Five Secrets for Finding Scholarships and Grants for Graduate Students

1. Know your Field.  If you know the ins and outs of your particular field of study you will know the different names that your program falls under and so will be able to fine tune your grant and scholarship search.  For example, you will not always find grants or scholarships specifically designed for “Graduate Studies in French Literature”, but there may be graduate level grants and scholarships available under “literature studies” or “foreign literature studies” or even “foreign language studies” that could be applied to your particular program.
2. Broaden Your Horizons.  If you are keeping your searches on the local or state level you may be limiting your potential funding.  Expand your searches to include national organizations and foundations as well as locally based programs.
3. Narrow Your Approach.  Conversely, if you have only been looking at the national level programs and scholarships you may be missing large chunks of potential funding.  Try looking closer to home.  Chances are that if you are a native of the state or are attending a state-sponsored school there may be money available to you that you didn’t realize was there.
4. Pad Your Resume.  If you are having problems qualifying for scholarships or loans based on grades or on the school that you attended you may want to consider a fellowship or internship with an organization in your field.  While these don’t pay particularly well they look good on your resume and can make the difference in being awarded that hard-to-get funding.
5. Look at All Your Options.  There are a variety of programs that are looking for a commitment from students before they will give out funds.  If you don’t mind paying back the loans or grants given to you with time served in a particular area or community you may be able to get your entire graduate degree paid for.

Secrets for Successful Applications

Of course finding the grant or scholarship is only part of your job.  Once found it then has to be applied for, and that can be a harrowing process.  There are several things that you should keep in mind when applying for graduate level scholarships or grants:

Pay attention to the details!  Those awarding the funds ask questions for a reason; to determine if you are worth giving the money to; if it will be money well-invested.  Be certain to pay attention to ALL the details when submitting your applications.  Pat attention to spelling and punctuation and make sure that you include all the documentation that they require.

When applying for graduate level grants you may want to consider hiring a professional grant proposal writer.  While educational grants are not usually treated the same as business type grants, it still looks good to have a professional document being submitted and shows good initiative on your part.

With a little attention to detail and careful consideration of the options available you should be finding funding for your graduate education far sooner than you thought possible!

Grants for Graduate School

Grants as you know are money that you don’t have to repay.  They are a gift; free money for you to use to finance your education.  Grants come in two basic kinds; Government grants and private grants.

Government grants for graduate students come either as grants from your state, or grants from the Federal Government.  The two most popular programs are the Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) and the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG).

The Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant is a needs based grant second only in size to the Pell Grants available for undergraduate students.  Not all students who apply for a FSEOG are going to receive it, however, for funding is very limited and not only do students have to qualify, but they have to be first in line at participating colleges in order to receive the funds.

A State Student Incentive Grant, on the other hand, is awarded by the student’s state.  The student has to be a resident, and many times the states require that the student also be attending an in-state college or university.

If a graduate student is interested in applying for a grant from a private institution or foundation they will need to apply to that foundation or institution individually and convince them that they should be awarded the grant money.  Each state or regional area has organizations that provide grant monies for graduate students depending on their needs and the specifications of the individual organizations.

Loans for Graduate School

It is actually much easier to get a loan for graduate school than it is to get a grant for graduate school.  Loans DO have to be repaid, and while payment and finance charges are usually deferred until the student is out of school, the total amount that a student will owe after they complete their education can sometimes be quite astounding.

One loan that is backed by the Federal Government and is designed specifically for graduate students is called a secure Stafford Student Loan.  These loans are available to all students and being a federal loan will be deferred until the student has completed college.

The Graduate PLUS student loan is a loan program put together by the U.S. department of Education’s Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP).  This is considered to be a supplement to the Stafford and/or Perkins federal student loans and allow students to borrow the remainder of their educational expenses.  These are not need based loans, so you can’t be penalized for borrowing too much or too little, you simply have to pay it back eventually.

Then of course there are private loans.  Private loans are taken out through private banking institutions and are subject to that institution’s regulations and policies regarding repayment and finance charges.  These can be decidedly more expensive overall than government funded loans and should only be used if all other avenues of payment have been explored.

How Does Federal Grant Money Work For Women Business Owners?

Grant money available for women business owners comes two different ways.  First is the money that is available to individual women-owned businesses from the Federal Government; secondly is the money that has been given from the Federal Government to individual organizations which then pass the money on to the businesses owned by women.

Grants Available Directly from the U.S. Government

The absolute main source for grants for businesses owned by women would have to be www.grants.gov; here you will find lists of grants specifically designed for women business owners.  Most of these will be listed either under “business grants” or “minority grants” and may have specific requirements for eligibility and/or application.

