There’s obviously a lack of understanding that there are lots of scholarships for grad schools. There are definitely great and important places to find grad school scholarships and grants. Though they are scarce and difficult to come by.
A good number of grad school students don’t know exactly where to look and where to find these scholarships for graduate degree students. When asked, they only say they searched on Google.
Yeah, searching on google can be of some help to enabling you find some grad school scholarships and grants. But sometimes, it can be cumbersome finding such opportunities on Google. And so quite a good number of people don’t really get to find.
Consequently, only 15 percent of graduate students’ costs are covered by grants, fellowships, scholarships or tuition waivers.
That’s way much lower, about 20% lower compared with college students, who cover 35 percent of education costs with scholarships and grants.
Are you looking for important places to find Grad school scholarships and grants? Places to find free money to foot your bills through grad school?
Let us help you! Yes, we can help you!
In this article, we have prepared a guide that succinctly describes some important places to find Graduate school scholarships and grants. It is a guide to finding and winning graduate level scholarships and grants.
We will be giving you the best insights on the different types of grad school scholarships available, how to look for funding sources you might be eligible for and then draw a bottom line with some tips on how to get your scholarship.
So relax. Grab a cup of coffee or ice tea and come with us.
Types of Grad School Scholarships and Grants
There are several types of grad school grants and scholarships you can apply for if you’re looking for funding for your grad school program. These range from institutional grad school fellowships offered by the school you are applying for, to hyper-competitive, national, fully-funded scholarships, to more specific grad school grants and scholarships with stricter eligibility criteria.
Not to worry, we’ll show you everything you need to know about each scholarship type below.
Inside-School Scholarships
You never knew this! The simplest way to finding and acquiring available scholarships for graduate students is usually through the actual graduate institutions that you’re applying for. Certain graduate school programs will have some kind of funding set aside to help attract students. Most schools offer special graduate school grants and scholarships for, particularly promising applicants.
If you are interested in receiving funding from your school, check if you need to submit additional application materials. Most schools will require a Free Application for Federal student aid (FAFSA), but they may not require anything else.
However, some institutional graduate school grants require applicants to submit additional essays, recommendations, or other materials.
It is important to note some schools will have funding sources they won’t even list online.
National/International Fully-funded Scholarships
There are so many national or international scholarships for graduate schools. You’ve probably heard of some of them, like the Rhodes scholarship, Fulbright scholarships and grants, and National Science Foundation graduate school fellowships.
There are also other graduate degree scholarships, like the Marshall scholarship, the Endeavor program (for study in Australia), the Mitchell scholarship (for study in Ireland), and the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans (for immigrants and children of immigrants).
These graduate school scholarships are ultra-competitive and limited to very few numbers of persons because their values are very high. They typically go to students who have excelled in their undergraduate careers.
If you’re interested in one of these graduate school scholarships, you’ll need to take note of them on time and start preparing for them. So you need to know that you will be applying for these scholarships well in advance.
Interest-specific Scholarships
Interest-specific scholarships are more targeted scholarships for graduate schools that offer supplementary funding to students who meet specific eligibility requirements. These graduate level scholarships are typically sponsored by nonprofits, corporations, membership organizations and individuals.
Most of these scholarships are smaller awards, but that doesn’t mean they don’t add up! A couple of $5,000-$10,000 scholarships for grad school can go a long way towards your tuition and fees for the year, especially at a public institution.
There are several different types of outside graduate school scholarships you might be eligible for:
Diversity scholarships
Diversity scholarships are grad school scholarships that target multiple facets. There are lots of funds specifically for women, minorities, the disabled, LGBTQ individuals, and so on. Some funds will give scholarships to any diverse applicant, while others are focused on a specific facet of diversity, like a particular ethnicity or gender identity.
Group membership scholarships
There are also lots of grad school scholarships for members of specific special groups. Honor societies, sororities and fraternities, professional associations and religious organizations are just a few of the groups that might offer these kinds of graduate school scholarships. Local community groups also help sponsor scholarships for people from their specific town or community.
