• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • College Financial Aid
    • Financial Aid for College
    • Student Financial Aid Eligibility
    • Student Financial Aid
      • Student Loans for College
      • College Financial Aid 101
      • Need Based Student Loans
      • Financial Aid Forms (FAFSA & College Board’s Profile)
      • Military Student Financial Aid
        • College Benefits for Active Duty Military
        • National Guard Education Benefits
        • College Aid for Military Reservists
        • College Aid for Military Veterans
        • Military Dependent Financial Aid
    • Financial Aid Programs
    • Paying for College
  • Scholarships 101
    • College Scholarships (Overview)
    • College Scholarship Applications
    • College Scholarship Essay Writing Tips
    • Unusual Scholarships
    • Unclaimed Scholarships
    • Free College Scholarship Searches
  • Find a Scholarship
    • Latest Scholarship Postings
    • Student Scholarships by College Major
    • Scholarships for Hobbies and Interests
    • Sports Scholarships
    • Community Service Scholarships
    • Association Sponsored Scholarships
  • Find a Student Loan
    • Private Student Loans
      • Sallie Mae Student Loans
      • PNC Student Loans
      • Charter One Student Loan
      • Wells Fargo College Loan Programs
      • Texas Dow Employees Credit Union Loans
      • SunTrust Education Loans
    • How Do Student Loans Work?
    • Types of Private Student Loans
    • Student Loans to Cover Living Expenses
    • Private Student Loan Interest Rates
    • Graduate Student Loans from Private Lenders
  • Saving for College
  • Site Map

Financial Aid Finder

Your Guide to Maximizing your College Financial Aid

Financial Aid Finder HomePage
You are here: Home / Applications / Finding Financial Aid for Graduate School

Finding Financial Aid for Graduate School

August 12, 2012 By Natalie

You may already be overwhelmed by undergraduate school loans to the point that you don’t even want to think about graduate school but finding aid for graduate school can be done!

How much financial aid will largely depend on what field you are going into. For instance, there are more assistantships and fellowships available to students who are pursuing a post secondary degree in math, engineering and the sciences. There tends to be more Federal and private grants and scholarships offered in these fields as well. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be aid available in other forms for all other fields of academic pursuit.

The Assitantship or Fellowship Route:

An assistantship is usually offered by academic departments and is basically a swap of teaching for tuition and/or living stipends. In engineering and science departments it is more common to perform research for tuition and/or living stipends. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t gain an assistantship your first year of graduate school. Many grad students take out loans their first year and establish connections with their professors and gain an assistantship their second year or in some cases their second semester.

Fellowships, grants and scholarships are the most ideal for graduate school and can be obtained from the federal government or private institutions. These are ideal because this type of aid is money that does not need to be paid back. In essence it is a form of aid that pays you to do the necessary work you need to do for your program anyway. The National Science Foundation gives out a lot of grant money to award graduate students to be paid for their academic research.

Cornell University offers a free online resource that contains a Database on Fellowships you can find at: cuinfo.cornell.edu/Student/GRFN. The University of Michigan also has a good listing of grants that can be found on their website: http://finaid.msu.edu/sships.asp.

Tutoring can Be Lucrative:

Never underestimate the undergraduate education you have already received. If you are pursuing a post secondary degree you will have a solid background in a specific academic area. Tutoring can help you pay for graduate school and keep all those old lessons fresh on the brain. Usually you can arrange to meet your students on campus (where you will likely be anyway) and have them meet around your schedule. Tutoring can also give you teaching experience which may be able to convince a professor into giving you an assistantship the following year.

The Tried and True Subsidized Stafford Loans:

Most grad students will end up having to take out loans. The subsidized Stafford Loans still seem to be the best route to take. US News Online reported that “Subsidized Stafford loans are generally the cheapest way to go. Rates currently are just below 3.4 percent, and you can borrow up to $8,500 per year ($65,500 overall). The federal government pays the interest on your loan while you’re in school and for six months after you graduate or drop below half-time status. Even if interest rates rise significantly, the loans can’t exceed 8.25 percent.

Students qualify based on financial need, so it’s necessary to file federal aid forms (the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to get subsidized loans. If your need is high, you may also be offered a subsidized Perkins loan, with an interest rate of 5 percent. You can borrow an additional $10,000 a year in unsubsidized Stafford loans (and up to $138,500 in Stafford loans overall). Rates are the same as for the subsidized Stafford, and you can defer making payments, but interest begins accruing right away.” The point to take home from this report is to make sure and file the federal aid forms to be eligible for the subsidized loans.

Professional Degrees in Law and Medicine:

If you are about to enter Law or Medical school you more than likely know by now that loans for these degrees can enter into the six figure level. Loans are readily available to these students making it incredibly easy for them to borrow money. Keep your debt in check, ask yourself if you really needed to borrow money for a new car? It may take you longer to pay back those loans than you may think.

One other option for financial aid for students seeking professional degrees is committing to public service once you have earned a degree. By committing to public service work after you graduate your debts may be forgiven.

Sallie Mae Student Loans Ad

Filed Under: Applications, FAFSA, Federal Aid, Financial Aid News, Grants, Scholarships Tagged With: debt, financial aid, graduate school, private grants, Scholarships

Primary Sidebar

FinancialAidFinder Logo
Sallie Mae Student Loans Ad

Latest Scholarship Postings

Jenese Lynn Krysa Scholarship Fund (Deadline: March 1, 2023)

February 1, 2023 By The FinancialAidFinder Scholarship Team

The Kris and Kay Memorial Scholarship (Deadline: April 17, 2023)

February 1, 2023 By The FinancialAidFinder Scholarship Team

Not Without Honor Scholarships (Deadline: April 17, 2023)

February 1, 2023 By The FinancialAidFinder Scholarship Team

Leslie Amanda Lane Scholarship (Deadline: April 17, 2023)

February 1, 2023 By The FinancialAidFinder Scholarship Team

More Scholarship Listings

Sallie Mae Student Loans Ad

Explore Financial Aid Finder

  • College Financial Aid
  • Saving for College
  • Military Financial Aid
  • Grants for College
  • Student Scholarships
  • Student Scholarship Search
  • Find Student Loans
  • Financial Aid Info
  • Register to Receive College Financial Aid Updates
  • About FinancialAidFinder
  • Contact Us

Tags

529 plans applying for scholarships college college financial aid college savings plan college savings plans college scholarship college scholarships college student loans college tuition community college debt distance learning education engineering scholarship essay scholarships expected family contribution FAFSA federal student loans financial aid financial aid application financial aid eligibility free money for college GI Bill grant Grants hispanic scholarships minority scholarships Pell Grant Pell Grants private student loans reduce cost of college saving for college scholarship scholarship applications scholarship essays Scholarships scholarships for college student financial aid student loan student loan consolidation student loan debt Student Loans Info tuition work study

Footer

About FinancialAidFinder
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy

Scholarship Submissions

If you offer a college scholarship, you can submit it to us through this form:

Scholarship Submission Form

Copyright © 2023 · FinancialAidFinder - All rights reserved.