Financing Your Graduate Education

Financing Your Graduate Education The

College of Saint Rose

Table of Contents: Financing Your Graduate Education............................................2 Applying for Financial Aid ..........................................................3 Grants, Graduate Assistantships, Loans & Scholarships..........4-6 Payment Information ................................................................7 For Further Assistance ..............................................................8

The College of Saint Rose: Graduate Degrees with a Purpose 52 degrees that will put you in demand.

Propel your career. Enrich yourself. Earn a Saint Rose graduate degree.

The MBA program provided

Individuals who have earned Saint Rose graduate degrees are forces for positive change. They

me with deep knowledge in

lead schools, influence public policy, write novels, report the news, build IT systems, conduct

many core concepts of business

with potentials of achieving

groundbreaking research, run corporations, and start their own companies.

advanced certificate programs in four different areas. I had

By earning a graduate degree at The College of Saint Rose, students receive personal attention

a great experience with all the

from faculty with distinguished credentials and keen insights. Students enjoy small class sizes,

faculty members who are well

flexible evening, online and day classes, and rigorous fields of study.

educated, experienced and

always eager to help students

to achieve their goals. The College course schedule

Earning a graduate degree is a powerful career move. Graduate students gain the knowledge

facilitates full-time as well as

and cultivate the skills that employers desire, which opens them up to a wider variety of job

part-time students to complete

opportunities. The road to earning a graduate degree will require persistence and perseverance,

their programs at their own

but the results will be rewarding.

convenience. Saint Rose helped me get prepared for my

career by providing me the

Data collected through the Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) still confirms that students

opportunity to work as a

who obtain a graduate education earn more on average than those with only a bachelor’s degree

graduate assistant in

and are better protected from unemployment as is characterized by the graph below:

Institutional Research.

The assistantship helped

me financially to support my education, but most

Median weekly earnings in 2012 ($)

Unemployment rate in 2012 (%) 2.5 2.1 3.5 4.5 6.2 7.7

1,624

Doctoral degree Professional degree

1,735

Master’s degree Bachelor’s degree

All workers: 6.8%

advance my career.

Anku Patel (aka Anku Bhalodia) G’13, MBA

1,066

Associate’s degree

785

Some college, no degree

Less than a high school diploma

12.4

with valuable experience to

1,300

727

High school diploma

8.3

importantly it provided me

652 471

All workers: $815

1

The College of Saint Rose Graduate Assistantship

program enabled me to ease the financial costs of my

master’s degree while also

providing me with the

opportunity to work on

campus and gain valuable

knowledge from dedicated

members of the Saint Rose community. This was

particularly beneficial for my

program in College Student Services Administration

Selecting a field of study is not the only criteria to be considered when choosing a graduate program. A master’s degree is one of the most important investments an individual can make; it is our goal to make your advanced degree an affordable investment.

Financial aid comes from a variety of sources – federal loans and institutional aid in the form of scholarships, grants, and graduate assistantships.

Scholarships: Free money that does not need to be repaid. Usually based on prior merit.

Grants: Free money that does not need to be repaid. These types of funds can come from the

as my experiential learning

federal government, state government, or the College. May be awarded based on need or

was directly related to my

Loans: Money that is borrowed that must be repaid. Sources of loans can be from the federal

opportunity provided through

my graduate assistantship

career goals. Additionally,

the Financial Aid Office at Saint Rose was an

invaluable resource throughout my time at Saint Rose. They

were supportive and very

willing to answer questions I

had concerning the federal

loans I took out to fund the

balance of my graduate school

education.

Kailah Borchers, G’13, MSED, Associate Advancement Officer Career Services & Volunteer Programs Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

2

Financing Your Graduate Education

non-need.

government or a private lender (bank or credit union).

Graduate Assistantships: Money that can be earned through on-campus appointments in the Graduate Assistantship Program to be applied toward tuition.

Applying for Financial Aid All students who would like to be considered for financial aid must first be admitted. A financial aid award offer will not be determined until you have been admitted.

Graduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents wishing to receive financial aid must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The first step is to apply online for a PIN at www.pin.ed.gov. If you have already established a PIN in the past, disregard this step.

Next, file the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.gov. The College of Saint Rose school code is 002705.

Completed FAFSAs are transmitted to the College electronically by the federal government.

Beginning in May of the upcoming academic year (or November for a spring semester start), the Office of Financial Aid will start to distribute financial aid award information. Students will be notified of the availability of their aid through their Saint Rose e-mail account. If a Saint Rose e-mail account has not yet been established, a paper copy of the awards will be mailed.

Students will be instructed to proceed to the secure area to accept/decline the aid offer.

Upon completing my Bachelor's Degree at Saint Rose, I

immediately decided to stay

to pursue my Master's degree, because the professors here

are excellent and Saint Rose as a whole is like a small

community. However, I was nervous financially about

staying at a private institution

for grad school. I was aware of Graduate Assistant positions

from my undergraduate work,

and was very excited and

pleased when I was offered one.

Graduate Assistantships not only provide substantial

financial assistance, but they also allowed me to see the

school in a new light. I am now more aware of different offices

and what they do, and have

connected with more students and faculty members on a

different level. I am thankful

that because of the Graduate Assistantship Program, I was

Prior to joining Saint Rose, I worked as a Communications Associate at the United Nations office in Ukraine, where I was involved in the

implementation of the UN human rights, poverty reduction, climate

able to spend five great years

at The College of Saint Rose.

Amanda Daley, BS '12, MSED G' 14

change and healthy lifestyle promotional campaigns. I was passionate about my job and felt that to do it better I needed more profound

and specific knowledge in public relations and communications, as these areas are relatively new in my country. The College of Saint

Rose appealed to me. I came to the Capital Region as a Fulbright

scholar, but this would have never happened if not for Saint Rose

financial aid. I believe that the complex knowledge I gained at Saint

Rose helped me to return home in a new capacity with better under-

standing of the role that public relations plays in the community and

country development, as well as in business and other sectors.

Olena Sadovnik, international student, Communications major, MA G’12

3

Grants, Graduate Assistantships, Loans & Scholarships Graduate Assistantship Program The College offers 120 appointments each academic year for full-time graduate students to work with faculty and administrators in professional experiences that augment their studies. Assistantship duties range from research to student services to tutoring. Two-semester appointments begin in the fall semester and pay students $3,200 each fall and spring semester for working 150 hours per semester (approx.

10 hours per week). The appointment process is competitive; admitted graduate students apply for open positions beginning in March and a majority of positions will be appointed by June 15. Graduate Assistantship positions are renewable depending on available funding, student enrollment, as well as upon agreement of both the supervisor and student.

To learn more about assistantship opportunities, please visit www.strose.edu/gradassistance.

Scholarships Merit-based scholarships are available to full- and part-time graduate students enrolled in master’s degree programs. These awards offer ¼-tuition and ½-tuition scholarships as well as a number of smaller awards. To receive consideration for a scholarship award, applicants must submit a separate application and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application. Scholarship recipients must maintain a 3.3 grade point average to maintain their award which is detailed on the scholarship application. Awards include: •

Barbara Ann Carr

•

Peter M. & Anne M. Tully

•

Cultural Diversity

•

Sacred Heart / Walter L. Hahn

•

George & Caroline Winkler

•

Second Chance

•

Graduate

•

Sister Anne L. Clark

•

International

•

Technology Education

Scholarship Deadlines: Second Chance Scholarship: Fall – June 1, Spring – November 1 All Other Scholarships: Fall – April 15, Spring – October 15 To learn more about our scholarship opportunities, please visit www.strose.edu/gradassistance.

4

TEACH Grant The Federal TEACH Grant (Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education) provides a grant to students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents who intend to teach in a public or private school, serving low-income students in a high-need field at either the elementary or secondary level. In return for these academically competitive grants, students must teach for at least four academic years within eight calendar years of completing the program of study. Applicants must be enrolled in a master’s degree program to be eligible for this opportunity (Certificate of Advanced Study does not qualify). Students are required to file a FAFSA and complete a separate application to obtain a TEACH grant.

To learn more about the TEACH Grant, please visit www.strose.edu/finaid (look under “Types of Aid”).

Math and Science Teacher Scholarships New York State offers one-year Math and Science Teaching Incentive Scholarships to full-time graduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents pursuing careers in secondary math and science teaching (grades 7–12) in New York State. The scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis and require the completion of a supplement that must be returned to the NYS Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC). This program provides awards in exchange for five years’ of full-time employment as NYS secondary education math or science teachers.

To learn more, please visit www.hesc.ny.gov.

Federal Direct Student Loans The Unsubsidized Direct Loan is available to graduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Graduate students are eligible to borrow up to $20,500 per year. For the unsubsidized loan, the government does not subsidize the interest on the loan. Students must file a FAFSA and be enrolled on at least a half-time basis (6 credit hours) to receive an unsubsidized loan.

