Graduate school is undeniably expensive, but it can be worthwhile if it leads to career advancement and a better salary. Due to the high costs of graduate school, the majority of graduate students can’t fund their graduate education solely based on their savings and usually have to take out some kind of loan or get a part-time job in order to make ends meet.
If you’re considering attending graduate school, there are many options for funding your education. Here are some suggestions on how you can raise money for graduate school:
Get a Scholarship
One of the most obvious ways of raising money for grad school is to get a scholarship. Many graduate schools offer scholarships to their students. Don’t be put off by the competiveness of scholarships for graduate students, as some scholarships go unclaimed due to not enough people applying to them. Identify appropriate scholarships at the graduate schools you are interested in, and apply to as many as you can. You never know, a free ride to graduate school might be within your reach.
Seek Financial Aid
Financial aid isn’t just for undergraduate students; it can also be awarded to graduate students as well. When you review your graduate school offers, a financial aid package may be included as part of the offer, which will articulate your financial aid options. Alternatively, you can apply for FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) online which will help you indentify what type of federal financial aid you qualify for. Generally speaking financial aid isn’t as generous or extensive for graduate students as it is for undergraduate students, but you still may qualify for some level of financial aid that could make a major difference to the total cost of your graduate education.
Apply for an Assistantship
Attaining an assistantship in graduate school can be an excellent way to get either an entirely free ride to graduate school or a heavily discounted one. Assistantships usually involve the student working part-time as an assistant and researcher to a professor or academic department in return for either discounted or free tuition, housing and other living expenses. Assistantships tend to be very competitive, but are definitely worth applying for as they can be extremely financially beneficial and also look great on your resume post graduation.
Take Out a Student Loan
Although federal (federal student aid) loans offer an excellent interest rate and are generally the safest type of student loan to take out, they often don’t lend large enough amounts of money to pay the entire tuition costs of non-state graduate programs. If you find that this is the case, you may want to consider other student loans for graduate school. There are many banks and loan companies that provide student loans, just make sure that you shop around to secure the best interest rate and agreement terms possible.
Attend a Part-Time or Online Program
If your main financial priority in graduate school is to avoid graduating with substantial student debt, attending a part-time or online program that will leave you enough time to hold down a full-time job may be a good idea. Keeping your regular job while you head back to school will take a lot of self-discipline and won’t be an easy feat, but if it means you will be able to graduate with minimal debt and not have to give up a regular income, the hard work involved may just be worth it.
Get a Title Loan
If you’ve tried all of the traditional routes for raising money for graduate school, you may want to explore alternative types of loans, such as a title loan. If you own a car that is either entirely paid for or only has a few remaining payments left you could be eligible for a title loan. A title loan allows you to use your car as equity to obtain a loan. You will be awarded a loan based on the value of your car, and your car’s title will be owned by the title loan company up until you repay the loan in full. A key benefit of a title loan is that you usually get to still drive your car as you repay your loan, so you won’t necessarily have to give up use of your car. If you need some extra money to help cover your graduate school costs, definitely consider a title loan as one of your options. Title loans are issued based on your ability to repay the loan.
Car Capital Financial
Our team at Car Capital Financial understands the high cost of education, and has been rewarding title loans for years to those that need money quickly and from a reliable source. If you’re located in the Southern California area and are considering taking out a title loan, call us today at 1-888-500-9887 to get all of your questions answered.