Another source of grants from the Federal Government is the Small Business Administration (SBA).  While the SBA usually does not give out individual grants to business owners, it does make exceptions when it comes to businesses owned by women as they fall under the allocation of minority grants and have different guidelines and regulations. For more information on the Small Business Administration, see:  Office of Women’s Business Ownership

Then of course there are individual grants offered by organizations that have received federal funding specifically earmarked to help women business owners.  These include organizations such as:

The Women’s Funding Network which promotes the development and growth of women’s funds.  Members of this group invest over $65 million a year in women and girls worldwide.  For more information, see:  www.wfnet.org

American Association of University Women.  The American Association of University Women funds aspiring scholars around the globe as well as women teachers and activists in certain communities as well as women at critical stages of their careers or pursuing professions in underrepresented careers.  For more information see:  www.aauw.org

State Funded Grant Programs

Most every state in the US has programs specifically put in place to help women business owners not only get started in their selected business but in helping them to make the necessary business connections, to expand their business and other necessary steps in the business growth process.  This can include financial counseling, business ownership mentoring as well as directly awarded funds.  For more information on these and other state-run programs go to your local state website and type in “women business owners” to see what is available in your area.

Travel Grants for African Travel

Fulbright Awards. The Fulbright awards programs was put in place to offer US residents money for overseas study and these awards can be used for traveling to Africa to study.  Fulbright awards come in three main categories; The Fulbright Scholar Program, The Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program and the Fulbright Student Program.  For more information as to the specific eligibility requirements for these awards, please see:  http://www.cies.org/

The Council of American Overseas Research Centers is based in Washington DC.  This council offers grants to U.S. citizens for significant overseas research at the post-doctoral level.  Study areas include social sciences, natural sciences and the humanities.  It is required that the research conducted must be done at the regional level in more than one African country and at least one of the countries must host an American overseas research center that participates in the program. For more information, please see: CAORC.org

Missionary Work in Africa is usually funded by mini grants from missionary organizations, religious groups or churches.  If you are interested in being funded for mission work, you will need to check with your individual churches or local mission groups to see what sort of African grants are available for travel to Africa.

Individual Foundation and Organizational Grants.  Depending on what your reason for traveling to Africa is, you may be able to find funding through individual foundations or private organizations.  This will require a bit of research on your part to determine which foundations support or promote travel overseas and specifically, travel to African countries and, if so, what their requirements for individual eligibility are for.  You will probably have to write up a full grant proposal for these monies convincing the grant committee as to the importance of what you are planning to do in Africa and why you should be receiving the money from their organization or foundation.

Determining Eligibility to Apply for a Pell Grant

There are lots of websites that promise to tell you if you are eligible for a Pell Grant (for a price of course!) but don’t be taken in.  Determining your Pell Grant eligibility is not rocket science, and you do not have to pay for it.

Pell Grants were created to help students who couldn’t otherwise afford college a means to be able to meet their tuition requirements, so keep in mind that your current financial status is going to play a big part in determining if you are eligible for a Pell Grant.  But first there are some specific eligibility requirements that all applicants need to be able to show.

• First, you must be an undergraduate student working on your first undergraduate degree
• Second, you must not be incarcerated in a state or federal penitentiary
• Third, you must have a social security number
• Fourth, you must be a United States Citizen or an eligible non-citizen
• Fifth, you must provide proof of a high school degree or GED certificate
• Sixth,  you have to be working towards a qualified degree program at an eligible school
• Seventh, you must demonstrate acceptable academic progress
• Eighth, if you are a male you must be registered with the US Selective Service
• Ninth, you may NOT be eligible if you have been convicted of illegal drug use while you were receiving federal student aid.
• Tenth, you have to sign a statement certifying that you will use any money received ONLY for education purposes and that you are not currently in default for any student loans or own any refunds.

And this is just to be able to apply for a Pell Grant.  Once you have applied, it is then determined if you are financially eligible to receive the Pell Grant.

Determining Financial Eligibility for a Pell Grant

In order to determine if you are eligible for a Pell Grant you are going to need to apply for a Pell Grant through the FAFSA website:  http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

The application is going to require that you enter a good deal of personal information including your own income and that of your parents if you are still a dependant.  This information is then fed into a specific formula that is used to determine eligibility.  This formula is based on financial need, cost of attendance and expected family contribution.  The formula reads as follows:

Financial Need = Cost of Attendance – Expected Family Contribution

Cost of attendance is the easy part.  The school you plan on attending has set tuition costs that can be plugged into this particular spot.  Family contributions are rather arbitrary and are determined primarily on your parent’s ability to contribute to your education.  This amount is based off of the previous year’s tax return information.  The less your parents make (or the more dependent siblings you have) the less will be the expected family contribution and the larger will be your financial need and the larger your financial need the more money you are eligible to receive from the government towards your education.

