Sallie Mae to award $20,000 scholarships to graduate students

The application window is officially open for current and prospective graduate students to apply for Sallie Mae’s Bridging the Dream Scholarship for Graduate Students.

Sallie Mae will award four $20,000 scholarships to students who creatively describe their journey to graduate school, who or what influenced them to pursue an advanced degree, and what they hope to accomplish with it. The deadline is Feb. 15, 2019. Students can apply at SallieMae.com/BridgingTheDreamGrad.

According to “ How America Pays for Graduate School,” graduate school is becoming more of an expectation for students. Nearly two thirds (64 percent) of grad students believe an advanced degree is the new minimum standard level of education for any professional occupation, and nearly all (95 percent) say an advanced degree is necessary to enter, advance, accelerate, or remain competitive in their chosen career. Scholarships and grants, however, are far less available for graduate students than for undergrads, covering just 15 percent of grad school costs.

“We know that students are looking for more information, options, and, frankly, more access to scholarships, to help them prepare, and pay for, graduate school,” said Martha Holler, senior vice president of Sallie Mae. “To that end, we’ve built a robust online resource of graduate school-specific tips, tools, and resources, launched competitive, discipline-focused graduate school financing options, and renewed our Bridging the Dream Scholarship Program. Last year, we were blown away by the inspiring stories of our recipients, and we look forward to meeting this year’s candidates.”

Cody Sain, a 2018 Bridging the Dream Scholarship for Graduate Students recipient, is currently pursuing a medical degree at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

“I’ve always wanted to be a doctor,” said Sain. “However, thinking about paying for that education didn’t cross my mind until I got accepted to my first medical school. Then reality set in, and I had to figure out how to pay for it all, so I decided to start with scholarships. Finding this scholarship from Sallie Mae, and even better, learning I was a recipient, meant I could focus on my future with confidence. I hope it can serve as an example to students to search for scholarships often and apply to each one that you are eligible for!”

In addition to the Bridging the Dream Scholarship for Graduate Students, Sallie Mae also launched a free Graduate School Scholarship Search tool, which offers access to 950,000 graduate school scholarships worth more than $1 billion. Available scholarships and fellowships run the gamut of graduate school disciplines, including business, law, medical, healthcare and nursing, engineering, and education, and range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars.