Graduate Financial Aid

As award letters are starting to be mailed to graduate students, it means that now is the time to plan for the fall semester and the earlier you plan, the better off you’ll be.
First, look at the award letter - if this is your first year or if you have applied to many schools, the award letter might be your deciding factor in choosing a school.
You’ll want to look at the overall cost of attendance, what you will be paying “out of pocket” (from your savings, family contributions, etc.), and the aid that you have been offered from the school.

Once you have the award letter, if you have been granted Stafford loan funds, you most definitely should apply for it. The Stafford loan is a low, fixed interest rate loan, in which the government often subsidizes the interest payments while you are enrolled in school. Gradates may borrow up to $18,500/year but it is based mainly on what you have been awarded.

If you’ve been awarded university grants, take those - grants are free money that you don’t have to repay. You may be awarded work-study - this is up to you on whether or not you take this award.

To bridge the rest of the gap, there are few final options.
1) Graduate PLUS Loan - Just became available on July 2006 for Graduate students to borrow up to the cost of education minus any aid you receive (Stafford, university grants). This is a fixed interest rate loan that’s Federally backed.
2) Private student loan - This also allows you to borrow up to the cost of education to cover tuition, books, room and board, fees, and transportation. The funds get sent directly to you so you can use them as you need throughout the year for any education related expense.
3) Scholarships - This is a great, free solution to finding a wealth of funds available for school. Scholarships do not have to be repaid but you have to do a bit of homework to find them. The work put in is worth it, though, when you don’t get a bill for this after you graduate.