When the FAFSA form calculates your eligibility it assigns numbers to each of these sections.  If your Expected Family Contribution falls below 5,273 for the year you can expect to be eligible for some Pell Grant money for that academic year.

Section 8 Housing

Section 8 housing is a federal program which is administered by individual states.  Section 8 provides low income families rental assistance in the form of rental vouchers.  These vouchers enable low income families to get housing in actual communities instead of public housing areas.  This ensures that families can find a niche for themselves that is best for them and their families in terms of schools, communities and safety.

Low-Income Energy Grants

Low-income energy grants are available for low-income families who are having problems meeting their energy bills.  Families eligible for these programs make less than 150% above the poverty level and funds are administered by specific state agencies.  States are supposed to use the money they receive from these grants specifically for reducing the family’s monthly energy costs.

Nutritional Assistance

The Food and Service (FNS) is another state program offered directly to low-income families.  This is a supplemental nutritional assistance program that assures that low income individuals receive proper nutrition.  Specifically the FNS provides free lunches to many students as well as summer food service programs and WIC (Women Infants Children) checks to individuals to help them receive properly nutritious food for pregnant women and small children who might otherwise go hungry.

If you feel that you may be eligible for any of these programs you can contact your state health and human services agency to see what is required for application and eligibility.  However, sometimes there is actual grant money that is available to low income families. One of the agencies that actually gives out money directly to low income individuals is the United States Department of Agriculture.

The USDA offers a series of grant for low income families or for groups that cater specifically to low-income families, these include:

First is the Self-Help Technical Assistance Grant.  These grants are provided to qualified nonprofit organizations and public groups that aid needy or low income individuals and families.  Specifically, these grants are provided to help the organizations provide low income individuals and their families for building homes in rual areas through self-help.

Individual Water and Waste Water Grants provide Government funds to households residing in an area recognized as a Colonia before October 1, 1989.  The money is supposed to help individuals in connecting to local water supplies.

Technical and Supervisory Assistance Grants are granted by the USDA to help low income rural families in receiving housing that will meet their family’s needs and the guidance necessary to help them keep the home.  These grants can be to individuals or to organizations that plan on giving this sort of help to these kinds of families.

For more information on these and other USDA grants for low income families, see:  http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/HSF_SFH.html

Applying for Nursing Scholarships

Nursing scholarships can make all the difference when a student is pursuing a career in nursing.  But there are few things to keep in mind when applying for a nursing scholarship.  Firstly, scholarships come in two basic varieties; merit based and need based and obligatory service.

Merit Based Scholarships

Merit based scholarships are usually awarded either by a college a university or a private foundation.  These sorts of scholarships normally require that the student write an essay and have an interview with the department head or scholarship committee to determine if they should be awarded the monies.  These sorts of scholarships are usually based on academic performance as well as community service and the future plans/study areas of the student.

Need Based Scholarship

Need based scholarships are targeted to individuals who are looking to study nursing who fall into specific categories such as low income or under-represented minority groups in a particular field.  Financial need must be demonstrated on these applications and can require the disclosure of personal financial information.

Obligatory Service Scholarships

Obligatory service scholarships are normally scholarships sponsored by the US Government.  These scholarships can be seen in ROTC military scholarships which are available in all four branches of the United States Military where students are required to serve two-eight years in the military (while receiving pay) in order to pay for their college degree having been paid for by the Government.

Applying for Nursing Grants

Regardless of what sort of nursing grant you will be applying for, you are going to need to fill out the FAFSA for most of these grantors require the FAFS information before awarding the monies. Applications for the FAFSA can be found at:  http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Once you have filled out the application, you can apply for any of the nursing grants available from federally funded programs.  These include:

• American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN).  Information on scholarships and grants available for nursing students is posted here on a regular basis. For more information see:  AACN Website
• Specialty Groups – If your education is in a specific area, you may find grants by narrowing your search from simply nursing education grants to grants that cater to specific specialty areas.
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  The HRSA a government agency that is dedicated to improving access to health care.  HRSA offers grants for nearly every field of medical care and for every level of education including Masters, Post-Masters, and Doctoral studies.  More information can be found at: HRSA Website
• State Specific Grants.  Each state in the US offers programs and grants designed to help increase the number of nurses in that particular state.  More information on state specific programs can be found on your local state government website.

