By Sara Morgan on May 21, 2009 12:00 PM
Sara Morgan discusses her path to receiving a Lagrant Foundation scholarship.
We all know the biggest (and scariest) decision in pursuing a graduate degree can be deciding how to fund it...or just the thought of the loans that will need to be repaid in the end. One of the most frequent questions I get from students is, "Are there assistantships and financial aid available?" The funny thing is, most students don't ask about or think to seek aid outside of the college. Trust me, it's out there. I am speaking from experience.
My first year in the program, I wasn't resourceful. I didn't even think to look for scholarships or grants because I assumed they weren't worth my time, but boy did I miss out. Halfway through my first year, though, I finally realized there must be a way to offset some of the loan debt I was accumulating. So I did my research. I found a scholarship and the description sounded like they were talking about ME! I found this scholarship right under my nose, on Emerson's financial aid website. I decided to go through the process, not even knowing how much the scholarship was for. To my surprise I not only won the scholarship, but it was worth $10,000!
Why did I miss out? Because you are eligible to win this specific scholarship multiple years in a row... that could have been a nice $20,000 if I had applied last year!
There are a ton of foundations and organizations with money to give. So my advice to you is seek out these awards, don't give up if you don't receive merit aid. You never know what you'll find!
Tips:
- Do your research!
- Never stop looking
- Apply for awards that really speak to who you are and your goals
- Be conscious of deadlines
- Gather all of the materials you need well ahead of the dealines (i.e. don't ask recommenders at the last minute, don't wait until the last minute to order transcripts, etc.)
- Make sure you submit all elements requested (i.e. don't skip the "awards" section if you can't think of any, submit something)
Good luck on your money hunt!
P.S. If you are seeking alternate ways to fund your degree start here: http://www.emerson.edu/finaid/private-scholarships.cfm.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
All my questions are answered in this post.
Thanks for the encouragement. Getting money together is often difficult.
Hey Sara,
Thanks for sharing - this is great! May I republish this tip on my blog?