For most students, paying for your college education can prove to be a daunting task. Graduate educational costs can demonstrate to be an even more frighteningly expensive prospect. Within colleges and universities, there is an aid process that as a student progresses through higher levels of graduate education, the financial burden is somewhat alleviated by greater institutional support. Yet many universities are revamping their financial aid priorities to provide more assistance for undergraduate education, especially to middle class students and their families who have found themselves increasingly overburdened by college costs. What isn't being publicly discussed is that there are repercussions for this shift in institutional support. For grad students, it means LESS money available for their financial aid.
University financial aid is composed of money from a variety of sources, public and private. From these resources which can include loans, scholarships, grants, work study and tuition remissions, student financial aid packages are put together for students undergraduate and graduate. Unfortunately, federal resources are getting tighter. University operating costs have skyrocketed. The overall economic outlook is dismal. Families are struggling to scrap together their designated contribution. In an effort to assist families, many universities are offering or considering free undergraduate tuition for financially strapped families. This effort will provide the opportunity of an undergraduate college education to many students yet it paints a very different picture for graduate education.
Traditionally, graduate students begin to contribute to the institution in the capacity of teaching and/or research assistants as well as instructors for undergraduate courses for which they earn more financial assistance by the university. Some other forms of aid that are pursued by graduate students include scholarships, grants, loans, research and teaching fellowships. Reevaluation of the financial plan for your graduate education is necessary as the landscape of available educational aid transforms.
Some of these transformations are taking root in a variety of areas of educational aid. One such area includes the makeover of the private loan industry which has made such loan requirements more stringent. This presents a particular difficulty because loans may be the last resort to fill the gap in aid. It also means facing the reality of incurring greater debt that eventually must be paid off. On the subject of grants, in the current environment there will be greater competition for public and private grants which include fellowships and scholarships. Given this view, we may start to see some adaptations in the lives of graduate students. Already hectic schedules may be further complicated by longer work hours to compensate for the lack of available funding. Or there may be a billowing loan debt on the horizon for students who are graduating into a struggling economy. Unless more teaching or research positions are created, more competition will be injected into these work positions.
Here are some resources that may help graduate students in their search for financial aid of various types. For federal scholarships or grants, check out the U.S. Department of Education. For private grants and scholarships, check these grant search engine, Fastweb or American Association for the Advancement of Science. These are just a few websites that may help you on your journey toward the education for your career in psychology. Hopefully your search may be successful and alleviate some of the financial stress of graduate education.
