Most people would like to pursue higher education but these programs cost as much as undergraduate degree programs. You will find many things have changed from your undergraduate program and this includes your financial aid landscape. What you have here are several options when it comes to financial aid that you can avail of if you will be taking up your master degree online.
If you are taking up an undergraduate degree, you will find it challenging to apply an independent status to your financial options. If you succeed, your parents’ earning won’t be counted toward your qualification for federal aid – which can be beneficial to students. However, when you are a graduate student, you are often deemed an independent for financial aid and this could mean more access to federal aid.
For people engaged in undergrad studies, there are financial aid options specifically for them. When it comes to this, one of the most sought after forms of assistance is the Pell Grant. There is another type of aid which is meant for undergrads only and this is the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant.
Students can also go for Stafford Loans, subsidized or not. For undergraduate students, their parents can avail of Parent PLUS loans but there are graduate PLUS loans that a student can also avail of. The benefit of this type of loan to a graduate student comes in the form of an automatic deferment.
Offered through need basis only, the Federal Perkins loans come with a lower interest rate and are meant for individuals taking up online master's courses. For undergrads, they can take a loan of 4 thousand while 6 thousand dollars is the maximum for graduate students. Other than federal loans, many students get private loans to fill the gaps between school-based aid and federal aid and the entire tuition cost.
The thing about private loans is that they are challenging to qualify for and this applies to all students. Master’s degree students may borrow without their parents’ credit history. What you have here is a decision that can make or break your chances of being able to borrow money.
If they really need money and quick, it is possible for those in graduate courses to apply for federal work-study aid. Your school has significant scope in knowing how much work-study aid every student can earn. You will likely compete with the undergrads at your school, but assessment allowances and rates are granted to dependent and independent students – hence, you may or may not have a good chance.
A number of students work while they study and this is why an online master degree program is patronized by these people. In this case, they could get tuition assistance from their employer. It is also likely to get this form of tuition assistance during undergraduate study but master’s degree students are older and more likely to have work that can provide tuition assistance than incoming undergrads.
Another benefiting option for graduate students comes through things like research fellowships and teaching assistantships offered by most schools. Since these options come with a stipend not to mention a full tuition award, a lot of students are competing for slots. These things are not need based but merit based.
You can expect the financial aid landscape for graduate students to be different but there are cases when these differences can be an advantage to the students. Tuition fees will no longer be huge problems for the students who manage to qualify for assistantships or merit-based fellowships. For the master degree online student, if there are no available slots left in these programs, other financial aid options like federal grants and private loans can be utilized where an independent status can be an advantage.
