Strategies for Success > Overcoming Obstacles > Financial Difficulties

Are financial difficulties impeding your progress?

The costs associated with graduate study can be substantial. Some graduate students are forced to manage with inadequate funds. In some cases, debt loads are substantial enough to interfere with timely degree progress and/or completion.

You need to think seriously about the amount of debt that you are willing or able to accrue by the time you have finished your graduate study. Financial planning, like career planning, should be an ongoing practice, not something that you put off until you graduate!

As you continue in your graduate program, be sure that you have thoroughly reviewed all possible funding options through your program and the U of M. Be sure to consult with your research advisor for advice on funding options and strategies. Also, visit the Faculty of Graduate Studies Funding and Awards website.

Be careful not to fall into a "work trap" in your final years of graduate study. A work trap occurs when a graduate student feels compelled to accept employment for needed income, but the work slows or even derails the student's progress in completing their degree requirements. This pattern can cost more money in the long run. Sometimes it is better to bite the bullet and borrow money so that you can finish up and get a paying job.