College Financial Aid for Graduate Students – Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships
In the excitement of being accepted into a graduate program with funding, it can be easy to forget to ask important questions. Being awarded a graduate assistantship or fellowship is great, but it might not cover everything. Here are some questions that might help you figure out whether you can afford to enroll in a specific graduate program. And remember, sometimes financial aid award packages are negotiable, particularly if you have been accepted to more than one graduate program.
How does the cost of living compare?
A financial aid package may look great … until you compare it to the cost of living in New York. Money goes much further in some geographic areas than others. Sit down and figure out your base cost of living plus tuition, including insurance and incidental expenses.
Does it include health insurance?
Many colleges and universities require their students to have health insurance, and unexpected health costs can be a serious burden in graduate school. Does your award package come with a full or partial insurance waiver? What insurance options does the school offer? If you are currently insured with another provider, how do the plans compare?
Does it include a tuition waiver or discount?
Tuition can easily be the biggest expense of graduate school. Does your award come with a tuition waiver or discount? If not, how much tuition can you cover from your award after cost of living expenses?
What will be expected of you?
Graduate assistantships require you to perform a job, usually teaching or assisting in research, although assistantships may include a wide variety of duties. You will usually be required to work a minimum number of hours, although teaching assistants in particular are often expected to work more.
If you have a teaching assistantship, how many classes are you expected to teach? If you are teaching full classes rather than lab or review sessions, be wary of a program that expects you to teach more than one or maybe two classes your first semester. Teaching is a huge time commitment, well over the minimum hours.
Fellowships, while they don’t require you to perform a job, generally require you to maintain a certain GPA and course load.
How long is your package guaranteed for?
Some programs will guarantee your assistantship for the duration of the program. Others guarantee it for the first two years, assuming your advisor will fund you after that, or for the first five to encourage you to finish more quickly. Master’s programs in particular often have non-guaranteed funding, so you may be scrambling for a new assistantship your second year.
Will you be able to change assistantships?
In some programs, particularly professional and research programs, you may want to change graduate assistantships to gain a wider range of experience. For example, graduate students who plan to be professors will want both teaching and research experience.
Does your program allow this flexibility? Can students in the program apply for assistantship openings or are openings reserved for incoming students?
Are you allowed outside work?
Some awards, particularly fellowships, do not allow you to seek outside work. This sounds great since you can focus on your studies, but if the award doesn’t fully cover the expenses of graduate school, your only option is loans.
It’s a good idea to decide whether this works for you before accepting an award with limitations on work. If you do decide to work outside of your graduate program, be careful that it does not negatively impact your studies.
What are my job prospects after graduation?
If you think you can get a good job relatively quickly after finishing the program, you may be willing to accept a less than ideal financial package and take on more loans in order to attend your top choice. If jobs in your field are extremely competitive or not highly paid, holding out for a better financial package might be a better choice. Don’t forget to take remaining debt from your undergraduate degree into account.
Learn how to finance a college education. Mark B. Allen is a student financial aid expert who writes for Financial Aid Finder. Allen shares his knowledge via a free, regularly updated blog. The topics Allen covers range from federal work study, pell grants and fellowships, and federal student loans. Financial Aid Finder is an informative resource for college and high school students who need help filling out their FAFSA, advice on using their financial aid counselors, and assistance tracking down every available source of money for college.
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