How did you afford graduate school?

[Halfasianmomma]

I'm still muling over the idea of going to graduate school (to do an M.Ed.), because the dean of a specific department from my alma mater told me I'd get in without a problem due to my teaching background and high GPA. That's all well and good, but how can I go to graduate school if I have to support myself and DD while I do it?

I already have 20K of student loans I'm repaying slowly but surely. I have terrible credit so I doubt anyone would give me a loan. What does that leave? Bursaries and awards?

Doing an M.Ed. here in Quebec is cheap compared to other places. It could cost around 5K. BUT, add to that the living expenses...I can't wrap my brain around how I could do this.

Suggestions?

[moonyoungi]

Will you be able to work part time while in the graduate program? That will leave little time to do anything else, but maybe it's worth it once you are through it.

[K1329]

Not sure how much financial aid is available in Canada, but, in the U.S. we have non-credit based loans available for graduate students up to 18,500.00 per year. If your school has one, can you check with the financial aid dept.?

[~pi]

Research fellowships, plus a little bit working as an instructor or teaching assistant.

I didn't make quite as much as I did as an engineer, but after the tax differences were incorporated, it actually wasn't a huge decrease in income.

If you have good undergrad marks, look at the national fellowships. I'm not 100% sure which agency you would look at for funding an M.Ed., but my guess is SSHRC.

Contact your local university's career centre and/or your proposed department; they can almost always help a lot with this question.

[Halfasianmomma]

Oh thanks for the input...

I guess I should have asked how does one fund *full-time* graduate work. I'd really like to find a way to speed through an M.Ed. in 2 years instead of dragging it out for 4 or 5 years on a part-time basis.

pi...I wasn't aware that research fellowships were common or available in the field of education. Does it matter that my undergraduate work was completed in 2001? I think I graduated with a 3.81 GPA.

[paintedfire]

I got my doctorate in economics on a Marshall Scholarship and then for law school I worked as a freelance writer to pay for what other scholarships and grants didn't cover.

Please bear in mind that I was 18-24 and childless, so my answer is probably of no use to you.