Most people are under the impression that when it comes to financing graduate school, you are on your own. That is not the case at all, and there are many ways that you can create your own financial aid package to support your years in grad school. Even though these extra two (or sometimes more!) years of school can cost a lot, they definitely pay off for the rest of your life.
In order to get financial aid for graduate school, you will have to jump through the same exact hoops you did for your bachelor’s degree. You will still need to fill in the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) that you did to get past financial aid. There are federal grad school loans available, though they are in far less supply than they used to be.
Even if you aren’t looking for loans, many scholarships will still require you to submit your data from the FAFSA, so make sure that you do it as early as possible. There are also work-study programs in abundance for graduate students, and you may find yourself teaching on campus while you are still going to school.
The first place to look for financial aid for graduate school is at the school itself. If you have yet to decide on a program or have not been accepted anywhere, you should still start applying for scholarships. They can take up to a year or longer to come to fruition, so it is almost never too early to start applying. The financial aid office in your school should be able to help you select from the many graduate intern opportunities and scholarships that are available to you.
In addition to looking at your school, you should also look online. There are some large databases full of scholarships for grad school, and there is almost always something there for just about everyone. Every year, millions of dollars in scholarships go without anyone applying for them, so even if you don’t think you will get accepted, it is always worth a try.
Finally, one of the best places to get financial aid for graduate school is from your employer, your parent’s employer, your church, or a nonprofit organization. By getting out the word to your family and friends that you are in search of a scholarship, you might find that they are members of an organization that is looking for worthwhile students to give to. This happens quite often and although the amount of the scholarship might not be enough to pay for the entire tuition bill, every little bit helps.
Perhaps more than with a bachelor’s degree, most financial aid for graduate school are not need-based, so that means that your grade point average and your test scores will matter. After you have taken the time to submit a well-written application, personal references, and a personal essay, you will have the best chance possible to get into the school you want and have someone else pay your way!
