Financial Aid & Funding
FAFSA
Complete the FAFSA as soon as you are able for your program year. The aid year for a given FAFSA period begins in June of the current year and goes to July of the next year. So, if your program started in fall of 2024, you’d complete the 2024-2025 FAFSA. If a program starts in the summer, talk to the institution’s financial aid office to determine which FAFSA application they will accept.
Graduate FAFSA Considerations
- Grad students are automatically considered independent students on the FAFSA, so there is no requirement to provide parental financial info.
- Grad students are eligible for the Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan (provided they have not reached lifetime limits) and/or Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan (which requires an additional application).
- Grad students are not eligible for grants from the FAFSA.
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Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Depending on your career path and loan situation, you may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Read up on this program carefully as there are a lot of requirements to qualify for forgiveness. |
Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans
It is important to note that Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans mean that interest accumulates while you are in school or in any grace, deferment, or forbearance periods and gets capitalized (added to the principal amount of the loan).
Private Loans
Most financial aid offices have a private loan comparison tool available to assist students considering loan options. Private loans, of course, require additional applications through the loaning institution.
Choosing a Loan
Things to think about as you explore loan options:
- What is the interest rate? What fees exist?
- Are there grace periods? How long?
- Are there multiple repayment options? What are they?
- Does the loan require a co-signer? Who could that be?
| If you need a student loan to help cover living expenses, you may need to request that the financial aid office review your actual expenses as they may be higher than what is estimated for your cost to attend the institution. |
Program Funding
Professional master’s programs or terminal master’s programs (meaning you’re not continuing to the doctorate level) are not typically funded. This means you need to plan for and figure out how to cover all costs of the program and living expenses. Scholarships are not very common for master’s students, though it is worth asking programs about options or looking online. Professional doctoral programs (like JD in law or MD in medicine) are usually not funded either. Students may be able to find tuition-remitting appointments in the department or on campus, like teaching and research assistantships. These appointments may also include a stipend and healthcare benefit eligibility. Ask questions of the program(s) to which you are applying to learn more about possible options.
Funding is much more common for Ph.D. programs, though there are wide variations across programs in how much funding and what work you must do for the funding (for example, teaching or research). Funding may include a stipend and healthcare or may be more limited. Again, ask questions of the program(s) to which you are applying to get a clear picture of funding the Ph.D.