Graduate Financial Aid

Many graduate students, prior to entering grad school, work full time for a few years to earn money to live on their own, gain valuable work experience and to pay back their student loan debt.

Working full time before going to grad school can provide a student with more perspective in their field of study and the opportunity to apply real-life skills to the classroom once they go back to school. Unfortunately, for many, giving up a full -time salary to attend grad school can be a tough thing to do. In some cases it is not entirely feasible to give up a full time income. Many grad students today have families, mortgages and other expenses which makes giving up a full time income, as well as taking on more debt, a tough thing to do. But with proper planning and some research you can come up with a great plan for financing graduate school.

1. THINK SMALL! Look at your non-essential expenses. Paying for premium cable? Whether you are attending part time of full time, Grad school is going to leave little time for CSI Miami! Cancel your cable and have an extra $80-100 in your pocket each month. You might be too busy to study to make your regular rounds at the gym. Instead of paying a monthly membership, walk, run or ride your bike to places that you can. You will be saving on your gym membership and on car expenses (oh and saving the environment!). There are tons of other little ways you can save a lot of money by thinking small.

2. FIND A MATE! Consider roommates or living on campus. For many grad students who have been on their own for a while this could be a frightening thought. But campus living for graduate students is a much different experience than for undergraduates. Consider finding a roommate in a similar program. You will gain a study buddy and reduce your monthly living expenses.

3. EAT NOODLES! Boston is a great city full of restaurants and it can be hard for me not to eat out every night of the week. Cooking meals is always a cheaper option. Your bar bill is lower and you don’t’ have to tip your server. Even paying for coffees in the mornings adds up. A pound of coffee currently costs around $7.99 and lasts usually for two and half weeks. In that same amount of time, if you were to buy your coffee every day at $2.00 a pop, you would have spent $21.00 almost three times as much!

4. GET A JOB! Okay let me clarify. If you are working full time and attending grad school part-time, you already have your hands full. But for full time grad students, jobs like being a chauffeur can provide you with endless study hours while you are getting paid. I recently saw one limo driver sitting in the back seat of his limo, books at his side, typing away on his laptop while waiting for his customer. He was earning money while working on earning his degree. Not for you? Find a part time job in your field of study to gain more experience.

5. GET OUT! Now get out there and get the right financing. Look for loan programs that are tailored to your specific program. Getting an MBA? Look at an MBA Loan. Going to Law school? Find loans specifically geared towards law students. Find all this information and more at www.GradLoans.com

Consolidating your undergraduate debt is a great idea too. You can lower your monthly payments and defer your payments while attending graduate school. Find out more at www.studentloanconsolidator.com

Attending graduate school is an investment in your future. Invest wisely, do your research and study hard. Good luck!

First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS! Enjoy your celebrations, parties and congratulatory dinners! Bask in the glow of your accomplishment! You have six months before you have to repay those student loans anyway…right? Not necessarily.

THE STAFFORD LOAN SIX MONTH GRACE PERIOD

Let’s say you took out some loans as an undergraduate student. When you graduated you enjoyed a grace period of six months before you had to start making payments. Then let’s say you started to repay those loans for a while and decided to go back to school to obtain a higher degree (to delay joining the real world for a while ;-). Those undergraduate Stafford Loans you were previously making payments on went into an in-school deferment right? Right?

Okay, let’s also say you took out new Stafford Loans to fund your graduate education. Now you have two different portfolios of loans. The ones you took out for undergrad (even if consolidated) and your new graduate school loans. Only those new Stafford Loans will have a six month grace period! The loans that you had been previously making payments on are in deferment and will begin repayment immediately after you are no longer enrolled at least half time in school (either due to graduate or other separation).

Grace periods are a one time deal and basically once you’ve broken your grace (experienced sixth months post graduation or have ceased to be enrolled at least half time) you don’t get a grace period back. So what to do now that you have some loans entering repayment one month after you graduate and others entering repayment six months after you’ve graduated?

One good option is to start the Student Loan Consolidation process now.

Did you know that even if you have already consolidated your undergraduate loans that you may be eligible to consolidate them again? If you consolidated your student loans after graduating from an undergraduate program and then entered a graduate program that required a new Stafford or Graduate PLUS Loan, you can consolidate all of these loans into one low monthly payment.

At the Student Loan Network, we help students take the worry out of paying back both your undergraduate and graduate student loans. Our student loan consolidation services can help you manage both undergraduate and graduate student loan debt. We also consolidate private student loans too!

Remember, graduating was the hard part! Let the Student Loan Network help you make the rest easy!

Graduate school is a common and, often times, necessary next step in advancing your education. What do you do with the loans for undergraduate school while you are enrolled in your graduate program? Most will just defer the loans until dropping graduate school is up. While this certainly is a good idea - there is a better one - CONSOLIDATE!
So, this means that all your undergraduate loans will be rolled into one account, one payment, one bank (lender) and you even get benefits for paying on time and setting up auto debit.
Take advantage of payment reduction of up to 60% and no payments while you are enrolled in graduate school!