Motivation Mickey

It’s Monday.  You’ve had a long weekend, and you haven’t had enough coffee yet.  Get motivated.  Or let me help you surf the web for ways to pay for grad school.

Broke Grad Student:
Paying back $22,000 in student loans

Avoid Going Broke When You Attend Grad School
There are plenty of ways that graduate level students can make their education much less expensive, however many fail to do so. Follow some of these tips so that you don’t wind up in six figures of student loan debt!

Graduate school: Is it worth it?
Don’t just look at how much debt you’ll be carrying after graduate school. Look at the starting salaries in your chosen field and determine how many years it will take to pay your debt down.

How to get a graduate school scholarship
Graduate school financial aids typically take in the form of grants, scholarships, and fellowships.

* These are some of the websites I ran across during a basic Google search – nothing that The Graduate School of the College of Charleston endorses.

Related Posts
“Hello Monday. You killed my weekend. Prepare to die.”
College of Charleston Board of Trustees Approves Tuition Increase
The Fulbright application deadline is approaching
New assistantship with opportunity to live on campus

Description:
The sponsor supports fellowships to provide educational experiences to students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. Awards provide a stipend of $44,000 for one year.

The Program matches graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy and management decisions affecting these resources, with hosts in the Legislative and Executive branches of the Federal government for a one year paid fellowship. The program priorities for this opportunity support NOAA’s Ecosystem mission support goal: Protec t, restore and manage use of coastal and ocean resources through ecosystem-based management.

Any student, regardless of citizenship, who, on February 19, 2010, is in a graduate or professional program in a marine or aquatic-related field at a United States-accredited institution of higher education in the United States or U.S. Territories may apply.

Eligible graduate students must submit applications to state Sea Grant college programs. Applications from prospective fellows to the State Sea Grant College Programs (SGCP) are due February 19, 2010. Selected applications from the sponsoring SGCP are to be received in the National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) through Grants.gov no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on April 02, 2010.

Contact:
College of Charleston
Susan E. Anderson, Assistant Director
Office of Research & Grants Administration
College of Charleston
Voice: 843-953-4973
Fax: 843-953-6577
National Sea Grant College Program
Miguel Lugo
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Tel: 301-734-1077 x-1075

More Information:

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-16810.htm
The SGCP program receives and administers the overall cooperative agreement of $46,000 per student on behalf of each Fellow selected from their program. Of this amount, the local Sea Grant program provides $35,000 to each Fellow for stipend and living expenses (per diem). $9,000 will be used to cover mandatory health insurance for the Fellow and moving expenses. Any remaining funds of the $9,000 shall be used for the fellow during the Fellowship year, first to satisfy academic degree-related activities, and second for Fellowship-related activities. Finally, up to $2,000 from the total $46,000 can be used to cover placement week costs. Indirect costs are not allowable from the Federal funds either for the Fellowships or for any costs associated with the Fellowships, including the $2,000 budgeted for placement week. These costs, though, can be denoted as matching funds.
During the Fellowship, the host may provide supplemental funds for work-related travel by the Fellow. Not less than 30 applicants will be selected, of which the selected applicants assigned to the Congress maybe limited to 10.

Please contact the Office of Research & Grants Administration if interested in this opportunity: Grants@cofc.edu

Graduate student participants will be selected largely from socio-economically disadvantaged and educationally at-risk groups that are currently underrepresented in the District’s teacher population.  African-American males are strongly encouraged to apply.  Tuition and fees are significantly supplemented for participants.

In order to qualify, applicants must:

• hold an undergraduate degree
• meet CCSD Teaching Assistant requirements
• apply for and meet MAT Early Childhood Education admission requirements
• apply for financial assistance through College of Charleston
• work as a teacher in an assigned Charleston County school for a minimum of three years upon successful completion of the degree

For more information, contact anyone listed below

• Dr. Brenda Nelson, CCSD: 843.937.6317
• Susan Holiday, CCSD: 843.937.6338
• Dr. Andrew Lewis, C of C: 843.953.8250
• Dr. Angela Cozart, C of C: 843.953.6353

Related posts:
Board of Trustees approve tuition increase
Considering grad school? Get an application fee waiver
The application process part one, two, three and four

In-state graduate students can expect to pay about $412 per semester hour, making a three-credit hour course approximately $1,236.  Out-of-state students will pay $1,001 per credit hour, totaling $3,003 per three-credit hour course.  Special student fees may increase the amount you will need to pay.  Visit the Treasurer’s website for more information.

Graduate School Dean Amy Thompson McCandless encourages all of our graduate students to “fill out your FAFSA, update all of your financial aid applications with the new tuition amount, and contact us to learn about more opportunities to help fund your education.”

We met yesterday with the Office of Research and Grants Administration to explore various grants, fellowships and scholarships available to graduating seniors and graduate students.  We now have access to a 28-page document full of nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships.  Not only that, but as a graduate student, you have access to the Associate Dean of the Honors College who works with you every step of the way to create a solid application.  With her help, our students have secured NSF Fellowships, Knauss Fellowships, and Fulbright Awards.  All graduate students are encouraged to contact Trisha Folds-Bennett to learn more about these opportunities and to get started.  Also, look for upcoming grant writing & fellowship/scholarship application workshops this Fall.

