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June 29, 2009
Funding After FAFSA
Hello all,
Between the bummer state of the economy and the rising cost of education, I'm sure many of you are concerned about paying for grad school, so I thought I'd post some resources that might help out. Sure, for many of us enough loans are available to take care of everything, but for those of us already in debt from undergrad, or coming in from out of state (or BOTH) a little help would be nice.
Scholarships
It seems like a lot of students hope to be considered for a scholarship when they apply (which you all should) but are then disheartened when they are not offered one upon admission. DO NOT GIVE UP-SI is not the only source of scholarship for MSI students. In addition to the endowment scholarships that SI offers to a portion of incoming students throughout the year, there are also scholarships available through the Rackham Graduate School and the University of Michigan, some of which are automatic considerations, and some for which you will need to apply.
But really, do we end here? Not if you're serious about finding a scholarship. This is when your research skills will really come into play. Look into outside groups that may be interested in funding your education, such as professional groups (the American Library Association, for example, has quite a few on their website at http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcareers/education/scholarships/index.cfm and doesn't necessarily limit to prospective librarians-ALL SI STUDENTS receive ALA accreditation), minority groups, even businesses. Of course, the web is full of aggregators and scholarship search sites-just stick to the free ones and don't give anyone your social security or credit card number. :) SI has a list, too!
Another great resource-A blog written by a fellow SI student. This is a DO NOT MISS! She includes a few sample scholarships and resources for finding more.
Scholarship matching!!!
Do not forget that SI has limited funds for matching outside scholarships. Students who have not received an SI scholarship and are awarded a scholarship from an outside scholarship may receive up to $10,000 in matching funds (while supplies last and all that).
Assistantships
Now, in the event that a scholarship just doesn't happen, there are ways to decrease the amount of loans you may need through work. SI students have a great reputation and generally have no problem finding part-time work on campus-which is good for international students who may not be allowed to work anywhere off of campus. Having a workstudy allotment helps, but isn't absolutely required. Most importantly, the right job can offer a lot more than $12 an hour-and by "the right job" I mean "a Graduate Student Assistantship." At UofM, Graduate Student Instructor (GSI), Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA) or Graduate Student Staff Assistant (GSSA) positions offer compensation past an hourly wage, often in the form of tuition waivers and stipends-even health insurance!
So, depending on what you'd like to do (teaching, research or administrative work) there are three options:
GSIs-Although a lot of PhD programs may be fully-funded, us Masters students aren't so lucky. At SI, the way the school is set up (with small enough classes to require very few GSIs, enough PhD students to cover this need, and a budding undergraduate program) leaves very few opportunities for MSI students to teach within SI. Nonetheless, each program has its own balance, and so some schools and departments DO hire outside students to assist with large undergraduate classes (while some do not). I recommend starting with your undergraduate major and branching out from there. A resourceful student will take careful stock of what skills they have and do the research to find out what positions are being offered and what they must do to apply, since this is not handled by one office, but individually by each school or department. A pain in the butt, I know, but totally worth it and there IS a listserv you can get onto which will help with this process.
GSRAs-For students more interested in performing research, the GSRA program is a research appointment that provides support for graduate-level research. This should not be confused with other hourly postings for research assistants. More details on this program can be found on the Academic Human Resources website at http://www.hr.umich.edu/acadhr/grads/gsra/what.html.
GSSAs-Graduate Student Staff Assistants support University programs and staff without teaching-normally through administrative work such as coordinating a student program. Information about postings for GSSA and GSI positions can both be found on teh Academic Human Resources website at http://www.hr.umich.edu/acadhr/grads/postings.html.
Posted by messelti at June 29, 2009 04:16 PM