<p>BA in Political Science</p>
<p>and i'm looking to attend Grad School in the Fall</p>
<p>It will be hard to get in for September, especially if you need support. You need to identify your goals for grad school, and look for the programs that are a good fit. Then find out what requirements they have. Just like when you applied to college in the first place. This means that if you are only starting now, you are probably looking at January '09 or September '09 admissions.</p>
<p>happymomo what kind of support are you referring to?</p>
<p>because i noticed that there arent any financial aid available for grad schools</p>
<p>only loans</p>
<p>What do you want from the users here?
What are your interests?
The kind of financial aid you you can get depends on what kind of program you’re looking into. You can get loans, fellowships, assistantships, scholarships in grad school. Masters degrees will cost more out of pocket, phD programs are usually tuition waived.</p>
<p>From the “Graduate school admissions 101” thread (the very first one in this forum)… </p>
<p>There are lots of different ways to pay for graduate school.
Most PhD students are on fellowships, which means their tuition and fees are paid and they’re given a small living stipend. Most master’s students are expected to pay for their degrees, but there are ways to get funded – government agencies will fund outstanding students, and so will some companies. If your “funding package” consists of loans, they’ll be on your shoulders only – once you’ve completed a bachelor’s degree, the US government believes you’re financially independent of your parents.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/348756-graduate-school-admissions-101-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/348756-graduate-school-admissions-101-a.html</a></p>
<p>Let’s go back to the first quesiton. Why grad school? What makes you think about it? Giving us answers to these questions will help us give you the best advice for the direction you’re aiming for.</p>
<p>ticklemepink, i graduated in Jan 2005 and since then i havent found much work</p>
<p>just temps jobs which altogether were the duration of about 6 months</p>
<p>i’m looking for a career </p>
<p>so i’m looking through the programs at schools, i’m trying to find a match</p>
<p>sydneya, i’m looking towards Geography/Geoscience</p>
<p>What do you want to do? Finding a career is easier when you have some sort of inclination or direction of where you want to end up. Then you just figure out how to get there.</p>
<p>Yeah grad school might NOT exactly be the answer, especially a PhD.</p>
<p>By support I meant research/teaching assistantships and academic fellowships/grants. If you can pay for your degree yourself it is a whole other thing.</p>
<p>Personally, I say if they won’t pay you to go to school, don’t do it. You will be up to your ears in debt in no time, and possibly without any means to pay it off.</p>
<p>happymomof1 but wouldnt I get a job afterwards that’ll help me in paying the tuition? dont many people go into grad school through just loan?</p>
<p>because right now, i dont get any call backs from employers. i tried it out for 3 years, i think i have to make a move. it just doesnt make any sense to me</p>
<p>No, most are funded by means such as happymomof1 mentioned.</p>
<p>Student35 here is what i read from this site:</p>
<p>Most PhD students are on fellowships, which means their tuition and fees are paid and they’re given a small living stipend. Most master’s students are expected to pay for their degrees, but there are ways to get funded – government agencies will fund outstanding students, and so will some companies. If your “funding package” consists of loans, they’ll be on your shoulders only – once you’ve completed a bachelor’s degree, the US government believes you’re financially independent of your parents.</p>
<p>I’m going for my Masters. It says most students going for their Masters pay for their degrees.</p>
<p>Thats kind of false. Most PhD students are on TA/RA funding and some Masters students are funded.</p>
<p>Right. Not nearly as many master’s degrees are funded/receive a stipend as Ph.Ds. </p>
<p>That is basically saying that if you don’t receive any funding via the school, government, or an employer you will have to take out loans without any parent involvement.</p>
<p>i spoke with FAFSA and they said grants are not offered for Grad School, they said the grants are offered for the Undergrad</p>
<p>they said finacial aid is offered in the form of loans</p>
<p>now from my understanding, the other way my education could be paid for is I think through a job</p>
<p>there are jobs out there that pay for grad school education, and i’ve had problem just finding a job period </p>
<p>so not sure how that would work out</p>
<p>Generally that’d be something “practical” like education or MBA is what most employers will be pay for. Not geography/geoscience- what do you want to do with that MA?</p>
<p>Grad school is seriously optional and that is why the US gov’t won’t give grants like for undergrads and why so many of us have to take out loans to pay for it. </p>
<p>Either suck it up and take the loans or keep trying to find a job and save some money.</p>
<p>“i’ve had problem just finding a job period”</p>
<p>A job in your field, or a job at, say Starbuck’s? The economy is tough right now, and it looks like it is getting tougher. Spending a year or two in grad school with NO GUARANTEE OF A JOB AFTERWARDS may not really be in your best interest.</p>
<p>After I finished my M.S., it was more than a year before I hit on anything remotely in my field of study, and then it was only because I’d gotten married to a grad student at my old university and moved back to that area. I was hired by my former department for a lab support job that required a high school diploma.</p>
<p>hmmm . . . happymomof1 which grad school did you attend? and what was the program?</p>
<p>thanks for the feedback</p>