Whether a student chooses to enroll in graduate school shortly after completing an undergraduate program or after spending several years in the workforce, earning an advanced degree can be costly.
“It’s a big life change, especially if you’ve gone into the workforce and you’re coming back to school after a couple of years of working,” says Susan M. Brooks, senior associate director of graduate and federal programs for the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “So if you can take one stressor out of the equation, i.e., if we can take care of the money for you earlier, then you can focus all that energy on actually being a successful student.”
When it comes to paying for a graduate degree program, experts advise students to start planning early and consider these seven strategies:
— Get an employer to pay for grad school.
— Secure a scholarship or fellowship.
— Explore tuition-free grad schools.
— Consider doctoral programs.
— Work for the grad school.
— Reach out to the admissions office.
— Borrow wisely.
Get an Employer to Pay for Grad School
Companies looking to boost their collective skill set without hiring will sometimes sponsor all or part of an employee’s graduate schooling through tuition reimbursement or tuition assistance. Ninety-two percent of U.S. organizations offer some form of educational benefits, for instance, according to a 2019 survey report from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
[Read: Is Graduate School Worth the Cost?]
Experts advise students to reach out to the human resources department at their company to learn more about tuition reimbursement program requirements, as funding may be capped. After degree completion, some companies require the employee to work at the organization for a certain period of time, or pay back part of the tuition if they do not.
Secure a Scholarship or Fellowship
Scholarships and fellowships are typically merit-based awards that don’t need to be repaid. To be considered, graduate students may need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or the FAFSA.
Experts recommend searching for local scholarships — such as through an employer, nonprofit or place of worship — in addition to national scholarships, which can be found on websites like Fastweb, Cappex and Unigo. GoGrad is another online resource that lists niche scholarships for prospective and current grad students.
Graduate programs often have portals for students to search for school-specific scholarships. The University of Pittsburgh, for instance, created the PittFund$Me, a centralized database that includes all available scholarships and fellowships offered at the school.
Students can also reach out to a graduate school’s financial aid office or talk with a program department adviser to learn about degree- or research-specific scholarships.
“Graduate financial aid varies widely across graduate and professional programs and so we encourage students to directly contact the school or program to which they are applying,” Amanda Godley, vice provost for graduate studies at Pitt, wrote in an email.
Explore Tuition-Free Grad Schools
Tuition-free graduate programs may be worth considering.
For instance, the Curtis Institute of Music in Pennsylvania offers full-tuition merit scholarships to all undergraduate and graduate students, no matter their financial situation. The scholarship for graduate students, which is renewed each year of enrollment, amounted to about $60,300 for the 2022-2023 academic year, according to the school.
Curtis also offers need-based aid in the form of grants and on-campus employment to help with living expenses.
[Read: How to Attend Medical School for Free.]
In 2018, New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine announced a first-of-its-kind, full-tuition scholarship to all students. The scholarship was valued at about $60,100 for the 2022-2023 academic year and is awarded to every student regardless of merit or financial need. It also covers health insurance but does not cover other fees and living expenses.
Consider Doctoral Programs
Tuition-free offers tend to be more common in doctoral programs, some of which allow students to get a debt-free education.
Prospective graduate students might consider pursuing a Ph.D. over a master’s degree, depending on the discipline, experts say.
Ph.D. programs are typically competitive. At Duke University in North Carolina, for example, Ph.D. students are guaranteed five years of 12-month funding, which includes a stipend and coverage of tuition and fees. Students also get six years of fully paid dental and health insurance premiums, and have access to child-care subsidies and grants to help pay medical expenses that pose a financial hardship.
Work for the Grad School
Research and teaching assistantships typically cover at least part of tuition and pay a periodic stipend in exchange for research or classroom instruction.
Assistantships are often presented by individual departments, so “you definitely want to network with the professor, develop some rapport and show your interest in that subject matter,” says Eric Eng, founder and CEO of AdmissionSight, a college admissions counseling company.
Reach Out to the Admissions Office
Though not guaranteed, one strategy that is often overlooked is writing a letter directly to the admissions office to let them know “you’re very keen on attending, but you’re unable to afford it,” Eng says.
“When they’re trying to attract talent, they don’t want to leave that competition to other schools,” he says. “And if you are a pretty good applicant that they have already admitted but are unable to afford it, they will usually give you some buffer or some leeway.”
Borrow Wisely
Loans issued to graduate students account for 40% of federal student loans awarded each year, according to the 2020 Center for American Progress report on graduate school debt.
[Read: 3 Ways Graduate School Pays Off]
Once students file the FAFSA, loans usually are factored into a financial aid package, which may include other types of aid.
Several types of federal loans are available for graduate students, such as Stafford loans, as well as direct unsubsidized loans that pay up to $20,500 a year with aggregate limits. Private loans are another option, though experts recommend starting with federal.
Note that the U.S. Department of Education offers the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, or PSLF, which provides some debt relief to people who work in public service careers like education, nursing, government or law enforcement.
Before students decide to take on student loan debt, it’s important to conduct research and know what the interest rates are, experts say.
“Sometimes there’s this assumption that, ‘I won’t qualify for a federal loan.’ But unless you’ve defaulted on a previous federal loan or are over your aggregate limit for loans, you can pretty much count on being approved for the unsubsidized maximum for the year,” Brooks says. “Knowing the interest rate on your loan can save you thousands of dollars over your life in repayment. Our goal is to help make students aware of all of their options so they can choose what’s best for them.”
Searching for a grad school? Get our complete rankingsof Best Graduate Schools.
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7 Strategies to Pay for Graduate School originally appeared on usnews.com
