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Financing Your Graduate Education

Graduate students receive financial assistance from two sources: institutional and external support.

Institutional Support

Institutional support is awarded by the school or department upon admission and includes:

Many programs will require you to submit a FAFSA form. Find out if you need to do this early in the process. You may need financial and tax information not only from you but from your parents as well.

External Support

External support is an umbrella term that includes grants from private foundations or federal agencies that are separate from the graduate institution or program. There are many external support programs listed in the Fellowships database. In addition, U.S. citizens are eligible to participate in federal student loan programs.

When to Begin a Search for External Financial Support

Look for external support during the spring or summer of third year while searching for postgraduate study programs. The application process for both may actually proceed in tandem and it is not unusual to have applied for a fellowship without knowing where graduate study will take place. Since applications require collaboration with faculty and statements of purpose and research proposals can take weeks to prepare, begin well in advance of the application deadline.

Business School

Read Paying for Your MBA, by the Graduate Management Admission Council.

Law School

Students planning to attend law school should prepare to incur significant debt. According to one source, law students should expect to borrow from $60,000 to $100,000 over three years. As a result, finances are among the most important factors to consider. As federal and state grants are seldom available, the majority of law students must borrow to finance their studies. Additionally, many law students use loans to pay for living expenses as well. Law schools also offer scholarships to the most desirable candidates; such scholarships may be awarded solely on the basis of merit or financial need, or a combination thereof. A number of law schools offer loan forgiveness programs for students working in particular fields, i.e. public interest law. The law school admissions office will be able to answer questions about forgiveness programs.

To learn more about how to finance a law school education, read the University of Chicago Prelaw Guide, and information provided by law schools on their Web pages and in application materials.

Medical School

Paying for a medical school education can be an expensive venture; four years of tuition can range from $80,000 to $140,000. Unlike graduate education, for which one's tuition may be fully subsidized by the institution, the burden of paying for medical school falls largely on the student. The small amount of grant or scholarship aid provided by many medical schools is usually reserved for the truly destitute or exceptional applicant. Consequently, most medical students use loans to pay for their education and living expenses. On average, graduates of private medical schools borrow about $100,000 and graduates of public institutions borrow about $70,000. There are a number of programs which offer forgiveness for medical school loans. The Health Professions Advisors and medical school admissions offices will be able to answer questions about these programs.

There are numerous public and private loan programs available to help meet expenses, but qualifying can be complicated and the terms vary significantly. One should not assume that qualification for college aid automatically ensures qualification for financial assistance to attend medical school.

The single best guide for applicants pertaining to financing a medical school education is MD2 (Monetary Decisions for Medical Doctors), a publication of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Applicants to programs in the health professions should also speak to one of the Health Professions Advisors prior to submitting an application.

Sponsored by the NIH, the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) covers tuition costs for MD/PhD programs. The Air Force, Army, and Navy also offer fully paid scholarships, as does the National Service Corps. Before applying, these options should be discussed with a health professions advisor or medical school financial aid officer.

PhD

Most doctoral students receive some form of institutional support. Many programs will fund students for four or five years with funding covering tuition and a living stipend. In many schools you will be expected to provide service for your award through either research or teaching. Additionally, students often apply for fellowships for their dissertation research and writing.

Students who are accepted into doctoral programs without funding should consider whether it is wise to assume the debt that will accrue over five or more years of study. Students should discuss it with a faculty mentor or a College advisor.

Masters and Professional Study

Most terminal master's programs offer little or no financial support. Terminal masters programs tend to offer limited or no institutional financial support. On the other hand, professional programs such as Ministry, Public Policy, Law and Social Work frequently offer some institutional financial support. Law schools offer some financial support to highly desirable candidates, but most law students as well as students in medical and business school should expect to borrow to pay for tuition and living expenses. Learn more about institutional support and how to apply for it from recruitment and application materials.