Graduate Financial Aid

The Federal Unsubsidized loan that you may receive will occur interest that you as the student is responsible for. As a grad student you may be eligible for up to $10,250 in federal loans per semester. Since this is non-need based aid, the amount of this loan and other aid cannot exceed the cost of the semester.

In order to qualify for this federal program you must be in enrolled in at least 6 credits.

A PLUS loan allows you to borrow up to the full cost of your academic year, minus any other financial aid. Like federal student loans, PLUS loans offer a variety of flexible repayment plans.

In order to qualify for this federal program you must be in enrolled in at least 6 credits.

ESU has partnered with several alternative loan lenders.

Incoming Students:

• If you are starting your graduate term during summer of 2022 you must apply for the 22-23 FASFA in order to qualify for Summer Aid by June 30th.
• You must apply for the 23-24 FASFA for the 23-24 Fall and Spring terms.

Continuing Students:

If an student has any left-over unsubsidized loans from the fall and spring students can use it towards the summer if needed you can apply for a grad plus loan or an alternative loan.

Graduate Students might be eligible for Work Study depending on your FASFA and Financial need.

The Graduate Assistantship programs offered at ESU give graduate students opportunities to obtain valuable experience related to their degree program. These positions are merit programs and are not based on financial need.

There are four different types of graduate assistantships:

• Academic graduate assistantships
• Administrative graduate assistantships
• Learning Coordinator graduate assistantship
• Frederick Douglass Institute Scholar graduate assistantships

*If you are student receiving a graduate assistantship there is a possibly where your loan eligibility may be adjusted based on the total cost of your attendance and the amount of your assistantship.

For a listing of scholarships, please visit our Scholarships & Grants Page. Certain degree programs may offer different types of funding, but we suggest checking out our preferred external scholarship vendor.

Update your FAFSA with answers to the following questions :

Will you have your first bachelor’s degree before you begin the (academic year)?

• “YES”

Note: You must answer yes even if you didn’t earn your bachelor’s until later in the academic year

What will your college grade level be when you begin the academic year?

• “1^st yr Graduate”

What college degree or certificate will you be working on when you begin the academic year?

• “College graduate or professional degree”

At the beginning of the (academic year), will you be working on a master’s or doctorate program (such as MA, MS, MBA, MD, JD, PhD, EdD, etc)?

• “YES”
• Note: You must answer yes even if you didn’t start your advanced degree until later in the academic year

If you are changing from undergraduate to graduate at the start of the summer session, you must have your FAFSA updated by June 30^th. This is the last date that a student can update their FAFSA for the academic year that started the previous August. Please notify the Financial Aid Office that you have completed your FAFSA.