Home >> Admission and Finances >> Financial Aid: Assistantships

Many graduate students who are U.S. citizens rely on one or more forms of need-based financial aid from the U.S. government to help meet the cost of their studies. Need-based aid at Syracuse consists of loan programs and work-study assignments. Those students in professional master’s degree programs, in particular, may find the investment made in their education is returned in greater earning potential upon entering or returning to the job market. Doctoral and other terminal-degree students may consider this strategy as well.

Syracuse University encourages all graduate students who are U.S. citizens to apply for any kind of aid for which they may be eligible. Graduate students sometimes find they qualify for need-based aid for which they had not previously been eligible.

Descriptions and guidelines for all need-based financial aid programs are subject to change at any time as a result of new or amended federal or state legislation or changes in University policies. To apply for need-based aid, graduate applicants who are U.S. citizens must first file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). To obtain a FAFSA form directly from the U.S. Department of Education contact them by phone: 800-433-3243 or through the internet: www.fafsa.ed.gov. The FAFSA is available from most college financial aid offices, as well as most high school guidance offices. The FAFSA should be filed as soon as possible after January 1 for summer or fall applicants. (The Syracuse University code to enter on the FAFSA form is 002882.) Applicants should not wait for an admission decision before filing. After financial information has been received by the Office of Financial Aid, further instructions will be sent to the applicant’s permanent address. Special instructions for applying for summer aid will also be included. To access an online scholarship search service, contact fastWEB at www.studentservices.com/fastweb/.

This page current as of: July 7, 2005