Finding funding for masters programs possible?

[kcola]

Ive done a bit of digging, sorry if this has been over done: I know phDs get funding, but what options are there for the "already in student debt up to my eyeballs from undergrad" masters student? I cannot seem to come up with too many google hits for "Graduate scholarships" that are NOT for Phds. I had such an easier time in undergrad finding scholarships. Whumphhh.. You'd think there'd be some kind of safety net for something that usually does not have internal funding?

[lyonessrampant]

What's your field? That changes any recommendations/suggestions that we can make.

[rainbowworrier]

Graduate Assistantships can be found at many schools for Masters, but yes, what field are you in?

[fumblewhat]

Ive done a bit of digging, sorry if this has been over done: I know phDs get funding, but what options are there for the "already in student debt up to my eyeballs from undergrad" masters student? I cannot seem to come up with too many google hits for "Graduate scholarships" that are NOT for Phds. I had such an easier time in undergrad finding scholarships. Whumphhh.. You'd think there'd be some kind of safety net for something that usually does not have internal funding?

I was in the same position! I promised myself I wouldn't attend without significant funding. I got lucky. It came through at a few places on April 14th -- the day before the decision deadlines.

As to your question... It really depends on the field, department and school. I got offered funding as an MA applicant at four programs -- two of them were full funding and stipend, but the other two offers were nothing to sneeze at. It absolutely can and does happen. Though I think the full tuition situations are more likely to be funded outside the department -- in my case, they both were Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships (through the Dept of State). Some schools just seem to have more love to go around than others, though. A lot of the M.A.s I talked to when I was shopping around said there was more funding available in their second year, as well.

What's your field? The graduate coordinator at each department should know how their students are paying their way through. Be sure to contact them to ask about any fellowships you might apply to. I didn't, and regretted it after I missed deadlines for some great opportunities.

[kcola]

Its in biology.

[kcola]

can you rewrite that?..

[Just me]

I'm in that same boat - (now) $75K+ in debt, in grad school, and apparently my grades aren't good enough and I'm not financially needy enough to get more than, say, $2000 a year in scholarships. And of course, grad students are far too special for grants because we're obviously rolling in the dough to the point where we don't need gift money.

I hear left and right about the billions of dollars in "free" money for college floating around out there, but I haven't seen a cent of it. I've applied for more scholarships than I can even remember and I've only ever gotten one from the school I'm in now. I can't even get a loan, for some reason - even though I'm listed as an independent student, I still can't get a single loan.

Basically, no one gives as much of a crap about graduate students as they do about undergraduate. They think that if you're getting your master's or PhD, you must have an awesome job with a six-figure income, so you don't need money as much as a broke high school graduate.

[kcola]

yeah, Im just kind of confused, as there is no guarantee (I work in a lab and most post docs cant find jobs!!) at finding well paid jobs, how can they leave you out the dry like that? i def do not want to rely on loans, and searches for scholarships have come up short... >:

[kcola]

just curious, were there other options for you as far as other schools giving more money, or is it basically NONexistent for masters students?