How To Get That Graduate Assistantship Position

It's not easy to pay for college. Unless your parents are loaded or you have some serious scholarships it's even harder to pay for extended degrees like those in the medical field. Financial aid is an option for many. Getting a graduate assistantship position may be the answer to your financial aid problems.

Your department hopefully offered you an graduate assistantship position as part of your admission and acceptance to a graduate degree program. Graduate assistantships are usually in spans of ten-month contracts and require about 20 hours of work each week. Benefits of these types of positions typically include a full-tuition waiver, monthly stipend and often university sponsored health insurance. These opportunities are highly competitive.

If you weren't offered one with acceptance to the program then search the departments employment listings. When you find one your interested in, research the eligibility and registration requirements and follow them closely. Most eligibility requirements are that you must be admitted to a graduate school degree program or a post-baccalaureate professional degree program as well as registered for the required minimum number of credits each semester.

Once you have applied to the program and are identified as a likely candidate, you will be invited to interview for assistantships. You will be able to find a list of available assistantship positions and can then determine your areas of talent. That is when you send your resume. If the department feels that you are a candidate for their assistantship position, they will schedule an interview.

Most colleges require that you work at least 100 hours a semester for the tuition benefits and be registered for the minimum number of credits allowable. Keep in mind, however that tuition benefits usually only pay for the actual tuition and not other things like lab costs, installment fees, late charges, etc. Become familiar with all the regulations regarding the position and what it does and does not help you with, exactly.

Also explore both graduate teaching assistantship and graduate research assistantships. If you have any special skills that would obviously be of some use to the department's teaching program be sure to mention that fact when trying for a graduate teaching position.

Because these positions are so coveted they are sometimes hard to get. Don't give up if you haven't been offered one in the first round. Believe it or not some students turn down their offered graduate assistant positions and if you persevere longer than you think you should, you may end up with one of these. It's not the end of the world if they don't come through. Research other options for funding and ask an adviser for help. They are a great resource for you.

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