<p>I know that law schools offer money to students who want to pursue a degree at their institution if they have a high GPA and good LSAT scores. However, I was wondering if graduate schools offer money to students who do not want to pursue law degree majors? My experience so far is that they do not, especially if that person plans to attend school online. I would like to enroll in a more prestigious grad school, but it is very expensive. So far, I haven't heard anything about TA positions, scholarships, or grants being offered to perspective grad students. I am wondering if my only option is an in-state school for graduate school? I am graduating with a 3.76 GPA as a sociology major. I wish to pursue social work or school psychology. I am already established in my home state, and the only out-of-state option for me right now is doing my studies online. </p>
<p>There are approximately a thousand threads on here that explain grad school funding on here. You need to read them.</p>
<p>The short answer is that yes, there is money for grad school, but less for masters (vs PhD), less for arts/humanities (vs science/engineering), and almost none for online degrees.</p>
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<p>Well, that’s a bit of a stretch. A few high-tier law schools may have one or two substantial merit scholarships for very, very high-achieving applicants to their class. Some low-tier law schools offer substantial merit scholarships to good students who would otherwise go to a top law school. But the truth is that the vast majority of even the best law students usually end up paying for law school with loans. </p>
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<p>Could be.</p>
<p>If you intend to do your studies online, you will almost certainly not be offered any TA positions. First of all, most online programs tend to be professional master’s programs, which are already less likely to offer you funding (because the assumption is that you will get a well-paying professional job and be able to repay the loans). But more importantly, how will you assist a professor with a class if you are taking the classes online and not physically located where the professor teaches classes?</p>
<p>Some schools may offer scholarships or grants to incoming students. Generally, there is no additional application unless otherwise specified - your admissions application is used to consider you for these. Usually, if you are eligible they will contact you separately after you are admitted. But there is not a ton of nonrepayable aid for either social work or school psych at the master’s level. (At the doctoral level - at least in school psych, and I believe also in social work - you would be offered a full funding package.)</p>
<p>Neither social work nor school psychology are especially prestige-focused fields, particularly if your aim with school psych is to get a specialist-level degree and practice as a school psychologist within school systems or your aim with social work is to get an MSW and practice as a community social worker or LCSW (as opposed to doctoral degrees and academia in either). Since they are not, there’s nothing wrong with you choosing a lower-cost in-state public university that offers these degrees - you don’t need to go to a “more prestigious” grad school. In fact, your local public may have more connections in the area in which you want to work, since you are already established in your home state and don’t seem to be willing or able to move. Let’s say you are in Virginia, for example. Why do an online program in New York or Texas or California when you can do a local program in Virginia with professors who may have connections with Virginia school districts, who are doing research on Virginia-based educational programs, and where you can easily get a Virginia state license to practice?</p>
<p>As a final note, if you are a sociology major without substantial coursework in psychology, there are probably some prerequisites you will need to take first before you apply for school psychology programs. Most require a semester of general psychology, psychological research methods, statistics (which you may have already taken in sociology), developmental psych and abnormal psych at minimum.</p>