Paying for School:
Exploring the Options Available to Graduate Students

You don't think you can afford to go to graduate school? Think again! It is normal to feel twinges of excitement while preparing for your graduate school applications. But the topic of financing is bound to come up eventually, and when it does, the excitement may be diminished somewhat. There can be considerable expenses associated with years of graduate school. The good news is that, in many respects, it is easier to finance graduate school than undergraduate school, and that your situation probably is not as bleak as you first assumed.

Begin your financial plan by estimating both the annual costs of full-time graduate study, and all sources of financial support that you are certain to have. This includes, tuition and other school fees as well as living expenses. When calculating your potential sources of financial support, you should probably not consider any earnings from employment positions outside of the academic setting as this is not encouraged by most graduate programs nor do they allow for part-time enrollment. This is not always the case, especially if you have been working in a particular area for some time and are returning to part-time graduate studies for further education in the same domain. 

It is also important to recognize that in most programs that you would be applying for, graduate students will receive some source of income. Unlike undergraduate studies, there are many more potential sources from which this income may be obtained. Here are the main sources of funding available to you as a graduate student.

Research and teaching assistantships
For the most part, TA and RAs can provide both some of the funding necessary to pay for tuition and books, but also give you some important experience within the field that you study. Although the salary will vary a great deal from one University to the next, in general, these types of positions will likely carry a lighter workload and be better paying than part-time jobs off-campus.

Scholarships, fellowships, grants, bursaries
Although much of the advice given throughout this web site and in the eBook, deemphasizes the sole importance of grades when applying to grad school, some bursaries and many scholarships are awarded primarily based on academic performance. This is one aspect of the application process where students with good to excellent grades do have an advantage over those applicants without the top grades. Many awarding, committees; however, do make an effort to consider other factors other than grades, so I would strongly encourage all candidates to apply for all sources of funding that they are eligible for.