If you are a member of any professional, academic, social, or religious group, check and see if they have any graduate school scholarship offerings you can apply for!
Professional Scholarships
Lots of scholarships aim to increase the number of professionals in a particular field. These scholarships are grad school scholarships packaged for particular areas of study. There’s a good chunk of grants for graduate school for particular professional degrees—e.g. MBAs, MPHs, MEds, MSWs, etc.
Random Scholarships
Aside from the aforementioned forms of graduate degree scholarships, there are also additional scholarships for grad school with either unusual application procedures or very specific eligibility criteria. One example of this is the Valeant Dermatology Aspire Higher scholarship program, which awards scholarships to people who have been treated for a dermatological condition with prescription medication.
Important Places to find Scholarships for Graduate schools and students
Acquiring a degree from graduate school can really bring a turning point to your career. It can really open doors for you and make you an authority and a voice in your chosen career. It can ultimately raise your salary and make you earn in six figures.
But you know, all of that will have to be achieved after you have made some sacrifices. There is definitely a price you must pay if you must earn big.
Of course, it is an indisputable fact that the cost of acquiring a grad school degree isn’t at all cheap and easy to come by. The price of acquiring quality education is continuous on the increase every passing year.
However, you don’t have to bury your head in the waters of debts. Many grad school scholarships and grants are available to help you offset the cost of school.
How to find grad school scholarships
Kindly find here some top resources where you can easily find graduate school grants and scholarships.
Scholarship Online Platforms
1#. GoGrad
Gograd is one of the largest online platforms for finding graduate school grants. It publishes on its site various quarterly and yearly scholarships for graduate students.
If you’re not sure how you’ll afford a master’s degree, GoGrad can help by providing tips and advice on how to pay for school, including grants, federal aid, and scholarships you can leverage on.
You can also find lots of niche-based scholarships on this platform. The platform clearly shows you how much each scholarship is worth, the sponsor organization, all eligibility conditions and the deadline to apply. The platform also helps you know the requirements for each of the applications.
You can check out all available opportunities here.
#2. Unigo
Unigo is an online business platform matching students, graduate students included, with colleges, scholarships, and grant opportunities, internships, student loans, majors, and careers.
According to USA Today, “millions of students use Unigo to assist in their school search.
Unigo is said to be the largest and most authoritative library of college reviews on the internet. It provides resources to help you decide which school is best for you and how to make the most of your education.
It has a searchable database of graduate school scholarship opportunities, but the company also awards its own grants — and some are quite large. You could receive up to $10,000 by applying for Unigo awards. To date, the company has distributed nearly $500,000 in scholarships.
It has really been of great help to lots of graduate students who used it find graduate scholarships.
Check here for a graduate scholarship.
3#. Scholly
Scholly is a mobile app that makes finding grad school scholarships easier. It is one of the important places to find grad school scholarships and grants.
According to the company, hundreds of thousands of students have used the app to identify over $70 million in scholarship opportunities. You can’t apply for scholarships on Scholly (yet), but the app can help you find the money you would have otherwise missed.
Simply create an account on Scholly, which is available for iOS and Android smartphones, and find scholarships that are a good fit for you. You can filter the results by grade level or major, making it easy to find graduate-level scholarships.
4#. Fastweb
Fastweb is another college advice and financial aid databases available for graduate students. Students can use the platform to access over 1.5 million scholarships including grad school scholarships.
According to the company, those scholarships total over $3.4 billion in value.
To find scholarships for graduate programs that match your career interests, create an account with Fastweb, follow all the prompts and fill out all necessary fields. Now you can stay abreast with the latest updates.
Fastweb has been programmed in such a way that it helps you find scholarships that are peculiar to you. It uses the details you provided to find scholarships that match your profile.
5#. Scholarship America
Scholarship America is a Minnesota-based American philanthropic organization that assists communities, corporations, foundations, and individuals with fundraising, managing and awarding scholarships to students.
They have distributed over $3.7 billion in scholarships to college and graduate school students. They have dozens of scholarship opportunities, including options specifically for grad school students.
