Continuing our feature on original QS Research, reflecting the minds and intentions of postgraduate applicants around the world, we examine one of the crunch issues around your decision to apply to grad school. Finance.
"The perceived benefits of postgraduate study also contribute to the willingness of applicants to take on financial responsibility."
The decision to apply for a postgraduate degree, whether at home or overseas, has as much to do with career intentions and ambitions, as it has to do with the ability to finance a period of study. With different programmes charging wildly varying levels of tuition fees and the price differing from country to country and subject to subject, it can be difficult sometimes to identify whether one postgraduate degree is better value than another.
The perceived benefits of postgraduate study also contribute to the willingness of applicants to take on financial responsibility. 54% indicated they would be prepared to take out a loan to underwrite their postgraduate programme, while 64% would also be able to make a contribution to their postgraduate tuition fees from their own funds. 51% claimed they would be able to derive some element of funding from their parents or extended family.
"One thing is clear, however; although there is a relationship between the cost of a postgraduate programme and its perceived quality, price is not a reliable way of choosing the best programme for your own personal ambitions and strengths."
The preferred source of funding for postgraduate studies is some form of financial aid or scholarship. Globally, of the 1,566 responding to the QS survey, a staggering 82% indicated that they would prefer to study at the postgraduate level with some form of institutional or government aid. Regionally, these figures take on a different look. In the Middle East, only 40% of respondents indicated they would wish to use a commercial loan to fund their postgraduate study, compared with 79% in North America, where the tradition of loans to fund any type of study is much more prevalent. In both Asia-Pacific and Western Europe, the figure was 59% and 60% respectively.
One thing is clear, however; although there is a relationship between the cost of a postgraduate programme and its perceived quality, price is not a reliable way of choosing the best programme for your own personal ambitions and strengths.