Financing Grad School (outside of loans)

There are definitely a few things to consider when it comes to financing your grad school education. It's great that you're thinking about the resulting debt and how to minimize it now. 

 1. First, you should definitely see if the program has any Graduate/Teaching/Research Assistantships: By working 20 hours a week for a professor or your program, you could finance you whole tuition! Some assistanships are not listed on web sites, so it's important to call your program directly to ask about these opportunities. 

 2. Second, you'll want to research scholarships and fellowships: Although there are fewer scholarships available for graduate students, there are some options. 

• Nationally Coveted Scholarships and Fellowships: Highly competitive and prestigious scholarship, fellowship and internship awards for college study, graduate school and postgraduate research. Free financial aid, scholarship grants, fellowship awards, student loans, internships, prizes, and stipends.
  
• Cornell Graduate School Fellowships: Search by deadline through over 700 scholarships and fellowships!
  
• School Soup: Scholarship clearinghouse that provides students with over 32 billion dollars in scholarship money each year. Fastweb is very similar.
  

 3. Consider residential life: While living in a dorm might not be the ideal situation, becoming a residential advisor could provide you with free housing and a stipend. Check with the residential life office at your institution to find out more.

4. Have you contacted your employer about tuition assistance: Sometimes employers offer tuition reimbursement as part of a total compensation benefit package for employees. Check with your human resources department to find out more if you intend to work while going to graduate school.

 5. Research the various loan forgiveness: There are a number of loan forgiveness programs for those who pursue work in specialized fields such as law, education, and nursing. Visit Finaid's web site to learn more about these programs. In addition, there are a number of service positions that we have listed with these benefits!

 I hope that helps get you started!