As I learn about other opportunities, I update our website accordingly so be sure to check there on a regular basis.  The Career Center is also a good resource for College of Charleston students, as is their online job search engine, CisternOnline.

If you are a full-time student, you should also consider an assistantship.  Assistantships are often related to your study or area of specialization, and are available in one of three forms: a graduate assistantship, research assistantship, and teaching assistantship.  College of Charleston offers abatements on a first-come, first-serve basis for out-of-state students, so we encourage you to apply early.  And if you are applying for an abatement in the Fall, you should make sure you’re covered for the entire academic year and secure your abatement through the Spring semester.  Otherwise, funding will most likely run out, and you will not be able to secure an abatement for the second half of the year.

Again, there are ways to help pay for your master’s degree.  If you’re not sure how, there are plenty of people to talk with: your program director, the Graduate School staff, the Career Center, the staff at ORGA, and Financial Aid.

Related posts:
Update from Australia
Moving to Charleston?
SC High Court Orders Governor Sanford to Take Stimulus Money

Pop Quiz:

Are you a U.S. Citizen?

Will you have a bachelor’s degree by August 1, 2009, but not have a doctorate degree as of October 19?

Have you considered studying, teaching English or conducting research abroad?

Did you answer all yes? Then you can be a Fulbright Scholar!  As Wikipedia states, “the Fulbright Program is one of the most prestigious awards programs worldwide, operating in 144 countries and with 51 commissions.”

Joe Pollock, a Master of Science in Marine Biology candidate, was awarded one of just 13 coveted Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarships in Australia last year.  You can read about his adventures on our blog.  College of Charleston also has several Fulbright Fellows among its faculty.

A full list of Fulbright grants are available online.  As you can see, there are multiple opportunities to which you can apply.

The deadlines for 2010/11 Fulbright Awards are:

1 August 2009 for Fulbright traditional lecturing and research grants or for Fulbright Distinguished Chair awards worldwide
1 November 2009 for the summer German Studies Seminar and for spring/summer seminars in Korea and Japan for academic and international education administrators
1 February 2010 for the U.S.-Germany International Education Administrators Program
Rolling deadline for the Fulbright Specialists Program

Visit http://us.fulbrightonline.org/howtoapply.html for further information.

Are you interested in becoming a teacher?  Did you know you can get your Master of Arts in Teaching degree for free?  Yep.  Free.  Want to learn more?

On Wednesday, March 11, College of Charleston representatives will be on hand to talk with you about opportunities to get initial teacher certification.  Program representatives will be on hand to walk you through the process of applying to and paying for either an undergraduate or a graduate degree in education.  Not only that, but the fine folks from Kaplan Test Prep will talk with you about ways to prepare for the GRE.

We do ask that you RSVP for this event so we know how much material to bring with us.  But feel free to just show up, too.  Check-in begins at 5:30, and the event kicks-off at 6:00.  You can find us at College of Charleston’s North Campus located at 5300 International Boulevard, right off I-526.

For more information, and to register, visit us at www.cofc.edu/teach.

See you there!

To learn more about this opportunity, contact Heather Dykes at 843.953.3920.  Applications can also be found on the Graduate School’s website.

The RHD is responsible for the day-to-day operations of one of ten residence halls or group of historic houses (including all special housing options such as Greek & Living Learning Communities). Additional duties include maintaining a positive living/learning environment through educational and social programming. The RHD supervises a staff of Resident Assistants (RAs), House Managers (HMs), Desk Assistants (DAs) and monitors maintenance/custodial staff concerns. The RHD also serves as an on-site facilitator for residents.

]]> http://blogs.cofc.edu/gradschool/2009/01/28/students-new-assistantship-with-opportunity-to-live-on-campus/feed/ 0 http://blogs.cofc.edu/gradschool/2008/12/03/an-internship-announcement-and-a-call-for-papers/ http://blogs.cofc.edu/gradschool/2008/12/03/an-internship-announcement-and-a-call-for-papers/#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:30:14 +0000 Niki DeWeese http://blogs.cofc.edu/gradschool/?p=109 The South Carolina Historical Society is looking for interns to begin working with them in January.  As an intern, you will work directly with two graduates of our History program: Mary Jo Fairchild and Jane Aldrich.  I have yet to meet Ms. Aldrich, but can attest that Mrs. Fairchild is a wonderful woman to work with.  We had the opportunity to work together for two years while she completed her degree, and The Graduate Studies Office still misses her enthusiasm!  For more information regarding the internship, visit our website.

Also, there has been a call for posters for the North Carolina Museum Council/South Carolina Federation of Museum’s Annual Meeting.  The deadline to submit a poster is January 16, 2009.  You can find more details here.

Beginning in Fall 2009, College of Charleston’s Residence Life Office will begin offering Residence Hall Director Positions as assistantships.  While these positions require living on campus and managing an undergraduate dorm, they include an on campus apartment.  These positions will come with abatements for out-of-state students provided that funds are available.  Residence Life will begin advertising these positions and application information in the Spring 2009 semester on the Graduate School Website and the Career Center’s CisternOnline job search.

This is the first time graduate students have an option to live on campus at College of Charleston.  We are excited for this development.  If you have any questions about this wonderful opportunity, give us a call (843.953.5614) or send us an email.

Gwen did a great job of categorizing each grant opportunity, which we have bookmarked for your convenience.  Happy hunting and good luck!!