First Acceptance, yay! What are the first steps? (mostly financial)

[maurmaur]

Hello!

I received my first acceptance this afternoon! I'm super excited.

What is the next step apart from accepting an acceptance? I will most likely accept. My top choice (which I actually think is also cheaper) I was waitlisted at and so I am going to possibly wait and see about that one. I need to weigh pros and cons now that I actually know I will be somewhere in the fall!

However, in the meantime, I didn't have to take out loans for my undergraduate education. I am the oldest in my family. Basically, I have no idea where to start about paying for graduate school.

I have a little saved up, but pretty much will be paying with my graduate education with loans. 

Where do you start? I filled out my FAFSA, because I knew that, but what do I do now?

[ImHis]

Are there no grants and scholarships you are able to apply at your college? I was eligible for grants and got a scholarship. Also, when I was researching the field, I was advised to email the program directors and inquire for GA, TAships. Sometimes, they do not advertise because they are bogged down with administrative tasks. My director announced the job during one of our lecture, and some applied and got it.

[pbandj]

Hello! Congratulations on your acceptance! You are on your way to becoming an SLP!

I am about in the same boat as you. I didn't have to take out loans for undergrad, so I'm not really familiar with the process. However, I do have older siblings who took out a lot of loans for undergrad and beyond. From what I understand, yes you will be paying mostly with loans. After you fill out FAFSA and submit it to your programs, they will send you a financial aid package detailing how much aid you will receive and through what means - maybe you've already received that package! 

Hopefully your financial aid package will meet your full need through federal loans, grants, work-study, etc. Federal loans are generally better in terms of interest rates and repayment options. However, there are also private loans that you can look for, but parents may have to co-sign for them (they never have to for federal loans), and co-signing can be risky for parents. In that case, it is up to you and your parents to decide how to go about that.

I would look for grants and scholarships within your college and department, and potentially outside too. Connect with your program now that you have decided on accepting and ask about being a GA or TA. Look for and inquire about scholarships you'll be eligible for once you're a student there. For the program I am leaning toward, they do not offer many scholarships to incoming students, but current students have a bit more options to obtain scholarships. That may not help you right away, and you may not necessarily get those scholarships, but at least you know the options are there down the road. 

After graduating, and while paying back your loans regularly, there are some options you have that can reduce or even eliminate the remaining balance. They require working for a set number of consecutive years in a certain setting (I believe non-profit organizations? For either 5-10 years?) in order to qualify. If you are interested in this, I would look into it now so you can try to imagine more clearly where you want to work after graduation. There are some great threads on this forum and information online.

Best of luck to you!! 

[SLPsingballs]

Congrats on your acceptance!!  (I'm guessing since I didn't get a call from them yet that I won't be accepted, but I think I would go somewhere else anyways so it works out).  The program seems really exciting.  

When I asked about GA, Dr. Spencer (I'm assuming you were accepted at RMUofHP?) said they won't be offering them and will be encouraging their students to not be working at all.  I don't think they're offering grants/scholarships either, but definitely there will be loans with FAFSA. 

[maurmaur]

44 minutes ago, SLPsingballs said:

Congrats on your acceptance!!  (I'm guessing since I didn't get a call from them yet that I won't be accepted, but I think I would go somewhere else anyways so it works out).  The program seems really exciting.  

When I asked about GA, Dr. Spencer (I'm assuming you were accepted at RMUofHP?) said they won't be offering them and will be encouraging their students to not be working at all.  I don't think they're offering grants/scholarships either, but definitely there will be loans with FAFSA. 

Okay, so it's kind of a accept your acceptance and wait to hear back sort of thing?

I'm just nervous/wanting to get started now because I'm worried about making sure I can pay for all of it! But I'm guessing even if I have to take out private loans, it's possible.