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Graduate and Undergraduate Financial Aid: Similarities and Differences

The costs of education today are ten times what they were less than 40 years ago. But those differences become even more stark when considering undergraduate versus graduate programs. Fortunately, there are resources available to both types of student to help them pay for college.

Undergraduates typically rely on a complex mix of scholarships, grants and loans. Those loans are sometimes taken out by undergraduates alone, others by their parents alone, sometimes a mixture of the two as when the parent becomes a co-borrower or co-signer.

The most common programs for students remain the unsubsidized and subsidized Stafford Loans. Subsidized loans are the most desirable, since the government pays the interest while the student is in school. But they are need-based. Unsubsidized loans are not need-based, making them available to a much wider group of students.

A detailed breakdown of what can be borrowed by who is available here or here. 

Graduates, on the other hand, often have fewer options for scholarships and grants just at the time when tuition costs jump. But teaching and/or research assistantships usually more than make up the shortfall. They, in effect, have very low-paying (and very long hour) jobs while attending courses and doing research.

Recently a new option has become available to graduate students: PLUS loans. Though the acronym stands for Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students, they are now an option for many grad students. In the undergraduate case, parents are the borrower and are responsible for repayment. In the case of grad students, they become the responsible party.

PLUS loans have several advantages.

First, they're available. Since they're based on credit quality, not need-based, most borrowers can qualify. Relatively few grad students have had time to get into the credit binds that working adults often fall into. As a result, though their history may be sparse, they usually have few bad marks on their credit report. That makes the decision easier for college financial aid officials, who determine eligibility.

On the other hand, current interest rates for PLUS loans are not low by historical standards. Rates are either 7.9% or 8.5%, depending on the specific type. Even at the lower rate, on $10,000 borrowed the first year interest amount is over $750 and payments start within 60 days of when the funds are disbursed with no grace period.

Caps on undergraduate and graduate loans, for all non-private loans, differ as well. Even the maximum amount over the lifetime of the program varies between undergraduates and graduates.

Both types of students will need to research all available options. But keep in mind that, though it commonly requires a combination of funds from several sources, money to pay for school is now more available than ever. The total funds borrowed last year by all students was over $50 billion. That money is going to someone. It can easily be you.