Happy Friday, Reader, you made it! I hope it's been a solid week.
Today we’re talking about money.
It’s often the make-or-break piece to go back to school, and a funding strategy will help you get there.
Admit it: When you think about paying for graduate school, your mind goes straight to loans (cue the brain spirals).
Or maybe you’ve been told graduate school isn’t worth pursuing unless it’s free.
(This is what I heard before applying for a master’s… and it doesn’t work that way for the majority of programs.)
The truth is, there are a lot of options beyond loans.
And wildly, the order in which you use different types of external funding can affect what you qualify for through the university 🤯
Here are action steps to take - and a list of lesser-known resources to explore - as you develop a funding strategy for your next degree.
Action Step 1: Look more broadly for funding opportunities (they exist!).
Maybe you’ve seen headlines about new Grad PLUS loans being eliminated.
Or how there are borrowing caps now for Direct Unsubsidized loans that vary by program - most master's students top out at $100,000 total.
What this means: Get more creative instead of relying solely on federal loans.
Before jumping ahead...
Fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) 📢
Yes, for graduate school. Even if you aren't planning to take out loans.
Why?
Some grants and other funding opportunities require it to confirm eligibility - and it's free to file.
The list below covers the majority of options as you develop your personal funding strategy.
(These do not apply to every applicant, I’m sharing them to help you find 1-2 new ones for your situation.)
- Employer benefits: Employee scholarships, tuition assistance, tuition exchange, tuition reimbursement, tuition remission - employer sponsorship, student-loan repayment - I wrote about some of these here
- External: Fellowships, grants, scholarships
- Loans: Federal Direct Unsubsidized loans, private student loans, institutional loans
- Service-based: AmeriCorps & Teach for America (Segal Education Awards, also check out Schools of National Service for application fee waivers and tuition discounts), Peace Corps (Coverdell Fellows), military and veterans benefits (GI Bill, Yellow Ribbon)
- University: Assistantships, fellowships, grants, scholarships, work study
- The long game: Loan forgiveness and repayment programs (National Health Service Corps, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Teacher Loan Forgiveness), 529 plans, personal and family savings
Scholarships are a popular, well-known funding option from a variety of sources, both local and national.
Some even become available once you're a student, too.
(One of my first clients is wrapping up her master's program - and recently received a surprise research scholarship to finish her final project!)
To make sense of what you qualify for and where to look, this article will help:
Action Step 2: Talk to a financial aid counselor early.
Here's a free resource most people underuse: financial aid advisors and counselors at the university or within the specific school you're applying to, like the School of Public Policy.
Their entire job is to know how funding works.
This includes the pools of money that never make it onto the website like departmental grants, one-off scholarships, and emergency funds.
(Working at a university, I occasionally got emails asking for names of students who met specific qualifications to receive unpublished scholarships. It felt like handing someone a winning lottery ticket.)
A lot of financial aid runs on earlier deadlines than you'd expect, and some of it is first-come, first-served.
Being on an advisor's radar makes you top-of-mind when new opportunities open, too.
Go in with real questions.
What aid exists beyond what's posted? What are the actual deadlines? And how would an outside scholarship affect the rest of my funding package?
By being proactive in meeting with an advisor, you could open yourself to receiving a lot more money than expected.
Action Step 3: Use your funding in the order that maximizes its value.
Once enrolled - and after talking to a financial aid counselor for guidance - lay out all of your options and be strategic on which ones you use first or save for later in your program.
What does this actually mean?
- Example 1: Have a large external scholarship? Awesome! But find out if using it first will affect your eligibility for need-based aid or scholarship offers through the university (this happened to a client last month - fortunately, they caught it in time).
- Example 2: For AmeriCorps alumni using Segal Education Awards, split the awards over multiple calendar years to lower the tax hit when you use them.
- Example 3: For anyone using employer tuition assistance, only the first $5,250 is tax-free each calendar year. This number will change in 2027 to adjust with inflation. If your employer covers more than that, splitting the payments across two calendar years keeps more of it out of your taxable income.
Take a deep breath.
You’re not required to become a tax expert to go to graduate school.
But strategically approaching the funding as much as your application materials will benefit your finances in the future.
You can do this.
What I'm working on ✍
I recently received the final "I got accepted!!" email of this application season and have had several debrief calls with people I've supported since fall.
Celebrating with each of them is the best part of what I get to do every day. It's also given me the opportunity to ask how I can better serve future applicants.
My sunshine yellow notebook is brimming with a-ha moments, I'm excited to bring them to life in the coming months. Stay tuned!
This first edition of Admit It has been especially fun to write because I didn't know about 85% of these funding options when I applied for a master's program.
As a first-generation college student, I've lived and learned through the mantra "you don't know what you don't know."
My goal now is to provide you with the map to graduate school I wish I had.
Admit It arrives on Fridays.
Reply any time with topics you'd like to see - I read every response.
Thanks for being here, make it a great weekend!
Dr. Jena