Hey guys!  Usually there would be an earlier post to read that starts by wishing everyone a happy weekend.  But there was a very important wedding on Saturday!  So, happy end-of-weekend; try to avoid a bad case of “The Mondays.”  Any who, tonight we’re going to talk a bit more about scholarships, honing in on scholarships for women.  There are a few example, so check it out.

1.  The SWE Scholarship Program.

Each year the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) awards over 100 scholarships totaling up to $500,000 to female students.  The SWE Scholarship Program is designed to encourage and aid women in engineering, engineering technology and computer science fields of study.  Individual awards amount from $1,000 to $10,000 and are available to high school seniors/will-be undergraduate freshmen all the way up to graduate level students.

Scholarship awards are announced and awarded at various times, with differences among freshmen and upper-class.  College students, sophomore to graduate level, are notified during the summertime, while freshman recipients and renewed scholarships are announced during early fall.  SWE scholarship funds are both company-sponsored and donated, and thus awards are disbursed differently, with sponsored scholarships being presented in the fall and donated funds awarded in both fall and spring.

2.  The Dr. Aura-Lee A. and James Hobbs Pittenger American History Scholarship.

Sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the American History Scholarship is designed to aid entering female freshmen in the pursuit of history and government studies.  Dedicated to the country’s history, the DAR is motivated to provide 2 renewable scholarships (pending annual transcript review) worth $2,000 each to students following the same path.  U.S. citizenship is required for the award; however citizens currently living abroad may apply via a Units Overseas Chapter of the DAR.

3.  Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship.

The Women in Business Scholarship, provided by Zonta International, is available to women pursuing both undergraduate and graduate degrees in various business specialties.  Made possible by the generous donation from member Jane M. Klausman in 1998, this award gives funds to both national district and international club members for college.  One $1,000 award is presented to a member of each U.S. district club (26 last year), and an additional 12 scholarships worth $5,000 each are disbursed to international recipients annually.

Applicants for the Women in Business Scholarship need to be studying and greatly excelling in this field and have to be nominated by their district club.

4.  New York Women in Communications Inc. Foundation Scholarship Program.

The New York Women in Communications Foundation (NYWICI) provides a great opportunity each year for female communication students to obtain scholarship awards.  There is most certainly a bias in mentioning this one (Communication major!).  The Foundation awards scholarships to 15-20 women in amounts of $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000.  Winners can be high school seniors, undergrads and grad students studying in the communications field (i.e. communications, advertising, PR, marketing, etc.) and must have a 3.2 GPA or higher.

These outstanding Comm. kids are selected based on multiple factors, including: U.S. citizenship and state of residence (only NY, NJ, CT and PA), academic excellence, financial need, school activities, honors and more.

There was a time when women were much farther behind and are still a sort of minority, but these scholarships for women and other opportunities work to move us ahead in education, work and the larger world.  If you’d like more tips and tricks as well as valuable financial aid solutions, talk to Go Financial Aid today.

Just like your undergraduate financial aid, you will need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. This form is the only form you need for federal aid and is most likely the only form you will need for your MBA program.

Financial aid for MBA programs come in the form of grants, loans, tax credits, work study, state aid, and scholarships.

• Grants- While you are no longer eligible for Pell Grants like when your where and undergraduate student, that does not mean free money no out there. The amount of grants or fellowships available varies by school. Once you are admitted to a program, contact your school’s financial aid office to see what is available because this money is given on an as-needed, first-come, first-serve basis.

• Loans- Fill out that trusty FAFSA. MBA students can borrow up to $18,500 a year in Stafford loans. $10,000 must be subsidized and up to $8,500 can be unsubsidized. Other options for loans are Perkins and private loans. Perkin’s loans are only available to students with the exceptional need for financial aid. These loans have a very low interest rate and carry no fees. Contact your school’s financial aid office if you think you qualify for a Perkins loan. Private loans are available for students in the event all other loan and grant money do not cover the cost your educational expenses. Once again, your school’s financial aid off can guide you in the right direction. These loans include MBA Excel and Citiassist.

• Tax Credits- The Lifetime Learning Tax Credit is available to graduate students. This tax credit can be claimed during any year of schooling, including graduate. This credit is determined by summing up your educational expenses. Yourself, your dependents, or your spouse can be claimed for this tax credit.

• State Aid- Unfortunately, the only state aid that is generally available for MBA     students is the tuition rate available for in-state residents. However, aid varies by state and your financial aid office will be able to guide you in the right direction.

• Work Study- Work study programs are available at almost every school. If you are full time MBA student, work study and your course load may be difficult. Work study programs are funded by the school and the federal government. Most work study programs are part time and on campus. They work around your class schedule and allow you to work in the business school itself.

• Scholarships- Run a quick search for “MBA Scholarships”, I bet you did not find much. Scholarships are extremely rare for MBA programs and full scholarships are almost unheard of. Why you ask? Most business schools are extremely confident that you will be easily able to repay your students loans with your post graduate MBA salaries. Colleges and Universities generally allocate more of their scholarship fund money to programs with lower paying salaries. However, do not let this discourage you from achieving your goals! Try to get in contact with professionals who possess an MBA, they will tell you this degree was an excellent financial investment.

The best thing about applying for financial aid as a graduate student is that you can claim yourself as an independent on financial aid applications. This is extremely important, as you do not have to include your parent’s financial information. In most cases, the income that you are earning as a young professional will qualify you for some form of financial aid. Loans are most common, but grants and scholarships may be an option as well.

How To Apply:

• Step 1: FAFSA Submission – The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed to be eligible for all forms of federal financial aid.
• Step 2: Non-federal Applications Submission – You often must submit a Financial Aid Supplement or other application to be eligible for non-federal financial aid. Private schools and many of the nation’s most competitive schools will require students to submit a CSS Profile.
• Step 3: Apply For Additional Aid – When the federal, state, and institutional financial aid is not enough to cover the total cost of attending college, you will need to apply for Alternative Student Loans.
• Step 4: Verify Financial Information – If you are selected to submit your financial information for verication, you must fax or mail these to your schools of interest.
• Step 5: Sign Master Promissory Notes (MPN) – Lastly, swear to your lenders that you will pay them back.

And there you have it…a rough overview of the process for getting financial aid for graduate school. If you need any help with the process, you may want to consider hiring a Financial Aid Consultant.