5

Grants, Graduate Assistantships, Loans & Scholarships (continued) Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loans PLUS loans are federal loans that graduate students can also utilize to help pay for their education expenses. This program allows students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents to borrow up to the standard graduate cost of attendance less other aid received. This is a non-need-based loan program provided by the Department of Education. A credit check is required to be considered for this program.

Students must file a FAFSA and be enrolled on at least a half-time basis (6 credit hours) to receive a PLUS loan.

Separate application and steps to apply for the Graduate PLUS loan are available at www.strose.edu/finaid (listed under “Forms”).

International Students International students studying at The College of Saint Rose on an F1 visa are eligible to apply for graduate assistantships, scholarships and on-campus employment (working no more than 20 hours per week). Application procedures for graduate assistantship and scholarship opportunities are the same as those listed above, although filing a FAFSA form is not required. Any on-campus employment opportunities are posted through the Saint Rose Career Center’s online job posting website, eCareerCenter. Please visit www.strose.edu/careercenter to access eCareerCenter.

Veteran Students The College of Saint Rose has been named to the Military Friendly School List. U.S. veterans and dependents may be eligible for specific types of benefits, depending on the veteran's dates of service, length of service, and type of discharge (if no longer active). For a full list of acceptable veterans benefits and contact information, please visit our Veteran’s Information page at www.strose.edu/registrar.

The Sister Anne Clark Scholarship was the key that unlocked the door of opportunity for me. As a mother of four, finishing my master’s degree seemed a necessity after my husband lost his job.

Receiving this scholarship allowed me to move forward. I am excited by my classes and hopeful

that I can return the favor someday to help another reach their goal. The College of Saint Rose

proved they offer more than an excellent education; they offer a helping hand.

Maria Noakes, Mental Health Counseling, G’14

6

Payment Information Paying your Bill Tuition payments are due ten days prior to the start of the semester. All tuition bills are sent to students through their Saint Rose e-mail account. To learn how to access your Saint Rose e-mail account, please visit http://blackboard.strose.edu.

Payment Plan The Bursar’s office offers a semester-long payment plan. For a small enrollment fee, this interest-free alternative allows students to budget their fall or spring semester tuition payments over the course of three or four months. Students can choose to pay all or a portion of their account balance through the payment plan. Enrollment in this program occurs on a single-semester basis and requires a valid credit card or U.S. bank account number through which funds will be withdrawn on a monthly basis. By the end of the semester, the account balance should be paid off.

Employer Deferment Program Students who receive employer reimbursement for education costs may be eligible for our Tuition Deferment Program. To qualify, students must submit to the Bursar by the second week of class a completed Employer Reimbursement Form with a verification letter from their employer which includes the specific amount of their tuition benefit. There is a small fee to participate in this program, and any tuition or fees which the employer will not cover must be paid by the semester due date (10 days prior to the start of classes). Students are responsible for paying the deferred portion of their account balance no more than three weeks after grades have posted, regardless of whether their employer has reimbursed them at that point.

To learn more about paying a bill or the aforementioned programs, please visit www.strose.edu/bursar.

7

For Further Assistance Graduate Admissions

Financial Aid Health Services Residence Life Bursar’s Office Registrar’s Office International Students

(518)454-5143 1-800-637-8556 grad@strose.edu (518)458-5464 finaid@strose.edu (518)454-5244 healthservices@strose.edu (518)454-5295 reslife@strose.edu (518)458-5464 bursar@strose.edu (518)458-5464 registrar@strose.edu (518)454-5143 international@strose.edu

Helpful Websites www.strose.edu/finaid

Financial Aid Office

www.strose.edu/grad

Graduate Admissions

www.strose.edu/admissions/veterans

Veteran Resources

www.strose.edu/gradassistance

Financing your Graduate Education

www.fafsa.gov

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

www.studentaid.ed.gov

Federal Student Aid Information

www.fastweb.com

FastWeb Scholarship Search

www.irs.gov/Credits-&-Deductions

Tax Benefits for Education

www.finaid.org

Student Guide to Financial Aid

www.studentloans.gov

Managing your Federal Direct Loan

Important Dates Fall

Spring

Summer

Application Deadlines (Preferred)*

April 15

October 15

March 15

Second Chance Scholarship Deadlines

June 1

November 1

––––

All Other Scholarships Deadlines

April 15

October 15

––––

Graduate Assistantship Program Application Process Opens

March 1

––––

––––

*CITE, College Student Services Administration, Communication Sciences & Disorders, Counseling and School Psychology program deadlines vary; please visit www.strose.edu/grad for program-specific deadlines.

8

The

College of Saint Rose

432 Western Avenue, Albany, NY 12203-1490 1.800.637.8556

www.strose.edu