MATEMATICAS

FINANCING YOUR GRADUATE INFORMATION

Education is expensive, and the higher level of education, the greater the cost. As you contemplate going on to graduate or professional school, you must face the awesome question, “how am I going to pay for this?”

With the possible exceptions of a winning lottery ticket, a windfall inheritance or a very wealthy family, no single source of founds will be adequate to cover tuition, other educational costs, and living expenses during your years of graduate study. While the funding task is daunting, it’s not impossible. With patience and hard work, you can peace together your own financial package.

CONTENTS

CONSIDER DEFERRING YOUR APPLICATION

WORKING PART TIME

GETTING HELP FROM YOUR EMPLOYER

THE MILITARY OPTION

NEED-BASED FUNDING

FELLOWSHIPS AND ASSISTANTSHIPS

FUNDING POSSIBILITIES FROM PRIVATE FUONDATIONS

FINDING SOURGES OF FINANCIAL AID

APPLYING FOR A GRANT

EMPLOYMENT OPORTUNITIES ON CAMPUS

ALL LOANS ARE NOT ALIKE

GETTING INTO GRADUATE SCHOOL

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CONSIDER DEFERRING YOUR APPLICATION

You might consider putting off applications for a few years while you work at the highest paying job you can find and accumulate some funds. A few years ‘savings will not cover the entire bill, but they can help. A real effort to earn your own way is a show of sincerity and good faith when you approach funders, too. You are probably better on delaying your applications altogether rather than applying and differing your entry once you have been accepted. Deferral, if permitted, is generally limited to one year, and one year may not be sufficient to build you tuition fund.

If you cannot find a really high-payed job, you might seek a position or series of positions closely related to your field for the years between undergraduate and graduate of professional school. A year or more of exposure and involvement can help you to focus your interest. Experience in the field shows up as an asset on your graduate admissions applications and on your applications for fellowships. The more crystallized your interests, the better essays and personal statements you can write to supports your requests.

Another benefit to deferral is the opportunity to establish residence. As you research the various graduate programs, you are likely to discover that some of the most exciting programs in your field of interest are being offered at state universities. Furthermore, the tuition charged to bonfire residents is considerably lower than that charged to our-of-state residents. The requirements for establishing residence variate from state to state; make it a point to inquire about the possibility of in-state tuition at each state university you are considering. The suggestion that you delay application until you are really nearly ready to enter graduate school does not hold with regard to delay for purposes of establishing residence. Since you can only establish residence in one state, you want to apply and be accepted before you select your new home state. Most universities will cooperate and will allow you to move to the state, find employment, and defer enrollment until you qualify for instate tuition.

WORKING PART TIME

Another possible way to pay this one hard on you but possible at many, though not at all, institutions is to be a part-time student and full-or-part-time wage earner. Again, there are number of options. You might find a totally unrelated but high –paying job. You will have to be creative in your search. Sanitation workers, for instance, tend to have hours like 7am to 3pm which leaves afternoon and evening classes and study. The job of the sanitation worker is physically exhausting but makes no mental demand and in most localities is quite well paid.

Another job which does not take too much thought is working for a courier service like United Parcel. Such delivery services operate twenty-four hours a day. During the night packages are off-loads from big interstate trucks and from bulk delivers the next day. There are usually plenty of turnovers among of these night workers, and most parcel service employees are unionized, so the hourly rate is attractive. An alternative to physical labor might be seeking a job in field related to your studies. Such a job could reinforce your learning and contribute to the job experience section of your resume. If you are earning a degree in computer science, you might find computer-related employment. If you are entering law school, you might work as a paralegal.

GETTING HELP FROM YOUR EMPLOYER

If you both defer application and enter a related field, you may be fortunate enough to find an employer who will pay for a part or even all of your graduate education. This option is most viable if the advanced degree is to be in business or law, but some corporations will finance a master´s degree or even a doctorate if the further training will make the employee more valuable to them. Employers cannot require that you continue your employment for any specific number of years after earning your degree. Rather they rely on your gratitude and good will.

The programs under which employers help pay for education are as varied as the number of employers and the graduate programs. Many banks, insurance companies, and brokerage houses offer tuition rebates as part of their benefits packages. These companies rebate part or all of the tuition for courses successfully completed by their employees. Sometimes the rate of reimbursement is tied to the grade earned in the course. Some large law firms will advance part of the law school tuition for promising paralegals after a number of years of service. If these students successfully complete law school and return to the firm for summers and certain number of years afterwards, the balance of the tuition may be reimbursed. And some industrial corporations will cover the cost of part-time study which enhances the skills of employees, thus making them still more useful to the organization. Such corporations may permit these employees to work a shortened work-week at full-time pay while they study. Some companies even

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