When economic times are rocky, people tend to hit the books. A September 2025 questionnaire from Aurora University found that 3 in 4 young professionals said that layoffs are influencing their decision to go to graduate school. The idea is that stacking up on credentials will help them stay competitive in a job market where over 1.17 million jobs were cut in 2025.
Plus, many other workers are considering graduate school due to economic uncertainty (37%), limited career advancement in their current role (35%) and a desire to future-proof their career (34%), per Aurora University.
If going back to school is on your resolution list this year, your first job is figuring out how you'll foot the bill. Higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz suggests leaning on scholarships and grants, your employer and student loans. Here's more on financially preparing to pursue more education in 2026.
Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent availability.
Undergraduate and graduate students, parents, health professionals
$5,000 minimum (or up to state); maximum up to cost of attendance
5, 7, 10, 15, years; up to 20 years for refinancing loans
Terms apply.
Undergraduate and graduate students, parents, international students with U.S. co-signer
$1,000 up to the cost of attendance ($180,000 lifelong maximum)
5, 8, 10, 15 years for undergraduate loans, up to 20 years for graduate loans
Terms apply
Apply for scholarships and other sources of 'free' funding
Free funding, like scholarships and grants, don't need to be paid back, so focusing on this type of funding lets you reduce the likelihood that you'll need student loan debt to pay for school. In some cases, you may only need to take on minimal student loan debt depending on your program cost and how much free funding you can secure.
"You can search for scholarships on free websites like Fastweb.com and the College Board's Big Future, the most popular free scholarship matching websites," Kantrowitz says.
If you plan on going back to school part-time while keeping your job, scholarships and grants may be tougher to come by. As someone who has personally done the scholarship search for part-time graduate programs, I have found that many scholarships and grants are geared toward full-time students. That's not to say that you shouldn't apply, but do manage your expectations in this department. Try seeking institutional aid directly from the university.
Research employer support
If you're someone who will stay employed while you do school part-time, you may be able to get your employer to cover all or part of your tuition. Depending on the industry you work in, if you're pursuing a degree that can get you promoted within your team or industry, your employer may cover the full cost of tuition as long as you promise to stay at the company for a certain number of additional years after tuition is paid.
"Your employer might provide employer tuition assistance, usually in exchange for a commitment to work for them for a year for each year of support," Kantrowitz says.
Other employers and industries may simply reimburse a small amount of your tuition. Speak to your benefits provider or HR department to learn what specific education assistance benefits exist at your company.
Be thoughtful about student loan debt
If you still need to apply for student loans, make sure you go in with a plan for how much you'll borrow and how you'll pay it back.
"First of all, aim to have total student loan debt at graduation that is less than your annual salary," Kantrowitz says. "If your balance is less than the income you expect to earn when you graduate, then you should be able to repay your debt in 10 years or less, otherwise you need an extended repayment plan or income-driven repayment plan."
This means you'll have to do your research on program costs, expected salary, and figure out how much you can reasonably pay on your own. This helps you figure out how much you might need to borrow — and whether borrowing is worth the burden.
If you do decide to apply for a loan, consider federal student aid first by filling out the FAFSA application. But if you need more aid than what you can get federally, consider applying for a private student loan. If you've been out of school and working for a while, chances are you may have solid credit and can qualify for good terms on a private student loan on your own.
College Ave lets you borrow up to the cost of attendance and even offers borrower protections like deferment, forbearance and grace periods. Similarly, Ascent offers these same protections and loan amounts of up to $400,000 for graduate programs.
- High loan amount
- Flexible repayment terms
- Hardship protections like deferment and forbearance
- No co-signer required for U.S. students
- Offers repayment terms of up to 20 years for graduate student loans (otherwise, up to 15 years for undergraduate loans)
- Co-signer can't be released until half of the repayment term has passed
College Ave's student loan products are made available through Firstrust Bank, member FDIC, First Citizens Community Bank, member FDIC, or BTG Pactual Bank, N.A., member FDIC. All loans are subject to individual approval and adherence to underwriting guidelines. Program restrictions, other terms, and conditions apply.
All rates include the auto-pay discount. The 0.25% auto-pay interest rate reduction applies as long as a valid bank account is designated for required monthly payments. If a payment is returned, you will lose this benefit. Variable rates may increase after consummation. Approved interest rate will depend on creditworthiness of the applicant(s), lowest advertised rates only available to the most creditworthy applicants and require selection of the Flat Repayment Option with the shortest available loan term
- Considers borrowers with no credit
- High loan limit
- Co-signer release available after just 12 payments
- Up to 1% interest rate discount for autopay*
- 1% cash back rewards*
- Considers alternative requirements like the borrower’s school, program, graduation date, major, GPA, cost of attendance and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to grant approval
- Maximum fixed APR is on the high side
- Doesn't offer student loan refinancing
Disclosure: *Ascent Funding, LLC products are made available through Bank of Lake Mills or DR Bank, each Member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. Loan products may not be available in certain jurisdictions. Certain restrictions, limitations, terms and conditions may apply for Ascent's Terms and Conditions please visit AscentFunding.com/Ts&Cs. Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) displayed above are effective as of 3/1/2026 and reflect an Automatic Payment Discount (ACH). The ACH discount consists of 0.25% on credit-based college student loans submitted prior to 6/1/2025, a 0.5% discount for on credit-based college student loans submitted on or after 6/1/2025 and a 1.00% discount on outcomes-based loans when you enroll in automatic payments. Loans subject to individual approval, restrictions and conditions apply. Loan features and information advertised are intended for college student loans and are subject to change at any time. For more information, see repayment examples or review the Ascent Student Loans Terms and Conditions. The final amount approved depends on the borrower's credit history, verifiable cost of attendance as certified by an eligible school and is subject to credit approval and verification of application information. Lowest interest rates require full principal and interest (Immediate) payments, the shortest loan term, a cosigner, and are only available for our most creditworthy applicants and cosigners with the highest average credit scores. Actual APR offered may be higher or lower than the examples above, based on the amount of time you spend in school and any grace period you have before repayment begins. Variable rates may increase after consummation.1% Cash Back Graduation Reward subject to terms and conditions. For details on Ascent borrower benefits, visit AscentFunding.com/BorrowerBenefits. Ascent applicants and borrowers that agree to the AscentUP Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, as well as students associated with an Ascent parent loan application, have access to the AscentUP platform.
Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every student loan article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of student loan products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Meet our experts
At CNBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. For this story, we interviewed Mark Kantrowitz, an author and higher education expert.
Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.
