<p>Does anybody understand how financial aid is handled in graduate school, specifically SSP? Is it the case that they don't give regular financial aid (based on income and taxes) in graduate school, and that the students have to find their own grants and fellowships? If it's all merit aid in graduate school, and everybody is highly qualified, how do the students pay the very high tuition? Is it all loans and no aid? Thanks for any perspective or experience.</p>
<p>Hey there,</p>
<p>I’m an SSP alum and then worked there for a couple of years, so if you want to discuss this in a more detailed/specifics-heavy way, I’m happy to answer questions ‘offline’ through direct messages or email.</p>
<p>Anyway, the short answer is: yes, graduate school financial aid is pretty much all merit-based at Georgetown. We can discuss why that is and debate the merits of the rationale behind it, but that’s a much longer conversation. While we certainly like to think that everyone at SSP is highly qualified, it is still possible to make merit-based determinations, especially once you’re a semester or two in and have (excellent) grades to support your application.</p>
<p>To the broader question of “how do the students pay the very high tuition,” in graduate school the answer is really going to vary a lot from student to student. Some - most - will take out some amount of loans. Some are getting GI Bill or Yellow Ribbon Program money or, if they’re still in the service, are getting funded by Uncle Sam through Army Civilian Schooling, Navy Pol-Mil fellowship, etc. That pot of money is fast drying up due to budget cuts, unfortunately. Others have their jobs paying some or all of the cost, or else they (and perhaps their spouse as well) are earning a pretty good salary already and can pay the tuition themselves, although typically they take out some amount of loans to prorate things out.</p>
<p>Then you have foreign students who are being supported by their governments, the rare Arrupe scholarship recipient, people who got jobs at Georgetown and have their studies paid for through the employee tuition benefit, people who cobble together some combination of outside scholarships and grants, work-study, and other income streams, and so on.</p>
<p>How to finance grad school is going to be a very individualized decision that is tied to your existing circumstances. I know that’s kind of an unsatisfying answer, but whereas with undergraduate education there is a stated commitment on the part of the University to make it possible for anyone admitted to be able to attend (in theory, if not always in practice), there is no such promise with graduate studies.</p>