Can persons with Bachelors Degrees get financial aid for graduate school?

Question

if I were to get my undergrad degree in this or that and wanted to go to grad school could i still get financial aid?

Answer 1

You can get financial aid, though it won't include federal grants (which are almost exclusively reserved for first-time undergraduates).

To apply, begin by filing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The fastest and most reliable way to do this is online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov (the only official site, belonging to the Dept of Education). Your school will use your FAFSA results to determine yor eligibility for Federal Student Aid, (in your case, Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans, Work-Study, and PLUS Loans).

Now, some of these awards are only intended for lower-income students. The good news is that, once you have a Bachelor's degree, you are automatically considered "independent" on the FAFSA and therefore aren't required to provide parent information thereon. As a result, many graduate students (particularly recent college graduates who haven't entered the working world) do qualify as "high-need" and are eligible for whatever need-based aid their schools may offer.

Even if you are low- or no-need, know that any applicant will, at the very least, be offered an Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. Additionally, graduate students (with high, low or even no financial need) are eligible to borrow PLUS loans up to the cost of their education.

Many schools also offere grant and scholarship aid to their graduate students as well, so if you are successful in college and apply to any such school, you might fare very well. Institutional grants/awards/scholarships can be based on need, academics, or both. Be sure to ask prospective graduate schools about these types of aid (how much they offer, how you qualify, etc.)

Finally, when considering graduate school, if you find that your federal and institutional aid package does not cover your costs, you can apply for a private loan or a PLUS loan. For a list of popular private loan lenders, try http://www.finaid.com/loans/privatestudentloans.phtml

Finally, there is plenty of private scholarship funding that *isn't* limited to undergraduates. There are a variety of places you can seach for private scholarship funding: libraries, your former high school, your future college, clubs/associations near you, and the internet:

http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/other.phtml
http://www.fastweb.com
http://www.srnexpress.com
http://www.scholarships.com
http://www.scholarships101.com
http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp
http://services.princetonreview.com/default.asp?RUN=%2Fcollege%2Ffinance%2Fscholar%2FscholInterview%2Easp&RCN=auth&RDN=7&ALD=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eprincetonreview%2Ecom
http://www.collegeanswer.com/paying/content/pay_free_money.jsp

Pursue funding from as many legitimate sources as you can -- and don't cease your efforts once you become enrolled in college. Don't be discouraged if you are turned down from a few (or more than a few). All scholarships, including the small ones, are competitive. You do need to be wary of scholarship scams, not the least of which is the claim that that there are "tons of unclaimed scholarships" just floating around out there. For information on this myth (and other scams), try reading these pages:

http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/unclaimedaid.phtml
http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/protecting.phtml
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/ouchalrt.htm

Answer 2

Yes, as many others have said. Fill out the FAFSA - just as you did in undergraduate school. I am in graduate school right now and I did receive ample financial aid. Of course, you will need to check for deadlines to complete your financial application by.

As for grants, it is my understanding that you can not receive certain grants (like state grants) once you have a Bachelors Degree.

Answer 3

Of course you can. Financial aid for graduate school is abundant. However, the providers of such aid do not want to give their assistance to someone who is not willing to do the reaearch himself or herself. I will give you a hint: go to your search bar and type in the words "Financial aid for graduate schools". I hope your fingers don't hurt after all this effort, but then again, maybe after doing so you will be so exhausted you won't be able to read the answers.

Answer 4

Yes, absolutely. Loans are available. just need to fill out the FAFSA application.

Also, more than that, they can often get assistantships from the university that not only cover tuition, but also pay out a stipend to the student. You should negotiate all of this before you accept any offer. Apply to a bunch of schools, and play them against each other after you;'ve been accepted to a couple, to see which one will offer you the best package.

Answer 5

You would need to continue to fill out financial aid forms.

Some universities/colleges offer Assistanships. You would get your tuition and fees paid in return for services- grading papers, teaching lower level discussion classes for history survey classes, for example.

In the above case, you may need to count the assistantship as income. Ask about this before you apply.

There are limited numbers of assistantships- and, these assistantships may depend on the funds available and in the subject areas, too.

There have been a lot of funding cuts in colleges and universities nationwide. Assistanships may be part of the cuts. But, it doesn't hurt to ask about it!

Answer 6

You could still get financial aid. Or you could get a job where the company can pay for your education part-time.

Answer 7

Absolutely. Make sure you hit the financial aid form deadlines!

Answer 8

Yes.

Answer 9

Yes.

Answer 10

Student loans are available but I don't know about grants if thats what your looking for.