While other organizations offer small graduate school scholarships, Scholarship America offers large awards. You could receive up to $25,000 to pay for a master’s degree.
6#. Mentors and Friends
A good way to get the inside scoop on grad school scholarships and grants is to ask people in the know.
Yeah, Professors you know in your area of study may be able to direct you to relevant scholarships and grants for graduate school. They often know what’s going in the funding arena for their discipline.
Another thing you can do is to ask graduate students you know who have won scholarships for grad school students before! Try to find out what they did and how they won. Grad students in your area of study might know of discipline-specific scholarships. They can be able to point you in the right direction.
You can just ask them if they are aware of any grad school scholarships you might be eligible for.
7#. Professional Associations
Students can apply for scholarships by finding and joining professional associations in their chosen field of study.
There is really no apps or databases you can find these associations but identify valuable scholarships via professional associations.
To encourage students and professionals to continue their education and improve their expertise in a given field, these organizations give out thousands each year.
Students can easily find these associations in or through their institutions.
How to Get Scholarships for Graduate School
#1. Pay attention to eligibility requirements
Be sure to closely read the eligibility requirements for any scholarships for graduate college students you are interested in. You don’t want to create a whole application just to realize that the scholarship is only for students who are already enrolled in a program!
The more specific the eligibility requirements for a scholarship, the less competition there’s likely to be. So always pay rapt attention to the scholarships that are particular to you.
#2. Apply to a variety of grad school scholarships and grants
If you can, it’s best to apply for a variety of graduate school scholarships. Instead of only applying to only one super-competitive, high-funding grant or fellowship program and nothing else, choose a portfolio of scholarships with a variety of eligibility and selection criteria, award amounts, and effort levels.
Entering for a variety of scholarships increases the chances that you’ll get some level of funding from the process. It’s less risky.
Don’t underestimate the value of applying to smaller, less competitive scholarships that you’re very qualified for. A number of $5000 awards you will make a lot of difference over $10000 you didn’t get.
So choose some with quick and easy applications for smaller amounts. This will cover all your bases and increase your chances of being a winner in the grad school scholarship game. (dermaflage.com)
#3. Consider Deadlines
Do consider deadlines. Especially consider how your scholarship deadlines match up with your grad school application deadlines. Be sure you have enough time to complete everything without scrambling or doing a half-baked job because you’re pressed for time.
Try to select applications for scholarships and grants for graduate school that you can complete either before grad school application season is in full swing or after most of your grad school applications are complete. This will help you.
#4. Reach out to people who’ve won before
It’s a great idea to talk to people who’ve previously won the scholarships you’re interested in. They can give you hacks on how they structured the various parts of their own application, what they emphasized on, and anything else you want to know!
If you personally know someone who won, it will be a nice idea if you have a meet-up with them so they show or tell you things you need to know. You can leverage common connections you might have.
#5. Target the scholarship selection criteria in your application
Usually, when scholarship boards vet and judge scholarship applications, they look out for some specific features listed in their criteria which you may have or may not have met. Generally, they really want to see what special features distinguish you from all other applicants.
So this is the hack: when you compile your application materials, keep those selection criteria in mind! Strictly pattern your application to meet what the committee is looking for.
Ensure that you’re demonstrating the specific qualities a particular scholarship is looking for in all parts of your application as this will definitely increase your chances of success.
#6. Get someone else to proof-read your application
Get someone else, if possible, several people you feel may have some good sense of judgment, to see your application copies before you submit them. This is certainly a good practice whenever you’re working on something important.
A pair of fresh eyes will see errors or points of confusion that you can’t.
#7. Submit your application on time
Ensure to have your application materials submitted in advance of the deadline. Don’t leave everything for the last minute! Always be on time in submitting your applications.
Conclusions
Finding grad school scholarships for graduate students is usually difficult but we have made it something you can find just on a platter of gold here in our- Important places to find grad school scholarships.
We also went ahead to expose to you some hacks with which you can apply and win these scholarships. Carefully follow this guide for the best results. This is to your success.
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