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Investing In A Graduate or Professional School Education
Written By: Bryant Anderson, Assistant Dean of the Illinois College of Optometry and Dr. Ronald Campbell, Director of Financial Aid at the Illinois College of Optometry

INVESTING IN YOUR FUTURE
You may be planning to return to school several years after completing your undergraduate education, or you may be pursuing a graduate or professional degree immediately after receiving your bachelor’s degree.

In either case, you are making a significant investment in yourself and in your future, and IDAPP is committed to assisting you in making the best investment that you can. For many students, the financing of a graduate education will be quite different from paying for an undergraduate education. Typically, graduate students are financing their own education without financial assistance from their parents and without much, if any, scholarship aid. We have prepared this booklet specifically for the unique circumstances of the graduate or professional school student. While many of you may be pursuing a professional degree, for the purpose of this brochure, we will refer to each of these options as your “graduate” education.

Many people think of an investment as putting money in the stock market or in real estate, and with the hope that it will be worth considerably more in the future. While that is indeed one aspect of investing, a graduate education is also an investment, although of a somewhat different nature. An investment is the expenditure of scarce or limited resources, with the hope of a greater return in the future. As such, when you go to graduate school, you are making an investment in yourself, investing your time and your money (or money you borrow) with the hope that the investment will prove to be beneficial in the long term. Most graduate students see the financial reward of a graduate education as only one of the benefits that may result from their years in school.

THE BIGGEST CHOICE: WHICH SCHOOL?

You will want to think carefully about the investment you are planning to make in yourself and in your future. First and foremost, you will have to make an important decision regarding which graduate school you will attend. You may choose to attend a school based on its reputation, its location, its cost, or other factors. You may make this choice based on whether or not you can attend the school on a part-time basis. These choices are all an important part of what might be called “the investment decision.” Attending the most expensive institution may not necessarily be the best investment you can make. The same thing might be said about the least expensive school you are considering. To the extent that you have a choice, you should attend the school that best meets your long-term objectives. You should carefully consider the benefits of attending a public institution, where the cost of tuition is typically considerably lower than at a private institution. If you end up choosing to attend a private institution, it should be because that choice was most consistent with your long-term objectives, in which case you will be able to justify the additional costs you will incur. While the cost of living varies in different regions, this is not likely to be as significant a factor in the overall cost of your education as will be the cost of tuition at the school you attend.