A
graduate degree holder can expect to earn a lot of money throughout his life
with U.S. Census Bureau report in 2002 actually putting the average lifetime
earnings of college graduates at around $2.1 to $2.5 million.
However,
it is not easy to earn a graduate degree in America with only 9.4% of the
people in the US having a graduate degree according to another report by the
U.S. Census Bureau. It is easy to see why only around 1/10th of the
American population has a graduate or a masters degree, as gaining admission
into a graduate program is extremely difficult while the tuition fees for
Masters students is extensively high as well.
The
requirements and pre-requisites of getting admission into a graduate program
include a bachelor’s degree and an average GPA of 3.0 out of 4.0 in the final
two years of the bachelor’s program. Not only this, a person would also need to
pass GRE, LSAT or MCAT based on the university and the field in which the
graduate degree is being pursued.
Passing
the entrance exam and meeting the academic criteria isn’t the only obstacle in
gaining a masters degree as students find balancing the book equally difficult.
Since the federal government only offers loans and aids that must be repaid
once the education is done in the case of graduate programs, it isn’t that easy
to balance the book here as is the case in bachelor programs. According to a
survey in 2005-06, the average annual tuition fees for a graduate program is
around $6,500 per year at a public university. The cost actually increases if
the subject is related to law or medical science.
The
loans that the government promises are not easy to acquire either and the
student must submit a FAFSA form (Federal Application for Free Student Aid) in
order to become eligible for it. Even if the student gets the loan, the
expenses remain difficult to meet with the aid as the amount budgeted for all
the expenses is far from reality by the government and the universities.
However,
even though a masters degree remains extremely difficult to acquire and
requires time, money and financial sacrifices, it is well worth all the hard
work as one can earn far more and cover up for everything with ease with a
masters degree.