How To Apply For Financial Aid For Grad School

If you are considering returning to graduate school, you may be wondering how to apply for financial aid for grad school. It is not a difficult process, and involves many of the same steps that you would take to apply for financial aid for college. However, there are no federal grants available to pay for grad school, just federal student loans.

To apply for financial aid for grad school, you will need:

• Your tax return for the previous year
• Scholarship information for your program

1. Apply for financial aid at FAFSA.ed.gov. This is the federal government’s application form for Stafford student loans. You will need your tax return a well as school code when you apply for financial aid for grad school.
2. Ask your college advisor if there are any scholarships, teaching assistantships or research assistantships available for your program. Then apply for all of these. There may be a box that you check on your application to the program, but you can also apply later in the program.
3. Look for scholarships or grants that are for your area of study. The government or private companies may fund research for the field that you are working in for your thesis or dissertation. This is an additional way to find financial aid for grad school that many people initially overlook.
4. Take out private student loans through a bank or after talking to your student financial aid office. These loans have a higher interest rate and should be a last resort to make up the difference.

Warning: borrow the smallest amount that you can when applying for financial aid for grad school, because you will be responsible for paying off all of the money that you borrow. It can be difficult to have large student loan payments once you graduate. 

Resources:

FAFSA

US News and World Report