Deciding to undertake postgraduate study is a big decision. If you are going into it directly from an undergraduate program, you need to decide if potentially several more years as a student is really what you want; if you’re taking a career break to do it, you need to make sure the resulting qualification will give you the career boost you want to make it worthwhile.
The other major consideration when thinking about postgraduate study is how you will pay for it – funding a postgraduate qualification can be quite different than getting the money for your undergrad. This is especially true if you’re an international student looking to do your postgrad qualification in the USA as it can be extremely expensive, and you may not qualify for some funding streams.Â
Below, we’ll take a look at some potential funding options.
Self-Funding
If you have been saving money and have built up enough to self-fund your postgrad program without going into debt, great – you are good to go! You might also be able to ask your parents to help you fund your studies.
If you are planning to fund your degree by working part-time, you need to consider how possible that is. Student visa restrictions mean that students who are not American citizens can’t simply go out and get any old job they want; for at least the first year of your studies, you can only work on your college campus and can’t exceed 20 hours per week. You will only be allowed to work off-campus (at all) if you can prove you are having financial problems that are out of your control.
Scholarships
If you are unable to fund your postgrad yourself or through a family member, you should do some research into grants, postgraduate scholarships, and bursaries that you may qualify for. As in other countries around the world, the USA has several programs that students can apply for to have their degrees funded based on academic merit. Some are open to everyone, and some are offered based on more specific criteria such as subject area, gender, ethnic background, nationality or similar. Scholarships are usually offered by individual universities and colleges but grants and bursaries may be offered by other organizations or even the federal government.
It’s worth noting that the deadlines for these awards take place across the year, so make sure to start early to avoid missing any! Â
Loans
It is highly unlikely that a student who is not a US citizen will qualify for a federal student loan, so if you need to borrow the money for your education you will have to look into getting a loan from a bank or private lender. Doing this can be tricky, as you will lose out on many of the benefits (lower interest rates, repayment grace periods) of student loans.Â
For UK-based prospective students, several banks work with the Learning and Skills Council to offer Career Development Loans, which are more student-friendly and cheaper than taking out a standard loan. However, if this is not an option you will need to look at either taking out a standard loan in your home country or trying to find a lender in the US that works with non-citizens. You will not be able to take out a standard UK postgraduate loan to study abroad.
For advice and information about paying off student loans, visit https://www.elfi.com/student-loan-refinancing-calculator.
