After my recent discovery that I have a laughable amount of savings for grad school, I thought I’d try to investigate more options for financial aid on the grad school level. But the options are not so great… I found myself returning to the same links I visited in undergrad and turning up so little. And because of the subprime mortgage crisis, it feels like the student loan market will be freezing up a rational amount as well. So I’ve tried to wade through the debris and summarize my real options:
- Federal Perkins Loans – determined by FAFSA; you can borrow up to $6,000 per year.
- Federal Stafford Loans (Subsidized) – Financial need basis; no interest charged during the deferment period. $8,500 / year limit.
- Graduate PLUS Loan – Federal, low-interest, need-based loans; no limit
- 529 Plans – Tax-exempt investment fund that can be used for education expenses.
- Education IRA – Tax-exempt investment fund which you can make withdrawls from without having to pay the 10% penalty.
- Private Loan
So it looks like I could be eligible for up to $14,500 / year of standard federal loans with the option to round this out with Federal PLUS loans before I dip into the private loan sector.
What seems to be missing is the “academic” scholarship for graduate school. Does merit-based aid exist once you get past undergrad? I will keep you posted if I discover new options as I go along. Let me know too, if you know of any other resources or links I can check.
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A lot depends on the program you'll be entering. I would recommend checking out the colleges' departmental websites for anywhere you want to apply and see what they have to say about fellowships, awards, and prizes.
I studied English literature at a state school a few years ago. In my program, just about everyone had a graduate teaching fellowship which waived tuition and also paid a small stipend in exchange for doing work for the department or teaching Freshman Comp. They didn't pay for books and fees, but if you lived very cheaply, you could cover all of your expenses (including a place to live, food, fees, and books) out of the stipend.
Some students were awarded different fellowships in which they didn't have to work/teach, and others also were awarded special scholarships, awards, or prizes. The department used all of these to help attract students they particularly wanted. Most of us, however, had the standard teaching fellowship.
I got a loan the first year because I'd needed loans to make it through undergrad, but I didn't dip into those funds, so I didn't pursue loans after that.
I know that the school I attended for undergrad had a lot of graduate students teaching classes or leading things like chemistry labs-- it's not just English literature that provides such opportunities within their departments. Check out the departments you're thinking of-- you'll get a much better picture that way.
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