Individuals attend graduate school for all types of reasons. Some people obtain a graduate degree in order to pursue their calling, and other people attend graduate school to ride out bad economic times in academia so they do not have to compete in a bad job market. Many students may seriously consider dropping out of a graduate program at some point or another, and there are many things to consider when deciding if you should finish graduate school.
When I was in law school, I wondered if I should drop out of law school. I did not like my first year of law school, and the amount of debt that I borrowed to finance my first year of law school was extremely shocking to me. Even though I would have to pay off a massive sum for just my first year of law school, this amount would almost triple if I attended all three years of school. I ended up staying in law school because I had scored high marks after my first semester and thought my post-graduation options would be promising, but the experience gave me perspective about deciding if you should finish graduate school.
One important consideration when deciding if you should finish graduate school is your desire to enter the field for which you are earning a graduate degree. For instance, many people rush into law school just to continue their studies after graduating from college and so they do not have to compete in the job market at that time. Moreover, some people may attend law school because of misconceptions about the legal profession and what attorneys do on a day-to-day basis.
However, being an attorney can be a monotonous grind sometimes, and it is definitely not for everyone. As a result, it might not make sense to continue law school if you realize that you do not want to practice law. Even though there will be a “sunk cost” of attending one year of law school, this is preferable to paying for two additional years of legal studies.
Another thing you should keep in mind when deciding if you should finish graduate school is how much money you have spent and how much money you need to spend to finish your degree. For instance, if your program is fully funded and if you do not need to go out-of-pocket too much to finish your degree, it might be worth it to finish earning your degree. For instance, if you are part of a fully-funded Ph.D. program, or if you are receiving substantial scholarships to attend law school, it might make sense to stay in school.
However, if you are self-financing your graduate school studies, then it makes more sense to discontinue your studies. Scholarships and other financial assistance provide a kind of “moral hazard” that might influence decisions which might be different if there was no financing. When deciding if you should finish graduate school, calculations need to be conducted about the financial cost of continuing school and the amount of debt that has already been borrowed.
In addition, the amount of time remaining in a graduate program is another important factor when deciding if you should finish graduate school. For instance, in a one-year graduate program, it rarely makes sense to discontinue your studies. Students normally must pay their tuition in full at the beginning of the semester, so they cannot save too much money unless they decide almost immediately after matriculating in a program that they do not want to pursue a graduate degree anymore.
However, business school is normally two years long, and so are some master’s programs. In addition, law school is ordinarily three years long and some graduate programs are even longer than this. As a result, even if you stay in a program for an entire year, you can still impact your financial future by deciding not to continue the program. With longer programs, it may make sense to discontinue your studies if you realize that you no longer wish to earn the graduate degree for which you are studying.
Another important consideration when deciding if you should finish graduate school is if you have solid options to pursue instead of earning a degree. For instance, there is a long history of people who decide to leave degree programs early in order to start companies and pursue other ambitious goals. If you have the chance to be part of a company with considerable upside, or have another unique opportunity, then it might make sense to leave graduate school early.
Nevertheless, if you do not have any job opportunities lined up it might not make sense to leave graduate school early. Dropping out of a graduate program early might not be viewed positively by all employers, since it might evidence that an individual makes decisions flippantly, or does not have the drive needed to pursue a goal. Of course, if you really do not want to be in a graduate program, you should not stay there even if you have bad options, but if you are on the fence about it, your prospects may influence deciding if you should finish graduate school.
All told, people should not feel bad when deciding if you should finish graduate school for a variety of reasons. Dropping out of graduate school might make financial sense and allow you to pursue other opportunities.