What kind of funding is available?

I. Federal and State Financial Aid: grants, loans

• The first step is to file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Visit the FAFSA website for deadlines (varies by State; CA is usually March 1)
• FAFSA Federal Loan: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa [1]
• Private Loans: https://www.finaid.org/loans/privatestudentloans.phtml [2]

II. Institutional (University and Department) Scholarships, Fellowships, and Support

• University: check the university graduate division for general grants and fellowships available to all graduate students. You may be able to apply for these at the same time you apply for grad school. Others may only be available after you start grad school.
• Financial Aid Office: https://www.csustan.edu/financial-aid-scholarship/financial-aid-resources [3]
• Check Stan State MBA Website (Program Cost, Financial Aid section)

III. External Scholarships and Grants-

• Employer-sponsored educational benefits: check with your employer’s HR department
• Foundations and private funding: apply to as many scholarships, grants and fellowships as possible. Use these databases to search for relevant opportunities.
  
  • https://grad.ucla.edu/funding/ [4]
  • https://graddiv.ucsc.edu/financial-aid/fellowships.html [5]
  • https://grad.ucdavis.edu/financial-support/external-fellowships/z-listing [6]
  • http://www.finaid.org/scholarships [7]
  • http://scholarships.kachinatech.com/scholars.html [8]
  • http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/Fellowships [9]
  • https://www.phdproject.org/resources/education-funding/ [10]
  • https://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools/graduate-school-scholarships.aspx [11]
  • https://www.fastweb.com/college-search/articles/the-latest-and-greatest-for-grad-students [12]

Tips for getting funded

• Start early.
• Plan ahead.
• Get organized.
• Ask questions
• Meet the deadlines.
• Be persistent.