Once the monies have been allocated to specific state programs and healthcare organizations, then they are made available to individuals either as specific funding (such as most state’s subsidized program for diabetic treatment which covers insulin, syringes and blood testing strips) or through discounted programs and services which are offered through specific health care institutions or through state programs that are set up to validate the individual’s financial need and provide them with the sort of help that will best benefit them.

If you are interested in obtaining money for personal health care concerns, then you will need to apply to your specific state or local health care agency to see what sorts of programs have been set up with the government funded health care grant money and whether you apply for any of the programs offered.

If instead you are looking to obtain funding for an organization, group or health care institution you have several opportunities available to you.  You can either go directly to www.grant.gov and apply for direct federal health care grants or you can apply through your particular state’s program (available on your state government website) or you can apply directly to a government agency such as HRSA.

HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration), a branch of the United States Department of Health and Human Services offers a wide variety of grants to states and organizations within those states that are looking to providing increased services for individuals in their communities.  For more information on the grant monies available from HRSA, see this:   HRSA .GOV Page

How Do Mini Grants Work?

Mini grants are small amounts of money (usually under $5,000 per person) that are awarded for a specific purpose from a group, organization or foundation.  This kind of money is normally earmarked for specific purposes such as home renovation or health recovery.

Available Health Recovery Mini Grants

Mini grants for health recovery are usually monies awarded for enabling persons to go through some sort of counseling or recovery program such as drug or alcohol rehabilitation; programs that can cost a good bit of money if one is trying to pay for them on their own.  To these ends many states award grant money to local municipalities or local health organizations with the specific purpose of passing those monies on to individuals who can use them for recovery programs.

If you are interested in benefiting from a mini grant for a health recovery for your group or organization to use to help those people you work with, then you can apply directly to your state or even to the federal government for grant money (www.grants.gov).  However, if you are looking for money to use as an individual, you would want to look closer to home.  Check with your local health organizations (clinics, hospitals, community service programs and the like) to see what sort of monies or subsidized programs you may be eligible for.

Some examples of the kinds of health recovery mini grants available in different areas include:

• Batavia, Ohio.   The local Cleremont County Mental Health and Recovery Board recently offered over $40,000 in mini grants to programs throughout the county that serve county citizens.  Any organized Cleremont County group was eligible to apply provided that their project or program was designed to positively impact mental health or prevent substance abuse for any age group.
• Northern Lakes Community Mental Health (NLCMH) in Michigan also recently offered mini grants designed to transform the public mental health system.  Monies were awarded to an author who was writing a book about the mental health recovery of certain local individuals, purchase of tools and supplies for members of certain organizations who want to create organic gardens, purchase of YMCA memberships for a number of individuals in various organizations and other organized programs.
• Washington State is another area that has taken federal grant money for mental health recovery and has dispersed it to a number of organizations within the state and city systems so that the monies can be distributed to individuals who can most benefit from it.

Yes indeed, the Federal Government is so concerned about the increase in personal debt that they set up over a billion dollars for debt consolidation relief.  Unfortunately, the only people who seem to be taking advantage of these available monies are large fortune 500 companies who use their corporate status as “individuals” to take advantage of the money.  So why aren’t more people taking advantage of these grants, and how can you go about getting help for your own debts?

Primarily, the answer to this is that most individuals don’t know how to go about looking for and applying for a debt from the organizations that have been given this federal debt consolidation money.

Steps to Getting Debt Consolidation Grants

1. Know that the money is available.  Just knowing that there is money out there is going to help you when it comes to looking for it.  After all, if you don’t even know it exists, why would you bother looking?
2. Narrow down your search.  In order to apply for money you are going to need to apply to foundations, organizations and government programs that would be a good fit for your own needs.  For example, if you are looking for money that will help you to consolidate your personal debts you can rule out grants that are earmarked for specific programs that do not apply to your situation.  Do a Google search of all the different organizations that have been awarded grants by the federal government regarding debt consolidation, then look into how many individuals or programs they have sponsored
3. Think outside of the box!  When you are looking for grant money for personal debt consolidation, don’t be scared off by references to ‘projects’ and ‘programs,’ simply rephrase your need to make it sound like a project or a program; one that will enable your family to live more comfortably and be able to give you the freedom to give your children a better life, to pay for their college tuition or other ‘projects.’
4. Be Professional!  It is important when you are writing up a grant proposal that you approach it very professionally.  Take a course in grant proposal writing to polish up your writing skills and make certain that you clearly state your case and explain why you should be given the money and how it will help yourself and the community.
5. Apply for more than one grant!  Don’t limit yourself to just one grant offered by one group or one organization.  Apply to each and every grant that could possibly be used towards your debt consolidation, that way even if a few of them turn out to be no-shows you’ll have something to show for your time and effort.