Pay Dirt is Slate’s money advice column. Have a question? Send it to Kristin and Ilyce here. (It’s anonymous!)

Dear Pay Dirt,

I’m 26 and I just got accepted into a highly-ranked graduate program. The two-year program will cost about $50,000 total and I anticipate another $50,000 in living costs for that time. I also anticipate earning more than double my current salary after graduating. I’m exploring grants and assistantships, but don’t yet know if I will receive anything, and I intend to work part-time throughout the program to defray the costs. Still, I’m struggling to decide whether to go for a key reason.

I recently started a job working for a nonprofit with a mission that I’m passionate about … but the day-to-day is unfulfilling and causing me a lot of stress. My position is funded through June 30th and may or may not be extended. I’ve been invited to apply for a permanent position on a different team that would be a much better fit—but I may not know if I’ve been accepted before the deadline to commit to grad school. I currently have a little under $7,000 in a high yield savings account, and much more in investment accounts. If I go the grad school route I want to avoid taking out loans and withdrawing from my investments as much as possible. I have no debt or loans and can comfortably save on my salary.

So how do I decide between:

1) Staying in my current position until June 30th and starting graduate school in September but have to take out more substantial loans or withdraw from my invested savings to fund it.

2) Applying for the other position within my organization, and then reapplying to grad school next year with more in savings. In this scenario, I risk being stuck in a position that’s making me unhappy, or being out of a job altogether after June.

When I do go to grad school, what balance of student loans and withdrawing from my invested savings makes the most financial sense? How can I be sure that I’m even making the right decision going to grad school? I’m excited for it but also second-guessing everything!

—Scared Future Social Worker

Dear Scared,

If you’re unsure about grad school, my gut reaction is that you should err on the side of giving yourself more time. That way, you have more space to think about what you want and more time to save so you feel better about going for it. On the other hand, just because you’re second-guessing everything doesn’t mean you’re not ready. It’s a big decision! Second-guessing is probably normal, especially if you’re the kind of person who takes their time to make decisions. With all that in mind, let’s weigh the risk and reward of both options.

With Option 1, the biggest risk seems to be financial insecurity. You could end up with a heap of student loan debt. Or you might end up with your savings depleted. The reward, of course, is that your salary doubles a few years down the road. Statistically, grad school is usually financially worth it, but whether it’s worth it for you depends on a handful of factors like your degree, your field, how much debt you end up incurring, and so on.

With Option 2, the big risk is that you’re out of a job in June or stuck with a job you don’t love. But the reward is that you could get a new, better job and get more time to save. The question is, how much more will you be able to save? Will it be enough to offset the loans altogether? The amount could make a big difference in how “rewarding” the possible reward actually is. And how painful would the worst-case scenario, of being out of a job and possibly not getting into grad school the next time, be? That’s worth thinking through as well. (And is deferring enrollment, rather than declining and reapplying, possible?) Another consideration with this option, though, is how much would a delay cost you? If grad school gets you a $50k salary increase, waiting a year could mean missing out on that higher income for quite a while. Some financial pain in the short term for a higher salary in the long term can be worth it.

Onto your next question. How do you fund grad school? You mentioned several thousand in a high yield savings account, and if that’s serving as your emergency fund, I would leave it alone. It’s tempting to want to withdraw from your investments to fund your tuition—that way you’d avoid debt. But federal student loans, with interest rates around 5-7 percent,, might be a better option considering those rates are lower than many investment returns. Of course, the return depends on timing, how much you have invested, what kind of accounts you’re invested in and so on, but that’s another thing. Also, are these investment accounts retirement funds? Because you might end up incurring a penalty for taking the money out before retirement age—plus, there are tax implications for doing so. This calculator can tell you what to expect from an early withdrawal. Basically, borrowing will allow you to preserve your investments. And while a lot of federal student loan benefits are unfortunately on the chopping block, there’s still one big benefit to going that route: Repayment doesn’t kick in until six months after you graduate, which gives you some time to figure things out. A small caveat here: It might be worth talking to a Certified Financial Planner, because they can look at your specific accounts and give you more customized advice. But generally, you want to pay as much as you can from your savings or cash flow without draining your emergency fund, then consider taking out a federal student loan for the rest. Unless you’re facing really high interest rate loans, you probably want to avoid touching your investments.

Doubt is normal, especially when you’re facing a six-figure commitment. It’s also important to think about what you want beyond the money part of the equation. Would you regret not going? Does grad school align with your long-term career goals and passion? Does thinking about being in class in September make you excited? If grad school is the only realistic way to get where you want to go, it probably makes sense to take the leap.

—Kristin