Many Boston University graduate and doctoral students said though it is tedious to search for funding through fellowships, grants and loans, they are satisfied with their financial aid.
When a student enters the graduate and Ph.D. years of education, financial aid is often a quest of luck and academic strength. Each school at BU contains its own office for graduate financial aid, allowing them to make their own qualifications for student aid, BU financial aid officials said.
‘How much the university gives to each school is different: different budgets, different scholarships,’ Joe Stein, manager of graduate financial assistance for the School of Education, said.
Nicola Melton, assistant director of graduate financial aid for the School of Management, said SMG students primarily receive aid in the form of federal loans.
College of Fine Arts graduate students are automatically considered for scholarship aid, based on the strength of their admissions application, their audition, or portfolio, CFA Graduate Financial Aid Manager Dan Macleod said.
‘There is approximately $3.1 million dollars available for scholarships for [CFA] graduate students,’ Macleod said.
Janette Countryman, a Graduate College of Arts and Sciences financial aid manager, said student applications are never hindered by their financial needs, and qualified students are accepted to the school.
Federal aid for students working toward undergraduate degrees may take priority, but those in graduate programs are not neglected, according to Federal Student Aid spokesman Chris Greene.
‘Graduate students could be eligible for institutional aid, private scholarships, corporate grants or scholarships, or even federal work study and other federal loans,’ Greene said
Some BU graduate students said they have found grants, scholarships and loans to subsidize their expenses.
‘The financial aid I receive allows me to take classes and work full-time doing research in the department without having to rely on outside sources of funding,’ Juliana Gorian, a CAS first-year doctoral student, said.
However, some graduate students said they think aid is lacking.
School of Medicine graduate student Jessica Gleba said she did not receive any financial aid.
‘No one I know received financial aid, and [they] feel it is overlooked for graduate students,’ Gleba said.
Kelly Daughtry, a graduate medical sciences division fourth-year doctoral candidate, said she thinks it is more important to fund undergraduate students than graduate students.
‘The primary education you receive in undergrad is more important to more people, as a lower number of people actually attend graduate programs,’ Daughtry said.
David Schaich, a third-year physics graduate student, said he receives money through fellowships and grants, covering all tuition, as well as a living expense stipend.’
John Traub, a CFA second-year graduate student, said he has nothing to complain about in terms of financial assistance.
‘Most programs are savvy enough to realize that if someone is going to pay $150,000 for a graduate degree, they want to leave school as a doctor, or a lawyer, or some other high-paying job, not a theater practitioner,’ Traub said.’ ‘I think the amount I receive is more than adequate. In this economy, I am certainly not going to complain about any compensation.’
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