There are 2 tiers of graduate studies. Ones paid by grants and are more PhD style and are mostly free as you said. They are selective and do not have a lot of slots.

And the 'free standing' ones that have a lot more slots, are not research focused and cost a lot more. Often seen for professionally licensed professions like psychology, law, or medicine.

Sometimes to a degree where it's a really bad idea. Like in psychology where private grad school costs 5-7 years of your life and $200-$400k of %6-%8 debt for a job that pays $100-150k/yr.

I’m confused as well, I’ve known a few MS CS students who didn’t do the RA TA Route, but were paying out of pocket. I never asked why because it seemed to be an infringement on their privacy.

RA TA requires you are a slave of the professor. If you just want that degree by taking classes and doing a small project then you gotta pay up. Trafeoff

Yeah but RA or TA requirements are A) pretty beneficial B) worth the thousands of dollars that are in exchange especially when considering A

or your company pays, which is how i got an MS in applied math.

That’s a double edged sword. The schools will charge exorbitant tuition if they know employers are paying for it. Did your employer reimburse you, or was it a direct payment? I took several classes after my MSEE, and employer reimbursed, with the downside that it was taxable.

i had to show them my grades, then they reimbursed me.