paying for grad school

[niki000]

I am planning on attending grad school this fall and I'm very lost on how I am going to pay for school and live at the same time. I have applied for financial aide, but I haven't heard anything back yet. I really dont want to work fulltime and go to school because I don't think I'm strong enough to handle that. What have some of you who are grad school bound or completed done?

[ValleyOfDecision]

The earlier you apply, the more you'll get. In grad school, one isn't qualified for free federal money anymore (Pell Grants), so you'll be relying mostly on loans. See if your school, and even your state, has its own scholarships and grants. This is my last year and I have 2 somewhat small scholarships - one from my program and my state - and although it ain't a full scholarship, it sure helps.

[Sunchild]

Get money from your department. Departments are sitting on all kinds of money as far as assistantship and fellowships go. Many times you can get your department to waive portions of your tuition, or even give you a small hourly on campus job or combine both. Ask your department for money first.

Then when all else fails..................



LOANS! :-cre

[aquababie19]

like AK said, you can check your department for money, tuition waivers, stipends, work study or rely on loans.

i always hated the ideas of loans, but my stepdad put it to me this way...he said folk pay $40, 000 for a car...a student loan is an investment in your future. while i didn't take out much, it did help.

[Tami2shoes]

Originally posted by afrikankween@Feb 29 2004, 07:27 PM
Get money from your department. Departments are sitting on all kinds of money as far as assistantship and fellowships go. Many times you can get your department to waive portions of your tuition, or even give you a small hourly on campus job or combine both. Ask your department for money first.

Then when all else fails..................



LOANS! :-cre
ITA. Apply early, inquire about money the department might be hiding, you won't know until you ask. I didn't end up in grad school primarily because I didn't realize how much money my department had that wasn't awarded to me based on financial aid but I could have otherwise qualified for. Anyways, you could try that, and many departments may have information about work in your field available on and off campus that could supplement your income/tuition and give you much needed experience instead of pursuing unrelated work.

[Tori]

I worked part-time through my Master's in a related field and now I work part time in an on-campus job related to my interests. For both jobs, I made/make my own hours, which helps a lot.

[Jamilla]

I paid for my master's with loans. I went to a small private university where even the doctoral students in my dept. weren't getting funding from the school. For the first year I worked part-time at the job I had prior to going back to school. The second year I lived off that refund check from my loan. I couldn't work cuz I had to do a practicum (ie, work for no pay) twice a week. I was also living at home.

Now I am at a large state university. My department completely funded my first year. I am currently working on getting funding for next year. Look into resources on your campus. I've applied for a few assistantships that offer full tuition remission and stipend for two days of work per week. Academic departments or centers/institutes associated with universities are often looking for grad students to do work and will offer fellowships or assistantships. Working in residence halls often comes with tuition and free housing.

There are often resources off campus as well. Check with national and state professional organizations in your field. They may offer scholarships. Your state government may also offer fellowships. My school isn't too far from the state capital and a girl in my program works 2days/wk and receives tuition for this semester. Companies and other organizations often offer scholarships like Tylenol or the Association of American University Women. Fastweb.com offers a free scholarship matching service.

If push comes to shove, there's always loans. But the way to avoid them is to do your research on what's available out there.

[ChandraNH]

Even though you said you don't want to work full-time, I can't stress enough to people, especially my people, how advantageous it is to work full-time for a good organization, that provides tuition reimbursement, as a means of paying for undergrad or grad school. My organization, will reimburse me 6K per year (and my grad school tuition is 1299 per course, which isn't due for 30 days after the end of the course) so it's not a matter of them reimbursing me, just me paying the tuition once i get it in my check. Just make sure that you don't have to sign any agreements to stay with the employer for a set amount of time after each course or your degree is completed.

[buckeyechick]

Originally posted by niki000@Mar 1 2004, 12:01 AM
I am planning on attending grad school this fall and I'm very lost on how I am going to pay for school and live at the same time. I have applied for financial aide, but I haven't heard anything back yet. I really dont want to work fulltime and go to school because I don't think I'm strong enough to handle that. What have some of you who are grad school bound or completed done?
I've talked to grad students in my dept. and most have told me if the school accepts you than the school is normally willing to pay for tuition. It depends on what school you go to but you could apply for T.A. positions, or G.A. or R.A., those type of positions normally come with a stipend on top of the tuition.

[niki000]

Thanks for the advice ladies

[shay]

I am financing my master's degree using loans. Unfortunately I attend a small private school and there is little funding in my department, though I did win a diversity scholarship that knocked a few bucks off the tuition.

I am in Organizational Management and its a weekend peogram which is why the dept. offers little funding because the assumption is most folk's jobs are paying the tab. On the flip side the program structure allows me to work during the week.

[PrincessDrRe]

Originally posted by aquababie19@Feb 29 2004, 07:38 PM
my stepdad put it to me this way...he said folk pay $40, 000 for a car...a student loan is an investment in your future.
:app :app :app :app :app :app :app :app :app :app :app :app :app
Aquababie19! Invest in something that the bank can't repo!

I had financial aid directors telling me I should "take off a semester and try to pay down my loans." PLEASE!!! Half of the students were driving fat...FAT RIDES!, but you want me to hold off on my education? You have got to be kidding....Folks putting some spinners on a car and don't have an education? Well alrighty!!!

Loans paid my rent, loans paid my car note, loans fed me.....
Scholarships also paid my rent, paid my car note, and fed me too......

Get to where you need to go with whatever (legal) means they give!!!!
I agree with buckeyechick, check around for a GA (graduate assistant) position, this could knock off some serious $$$. Also, a few hours of work will not hurt you, but could actually help you concentrate more on your studies and focus on classes as you'll have to line up your priorities.

Last but not least...LOAN!!! LOAN!!! LOAN!!!--then (in the case of some majors....) work for the state and end up getting a salary and your loans paid off!!! :-cre :-cre :-cre

BTW--I'm almost to the end of the road....PhD by '07!!!

[kadburyz]

Apart from loans and money from the department, I would also look into programs on the job that pay for classes. Most of my classmates in grad school were either on assistantships with the school or got their jobs to pay for their classes.

[niki000]

I am inspired, I'm going to put school first and hopefully good grades and hard work will help me pay for it all. I'm looking into graduate assistanships and loans now.. I filled out the fafsa... so I guess all i need to do now is wait. Luckily, I'm used to being poor so I don't think I'll be too traumatized next year.

[BamaFro]

I think we're in the same boat, niki000.

I'll be a grad student in the fall.

I applied fairly early to my programs.

I've filled out my FAFSA.

I filled out the applications for graduate assistantships at the schools where I applied for graduate school.

Now it just seems like I did all that to hurry up and wait. :cry:

I heard they wait sometimes as late as mid/late April to inform folx that they've received an assistantship. My nerves are bad :coffee , but I'm gonna let go and let God. I WILL make it through graduate school without grooveling at my parents' feet for money. :-)