Connect with programs and friends at an Idealist Grad Fair (Photo Credit: Joanna/Staff)
Over the past two months, we’ve been visiting cities in the United States and Canada to introduce changemakers to graduate school programs for the public good. If you’re thinking about graduate school, our Graduate School Fairs are the perfect opportunity to:
We have seven cities left and invite you to join us to learn how graduate school can help you become a stronger leader. All fairs are free and open to the public.
Thursday, October 18 – Los Angeles
Friday, October 19 – San Francisco
Tuesday, October 23 – Seattle
Wednesday, October 24 – Portland
Monday, October 29 – Houston
Tuesday, October 30 – New Orleans
Thursday, November 1 – Miami
Have questions about the Grad Fairs? Visit our FAQ page for Graduate School Seekers or leave a comment below! And be sure to check out our tips for Graduate School Seekers to ensure you get the most out of our fairs.
This is the last post in our series about finding, applying, and paying for graduate school. Read all of the posts in the series. Be sure to visit our Graduate School Resource Center and attend a free Grad School Fair near you!
In this piece, Adam Donaldson, Member Services Director at the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers, reflects on how his AmeriCorps experience helped him graduate school. Adam graduated in 2006 with a Masters in Public Policy and Nonprofit Management from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to graduate school, Adam committed five years to volunteer service, including AmeriCorps with City Year Columbus ’99-’00, Peace Corps Uzbekistan ’01, AmeriCorps with City Year Rhode Island ’02, and Peace Corps Jamaica ’02-’04.
–
By Adam Donaldson
In 2004, I began a graduate degree program in Public Policy at Johns Hopkins University by attending the prototype university-cafeteria hamburger cook-out. While dodging bees and balancing my paper plate and slippery soda can, I was introduced to faculty and my new classmates. As I went through the jitters of meeting all the new people, I discovered that not one, not two, but several students were AmeriCorps alums – myself included.
Photo credit: St. Bernard Project, Creative Commons/Flickr
Looking back, my academic experience was enriched by the presence of service alumni. The AmeriCorps alums were uniquely prepared for graduate school because 1) they could apply research and theory readily to real-world situations and 2) they had more academic focus triggered by their service experience. During graduate school you learn as much from your peers as the research faculty at the front of the class. In addition to the ubiquitous group exercises, your peers will share independent research and challenge you with their thinking.
I have been lucky enough to complete two terms of service in both City Year, an AmeriCorps program, and Peace Corps. While attending graduate school, I was a Shriver Peaceworker Fellow, a service-learning program that integrates study, community service, and ethical reflection. While studying education and social policy, I was learning in real time how policies effected the high-poverty youth in the mentoring program I lead at my service placement. I was putting new evaluation skills to work on my own program.
Meanwhile, while studying welfare reform I could learn from an AmeriCorps VISTA alum about the challenges of families with no bank or credit history. While studying the difference between direct and block grants, I could learn from an AmeriCorps NCCC alum about the utilization of Homeland Security grants for disaster response. You can claim that my peers’ experiences are particular to the Public Policy degree, but I would invite MBAs, engineers, and poets to share how service alumni enriched their academic program.
More and more colleges and graduate schools are looking to match the Education Award in order to attract applicants with service history. Look for these opportunities and other service programs at universities. You will not regret it.
–
AmeriCorps Alums is the only national network convening the alumni of all AmeriCorps national service programs. Since 2005, AmeriCorps Alums has been an enterprise of Points of Light dedicated to building a community of experienced volunteer leaders committed to a lifetime of service. To hear more about how fellow AmeriCorps Alums’ service experiences affected their grad school decisions, please join AmeriCorps Alums today at noon ET for their webinar on Choosing a Grad School Concentration by registering here. Learn more about AmeriCorps Alum at www.AmeriCorpsAlums.org
It’s back-to-school time! To help you prepare, each Tuesday over the next few weeks, we’re featuring advice on finding, applying, and paying for graduate school. You can read all of our posts in this series here. Want more information? Be sure to visit our Graduate School Resource Center and attend a free Grad School Fair near you!
In this piece, Ines Sucre, Reference/Outreach Librarian at the Foundation Center provides resources and tips for finding and landing scholarships for graduate school.
–
by Ines Sucre, Reference/Outreach Librarian, Foundation Center
At the Foundation Center, we tell people who are researching and applying for scholarships to think about the process as a part-time job; one they will have throughout the two, four, six, or more years of graduate education. Starting the process early, setting up a well-organized system to process scholarship search results, prepare applications or essays, and handle follow-up with funders will help make this job easier and more fruitful.
Scholarship process over your head? Follow these tips to stay organized and find great opportunities (Photo credit: JuditK, Creative Commons/Flickr)
Searching for the Right Opportunity
According to the College Board (Trends in Student Aid 2011), total graduate student aid for the 2010-2011 school year was $49.6 billion. You can find scholarship opportunities by digging into the following resources:
Government Grants and Student Loans
U.S. citizens and residents are eligible for federal and state financial aid in the form of grants and subsidized loans. The Free Application for Student Aid–or FAFSA–is required (annually) your eligibility for the following: Federal Pell Grant, Teach Grant, Military Service aid, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and Federal student loans. Learn more about FAFSA and government grants at: Federal Student Aid
Institutional Financial Aid
In 2010, foundations gave over $835 million to institutions of higher education and other nonprofits for scholarship funds, fellowships, and other education grants.
