Checklist and Advice
1) Start the process of financing your education right away! Do not wait until the last minute. Getting a head start on securing funding will help to ease the enrollment process.
2) Explore the financial aid webpages and links on our website. This will help you with answering questions you may have, as well as giving you an overview of your options and how to apply for various scholarships or loans.
3) Prepare your budget.Using exact University costs and estimates for items such as living expenses, school materials, airfare, etc., develop a realistic budget for the school year. Each program’s homepage includes a Cost of Attendance sheet that will help you through this process. Research the Greater Boston area to find out details about regional cost of living expenses.
4) Web, Web, Web (www!). No university can give you a comprehensive listing of available outside scholarships. Conducting an intensive web search by using related search words (graduate school aid, scholarship opportunities, international student loans, etc.) will allow you to explore, at your own pace, the possibilities that exist.
5) Think in detail. How do you identify yourself? Look for the smaller pockets of money that are available to you through advocacy organizations and/or foundations. Some examples are women’s organizations, GLBT organizations, and ethnic organizations.
6) Don’t restrict yourself to finding it all in one place. In many situations, there may be smaller scholarships for which you might be better qualified. These small scholarships can add up—and every little bit helps!
7) Keep us updated.Let us know how your search is going and how successful you have been. Schools like to help those who also help themselves, and in some cases can offer you advice for your search.
8) Use the Borrow Smart tool available on the Student Financial Services website. Be realistic about all your options. Not everyone finds a way to fully fund their graduate education through scholarships. Explore loan options as well as your scholarship opportunities.
9) Don’t overextend yourself. Even if loans are necessary for you to fund your education, always keep it in the back of your mind that you will have to eventually repay them. Some quick fix, higher interest loans may have repayment schedules that will realistically not be in your range. Borrow Smart allows you to see the different repayment schedules each loan offers.
10) Ask questions. While you should not expect your university to conduct your search or identify your funding for you, keep in touch with Admissions and Financial Aid representatives. You can contact Heller's Office of Financial Aid at HellerAid@Brandeis.edu.
