In general, you should never be paying out of pocket for a PhD. Your admission package should cover all tuition plus a (very rough) living stipend. If a PhD program wants to charge you money, it is a scam.
if you're really certain about the timescale (e.g. governments shutdown on 2032 after collapse of supply chains after collapse of Big Oil after collapse of biodiversity), you could strategically max out student loans on the government's dime and spend it all on bunkerization.
even without the collapse running up loans and then leaving the united states forever isn't the worst plan if you're mentally healthy enough to complete a degree and work the kind of job that hires internationally
don't spend your own money on advanced degrees, make an employer or the government pay for it
In general, you should never be paying out of pocket for a PhD. Your admission package should cover all tuition plus a (very rough) living stipend. If a PhD program wants to charge you money, it is a scam.
if you're really certain about the timescale (e.g. governments shutdown on 2032 after collapse of supply chains after collapse of Big Oil after collapse of biodiversity), you could strategically max out student loans on the government's dime and spend it all on bunkerization.
even without the collapse running up loans and then leaving the united states forever isn't the worst plan if you're mentally healthy enough to complete a degree and work the kind of job that hires internationally
You'd be swimming against the brain drain currents, but then again, hedging they'll point to another country starting in 2032 sounds like a fun bet.