Whether applying as recent graduate from college or returning to school after a long absence, paying for graduate school can be a daunting prospect. This does not have to be the case, however, if the prospective student starts thinking about graduate school and finances well ahead of his start date. Student loans, graduate assistantships and scholarships are all available to help those wishing to further their educations at school.
Choosing the Grad School
Factors that go into choosing a graduate school include availability of a specific program, location and tuition costs. Grad school costs more than undergraduate school per credit hour, but the programs are usually shorter. The student should especially consider the location of the program. If it is located in a big city, then the cost of living will be higher than a program in a less populated location.
After choosing a school, applying and getting accepted, the future graduate student should figure out all the costs associated with the school. He should add together tuition, estimated costs of living wherever the school is located as well as costs for books and supplies. This will give him a ballpark figure for how much money he needs for school. He should also fill out the FAFSA immediately (preferably before the end of January of the year he plans to attend school), which allows the university to give him aid.
Graduate Scholarships, Fellowships and Grants
Graduate scholarships, fellowships and grants are all basically “free” money. Scholarships and fellowships are awarded based on need, merit and sometimes the specific program. Grants are usually awarded by the government, most often to minorities under-represented in the field who can prove financial need.
Both general and specific graduate scholarships are available for those who look closely. Scholarship search engines like FastWeb are particularly helpful in narrowing the field by taking the student’s personal data and spitting out any scholarships that match his information. Searching a regular search engine for scholarships specific to the student’s chosen program may also reveal some scholarships. The student should take care not to leave out the institution itself, which probably has available scholarships and fellowships listed on its website.
Graduate Assistantships
Assistantships, both teaching and research, are available to graduate students. Most often, these go to students studying for PhDs, but students working on masters' degrees can also go after these opportunities. These offer the chance to be paid for working with a professor, either as a research or teaching assistant. They are often competitive and require the student to be pro-active in contacting professors and seeking out availability early in the application process.
Supplementing Living Expenses With a Part-time Job
The accepted student should consider a part-time job outside of his field that does not require too much effort outside of work. Graduate degrees are hard work and require time and concentration, but the student also needs enough money to live.
Student Loans
The student should apply for loans if the above do not cover all costs. Perkins loans and subsidized Stafford loans are low interest loans issued by the government that do not accrue interest while the student is in school. Unsubsidized Stafford loans begin to accrue interest immediately. Private loans from the university are also an option, although the interest rates are usually higher than the government loans. The student also should not forget his family, who may also be able to offer financial assistance in the form of loans.
Financing Graduate School With a Combination of the Above
Paying for graduate school requires that people be resourceful in their search for aid. In reality, no one way will pay for the entire experience and students must combine all of the above in order to finance it completely. As long as a student is able to plan and budget accordingly, he should be able to finance graduate school without a problem.
Sarah Morse - Sarah Morse recently graduated from Smith College with a degree in English Language and Literature. She is soon attending graduate school ...
