Graduate students feel the pinch of little financial aid

Beginning this year, a number of Ivy League universities have implemented more comprehensive programs of graduate aid in an effort to attract the most qualified students. Graduate students' searches for aid have been stymied by continuing increases in tuition, stagnant levels of government assistance, and the decentralized nature of financial aid information.

At Tufts, however, there have been no broad-based plans to offer more aid, and graduate students here face the same funding difficulties as other schools across the country.

Undergraduate students are able to pool the resources of federal and state governments, colleges, and the private sector, but the choices available to graduate students are more limited. Many universities put most of their resources into undergraduate financial aid, and graduate students must more often confront the challenge of securing loans from private institutions, as the government limits their ability to take out federal loans.

Since tuition rates for graduate schools continue to rise across the country, federal grants such as the Pell Grant cover increasingly smaller proportions of students' fees. In addition, several states are cutting their financial aid funds _ not promising trends for financially strapped graduate students. Low-income students and their families are responsible for covering a growing percentage of tuition costs, through loans, work study programs, and their own savings.

In reaction to these trends, several schools, such as Dartmouth University, the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and Harvard University, have all announced increased spending on graduate student financial aid. These schools have created competitive packages that include faculty research grants, teaching assistantships, insurance coverage, and low-cost housing in order to attract the best students.

At Tufts, managing financial aid for graduate students is split between the Financial Services office, which administers federal and state need-based programs, and the individual graduate schools, which give out grants, fellowships, and scholarships.

At the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, scholarship decisions are based on both need and merit. Fletcher awards over $2 million annually in scholarship aid and does not distinguish between domestic and international students. Fletcher also offers the two-year, full-tuition Hargens scholarships to a small number of students.

Fletcher students may also take advantage of student loans, student employment, and work study positions as teaching and research assistants.

"Fletcher has been quite equitable with the funds that they have," said Lakshmi Sampathkumar, who came to Tufts from India to study international relations. "Most students think they deserve more financial aid than they are getting. But most people who really are struggling have received sufficient financial aid."

Students at the Tufts Medical School can receive a stipend and are eligible for a scholarship for tuition. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) helps sponsor these opportunities and promotes biomedical research at the medical school. Students pursuing a master's degree at the medical school may also be eligible for aid from the University, mostly from the tuition fund.

Financial aid officers are always trying to find the funds students need, but efforts are complicated by the degree of policy coordination required. "As a financial aid officer, you attempt to allocate as many funds as possible but, unfortunately, the final decisions come from the senior administration," said Tara Olsen, director of financial aid at the Medical School.

The biggest challenge for graduate students, Olsen said, is that their federal grant opportunity is "cut off." Students burden themselves with loans while taking the time to "try and better themselves while they could be out there working and making money," Olsen said.

Another potential problem confronting graduate students seeking financial aid is a lack of communication. Disconnection exists between the amount of information on financial assistance opportunities and its availability to potential students and their families.

The difficulty of obtaining enough aid to be full-time students causes many to pursue graduate studies part-time while also working. Priya Selvakumar, who graduated from Tufts last May, is working toward an advanced certificate in epidemiology and says that many of her classmates have their education subsidized by their employers.

"A lot people who are in my classes seem like they are working and doing this part time," she said. "It works for career advancement. As you get a better degree, you get promoted in your job.