Employment Opportunities and Loan Options

Hi there– Ginger here with part two of my financial aid tips and tricks series! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my post about merit scholarships and fellowship opportunities to help fund your graduate education. This week it’s all about finding a job (on or off campus) and taking out loans! 

Employment Opportunities

Working on or off campus can be a great way to get involved as well as to help fund your education and experience here at BU GRS. Many of our students are employed through federal work-study or institutional employment, some students even work at businesses off campus! 

Federal Work-Study

Federal work-study promotes access to employment for students who demonstrate financial need. Recipients of federal work-study are selected by the Financial Aid Office and meet federal need and other criteria; they must also be US citizens or permanent residents. 

Campus Jobs

You can also find an institutional job on campus. Many offices on campus hire graduate students, as well as businesses close to campus that are always looking for student employees. Another option is to reach out to your program department and inquire about becoming a Resident Assistant (RA) for an undergraduate dorm. 

Working for Your Department 

Some departments give out teaching assistantships (TAs) or research assistantships (RAs) to students in their programs. Be on the lookout for whether or not your program of interest offers TAs or RAs for master’s students! Taking one of those positions looks great on a resume and can help you make some extra money to pay for school!

Loans

Many students need to take out loans to fund their graduate studies. While the thought of taking out student loans is daunting, we believe that your return on investment will be worth it! 

Federal Loans 

There are two types of federal loans students may receive. The first is a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, which is a low-interest loan available to students for post-secondary educational expenses. The second type of loan is credit-based loans, which can either be federal or private. To learn more about these types of loans please visit our website. Federal loans are only available for US citizens and permanent residents.

Private Loans 

Private credit-based loans are a great option for international students. MPower and Prodigy finance offer credit-based loans to international students looking for financial aid. 

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! You’ve reached the end of my series on financial aid resources, where I have compiled nearly every resource I could find about funding your education at the GRS. Hopefully, something in this series will help you in the decision-making process, and this can be a good resource to return to as you start to plan for the year ahead. 

As always, if you have any questions about financial aid or would like to speak with a financial aid officer, please feel free to schedule a one-on-one appointment with Keely or contact our admissions office at grsaid@bu.edu! 

I hope I get to see you on campus next year! Maybe even stop by the office and say hello– I would love to hear that my blog post was the reason someone made it to BU! 

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About the Author:

Virginia (Ginger) Monroe

Marketing & Communication Assistant, GRS

Master’s Candidate, Theological Studies