Colleges and universities have the means to provide financial aid packets to entering students. Find out what might be available to you by visiting the financial aid web sites of the schools you are researching and planning to apply to. Request an appointment, by phone or in person, with the financial aid office.
In addition, different departments, faculty associations, or alumni groups within a college or university may offer scholarships of their own. It isn’t always easy to find out about these, as they may not be well publicized. Start by asking a professor in the department that offers your course of study whether there is a scholarship for students in your major and, of course, the financial aid office.
Foundation and Employer Scholarships
For finding foundation scholarships, The Foundation Center’s training, databases, podcasts, and online resources can help you to streamline the work:
Getting Started
With so many opportunities, it’s important to make yourself a competitive candidate and stay organized. When you’re ready to apply, keep the following tips in mind:
Applying
Following Up
Have questions about the process or have some resources or tips you want to share? Leave them in the comments!
It’s back-to-school time! To help you prepare, each Tuesday over the next few weeks, we’re featuring advice on finding, applying, and paying for graduate school. Read our first post on three good reasons (and one bad reason) to go to grad school and our second post on finding the perfect graduate degree program. Want more information? Be sure to visit our Graduate School Resource Center and attend a free Grad School Fair near you!
In this piece, student loan expert Heather Jarvis shares tips on how to manage your undergrad loans and make sense of your graduate school loans. You can also learn more by listening to our podcasts on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and Income Based Repayment Plan.
–
by Heather Jarvis
Get the help you need to understand your student loans (Photo credit: Phillip Taylor PT, Creative Commons/Flickr)
If you’re thinking of grad school, here’s what you need to know to get a grip on those student loans.
1. Start by pulling together your student loan information.
Many of us borrowed to finance undergraduate school. It makes sense to take an inventory of what you’ve got before starting graduate school. That will help you decide what you can afford. You’ll find all your federal student loans listed in the National Student Loan Data System and you can check for those pesky private student loans by pulling a free copy of your credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com.
2. Understand when your first payment is due.
Most student loans have a six-month grace period before you have to start making payments. In most cases, Class of 2012 grads will start paying around November or December. If you enroll in graduate school, you can postpone your payments while you are taking at least a half-time course load using an “in-school deferment”.
Student loans only ever have one grace period. If the six-month grace period on your undergrad loans expires before you go to grad school, payment will be expected on those loans right after you’re done with your grad program (although borrowers can typically secure a forbearance to postpone payment if necessary). Your new grad school loans will have their own grace period.
Some undergraduate loans include an interest subsidy so that the government pays the interest during in-school deferment (for example while you are in your graduate program). But many of us also have unsubsidized loans, and interest on those loans will keep adding up whether or not you’re in school.
Sadly, nobody can get subsidized loans for grad school anymore and interest starts to accrue straight away. Unless you make payments as you go, your debt will be increasing the whole time you are in school. Yikes. Borrow as little as you can, and consider whether you can afford to pay some of all of the interest that accrues while you are in school–you’ll save yourself some big bucks!
3. Decide whether consolidation makes sense for you.
Heads up Idealists! Consolidation allows you to group your loans together into the Federal Direct Loan program. That’s important because only Federal Direct loans are eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. But be careful deciding whether to consolidate Perkins loans, because they have their own cancellation provisions that would be lost upon consolidation.
Student loan borrowers can consolidate either before or after grad school, but not while you are enrolled. The decision depends on your particular situation. Get a sense about how consolidation might work in your circumstances using the free personalized assessment offered on GLAdvisor’s site.
4. Choose your own repayment plan.
If you’ll be out of school beyond your grace period, you’ll need to start making payments (although you can postpone repayment while in grad school).
Choosing a repayment plan can be confusing, but if you don’t choose a repayment plan within 45 days of being notified, your loan servicer will automatically put you into a “standard” repayment plan, and that might or might not be the best plan for you.
If you need reduced monthly payments (for example during a job search), consider the income driven repayment options. Income-Based Repayment is available now and is a good option for people with low income compared to student loan debt. Monthly payments are based on a percentage of income so that when you don’t earn a lot, your payments are low. You’ll need to determine which repayment options are available to you, and evaluate which of the available options provides the most benefits.
Use the Department of Education’s calculators to estimate how much you’ll pay under the different repayment plans.
5. Know where to go with questions.
Your loan “servicer” handles the billing and administration for your loan (find out your servicer on the National Student Loan Data System). You can get in touch with your school’s financial aid office. Some of my favorite sites include:
About the Author
Heather Jarvis
Former capital defense attorney and long-time public service advocate Heather Jarvis dedicates herself to helping students make informed decisions about their student loans.
Since 2005, Heather has helped more than an estimated 25,000 students understand and overcome college debt through in-person and online trainings and resources.
Want to learn more about Public Service Loan Forgiveness? Heather provides free tools and information for student loan borrowers and the people who love them at askheatherjarvis.com.
