Financial Aid

Each year financial aid for graduate/professional school becomes increasingly difficult to obtain. The astute financial aid applicant will investigate all types of financial assistance and pay careful attention to deadlines, tests, and other requirements. Some sources require application one year in advance.

When to Apply for Financial Aid
At the time of application to a university program, students should write directly to the department chairperson where they are applying and indicate that they wish to be considered for department or university-administered funds. Many graduate school applications include a section about financial aid. The majority of university funding is handled in this manner. A note of caution: In the future, some university awards may require proof of unsuccessful attempts to obtain funds from outside sources. 

Credit History
All students (U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens) attending graduate or professional school are now considered financially independent by the Federal government. Credit history is becoming an important issue in obtaining loans for educational purposes. Establishing good credit is essential before applying for loans. To assist you in locating outside funding sources for advanced study or research, we have included a bibliography at the end of this guide which lists resources available in the Cornell Career Services Library. Call numbers are indicated next to the publications.

Need-Based Aid
Financial need is the difference between the total educational costs and the student's financial resources; it may be measured by the sponsor in various ways. Need-based financial aid programs include work-study programs on and off campus; private and federal loans; grants; fellowships; and tuition remission programs often offered to employees by their employers, or to students by the professional or graduate school.

FASA Application. In most cases the applicant is required to complete some type of standardized form which is usually the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The FAFSA is a financial questionnaire which is revised annually and may be picked up at the Cornell Career Services beginning in January. After the FAFSA data is reviewed, a needs-analysis document called the Student Aid Report (SAR) is sent to the student, who in turn submits the SAR to the school. The school will then decide on whether or not to award assistance to the student as well as the level of the award(s). Some schools, in addition to the FAFSA, may also require additional needs analysis forms. Students should contact the individual schools from which they are seeking aid to determine which needs-analysis document(s) is required.1

Loans. Loans can be obtained through the federal Perkins Loan and/or the Federal Family Loan or the Federal Direct Loan programs. These loans must be repaid, and repayment begins six months (Perkins, nine months) after an individual ceases to be a student. Other sources include loans from private companies or school-sponsored loan programs.

Work-Study Program. The Federal Work-Study Program provides employment for students on campus and off campus. The school administers this program through its financial aid office. Not all on-campus employment is through Federal Work Study; there are ways of securing part-time employment that do not require a demonstrated financial need.

Merit-Based Aid
Many forms of financial assistance are awarded primarily on the basis of academic accomplishment, talent, or promise. The terms used to describe merit-based types of aid are not always clearly defined. Such terms as grant, stipend, graduate assistantship, and fellowship are defined individually by an institution or department, so it is no surprise to find variations of meaning. One thing that merit-based awards have in common is that they all require an applicant's academic qualifications to fall within a certain eligibility range. Generally speaking, assistantships, fellowships, and grants are the most common forms of assistance available to graduate students.

Assistantships. Assistantships, the most common type of graduate financial assistance, usually come in the form of teaching, research, or graduate assistantships. Students assist in the instruction, research, or other functions of an institution's schools, departments, and/or individual professors.

Because both research and teaching assistantships are generally allocated and administered by the graduate schools, department programs, or individual faculty members, early contact with the appropriate source is critical. This contact can be made either before or after applying and should involve identification of the applicant's academic interests and background.

Fellowships. Fellowships are considered a very prestigious form of financial assistance at the graduate level. They are used by universities to attract students with the highest possible qualifications. The range of the stipend will vary from school to school, but most fellowships will include full tuition coverage.

Grants. Grants are sums of money awarded for specific activities on a project basis by funding sources such as government agencies, foundations, and corporations. Research grants made to institutions or individual faculty members form a major source of graduate student support through the provision of assistantships to carry out the terms of the grant.

Finding Fellowships and Grants. Locating fellowships and grants is much more difficult than finding other forms of financial aid since there are so many possible sources. However, refer to the bibliography which lists directories to these sources. On campus, the Cornell Career Services Library has the most comprehensive collection of directories and individual fellowship/grant listings. It is highly recommended to explore these resources as soon as one considers advanced study. The deadlines and requirements for the specific assistance programs vary greatly, and the number of opportunities may initially be overwhelming, so plan to spend a reasonable amount of time exploring these sources.

1 Gale H. Varma and Robert H. Stowers, "Financial Assistance for Graduate and Professional Education," Peterson's Annual Guides to Graduate Study, vol. 1. 1994.