feel like I have more options. I dont want to work a job I dont like, but if I do, Id rather earn a Ph.D.-level wage. Thats why just working and no graduate school is not an option for me.This to me honestly sounds like you havent really given much thought to what your life would look like if you got a job instead of going back to school. You mention that you just graduated and dont think youll ever be able to get graduate education any other time. This is fundamentally not true.My advice would be to reconsider this program, work a job for a couple years and apply to programs that will fund you. If you still want to do it, itll still be there and you wont have to go another 30-50k in debt to do it. EDIT TO ADD: A lot of programs will let you defer admission for a year; that might be something to look into if youre not comfortable with the idea of completely declining admission. 