<p>My daughter will be graduating from Davidson College next year and I also have a sophomore at Smith College. My older daughter is planning on applying to graduate school next year. Is there usually any financial aid for graduate schools based on need? I'm assuming it depends on the school. She has above average grades also, so we are hopeful she might be eligible for merit aid as well.</p>
<p>Money for grad school is usually not based on need. It is usually based on merit…GPA and GRE scores. </p>
<p>But, not all majors have funding for significant merit for grad school. Some majors are strictly “student pays all.” (usually by borrowing). </p>
<p>Many STEM majors have large merit funding. My son is starting his PhD in August…fully funded tuition and very large stipend.</p>
<p>What is your D’s major?</p>
<p>If your D is in a major that offers merit-funding for grad school, then it’s important for her to get high GRE scores. Very good grades is good, but high GRE scores are often needed for acceptance and for money. </p>
<p>Get your D the Barron’s GRE test prep book.</p>
<p>Since we just went thru the process this last year, we noticed that some schools only give major funding for PhD students, and not MS students. But, some did offer funding for MS as well. That’s one reason why my son applied for his PhD and not a masters. He’ll still be awarded a masters at some point, the program is a PhD program.</p>
<p>We found (surprisingly) that even my son’s so-called “safeties” only accepted 10% of applicants. He’s going to his first choice school and it only accepted (if I remember correctly) 3% of applicants.</p>
<p>Thank you for the information. My daugher is a classics and spanish major and really unsure about what her plans are for next year (and for her future). She had been planning on applying to law school, but she’s not really sure if that’s what she wants to do and has not taken a LSAT prep class yet. Another possibility is Teach for America. I think she might be interested in being a college level professor also, so maybe a PhD would be the way to go for her also. She has thought of a Master’s in educational programming also. There are quite a few schools that offer this major and it is right up her alley. As you can tell, she really is not ready to graduate. She has enjoyed her college years so much that I think she’s in denial about graduating:)</p>
<p>I have heard that many grad schools only accept a very small percentage of applicants. It was stressful enough applying for undergraduate!</p>
<p>Any information you can provide is helpful.</p>
<p>The biggest difference in apply to grad school that I saw…kids apply to specific programs. You don’t matriculate in grad school “undeclared”. </p>
<p>As noted, grad school funding is merit based…based on the strength of your daughter’s application to the program for which she is applying. Aid comes in the form of scholarships, assistantships, grants, loans, and sometimes work study (some schools have work study for grad students). Financial need is not a consideration in most cases.</p>
<p>Your daughter needs to make a decision about the type of grad program she wishes to apply to. If she really doesn’t know, she might want to do something else instead of grad school for the time being.</p>
<p>Unless a student has a superb LSAT and is applying to a law school that wants that score (and does give merit), law students usually pay their own costs thru loans. That’s pretty much the story with professional schools. I have a younger son who will be applying to med schools next summer, so we expect to pay full freight.</p>
<p>My daugher is a classics and spanish major and really unsure about what her plans are for next year (and for her future). She had been planning on applying to law school, but she’s not really sure if that’s what she wants to do and has not taken a LSAT prep class yet. Another possibility is Teach for America. I think she might be interested in being a college level professor also, so maybe a PhD would be the way to go for her also. She has thought of a Master’s in educational programming also.</p>
<p>If you have the time, you might do a little investigating of various schools…see who gives merit and who doesn’t…and for what programs and level (MS vs PhD). The info can often be found on the school’s website within the grad school and dept pages.</p>
<p>We knew that some schools offered full funding for certain majors when their stats indicated that their PhD students (for listed majors) graduated with no debt.</p>
<p>All good ideas. I agree that maybe she should take a year to work and really think about what she wants to do. I think she fills the same way. My daughter is one who always lands on her feet, so I’m sure she will find her niche.</p>
<p>Thank you for your ideas and experiences.</p>
<p>Some masters are funded, some are not. I always suggest the student file an early FAFSA (January before the fall they matriculate) to get in line for work study. If the campus offers it to grad students, she/he may get $5-8k to work on campus which could include being hired by their adviser!</p>
<p>Some masters offer tuition remission and a funded TA at admissions, this is great, but still file the FAFSA.</p>
<p>For your undergrad student, check with that school’s finaid department, some schools allow the grad student to be included in the total number in college, others do not.</p>
<p>If she works and then applies for an unfunded masters or professional school, be sure to fill out the form that states her full time income is no longer available so that she is eligible for aid.</p>
<p>My son found a masters program for psych that had limited funding, but unfortunately, some of it was cut by the school later. He got a small grant, work study, loans and is applying for a partial assistantship.
One of his siblings colleges count him but I don’t know if it’s because he lives home and commutes to save money and he’s 22. It’s not like a full student discount,but I’ll take what I can get. : )</p>
<p>We will definitely complete the FAFSA just in case there is something to be gained and we will be happy with whatever we can get.</p>
<p>Thanks again for all of your suggestions.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for financial aid for a master’s, it helps to apply widely. I was accepted at eight schools but only funded at four. Happily, one of those four was the right fit for me.</p>
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<p>Your daughter will be completing the FAFSA as a grad student. Unless she is going to some medical or dental schools YOUR (parent) info will not be required.</p>
<p>Really just about the only thing the FAFSA does for grad students is make them eligible for the Stafford loans, and in some cases Work Study.</p>
<p>Thumper’s right, but loans can be helpful and workstudy too. Grad school is the one time 0 EFC means nothing.</p>
<p>Work study can be extremely helpful, my DD was awarded enough in a work study to nearly cover tuition and her adviser hired her to do research in his lab. It was perfect</p>