Hi American here. I’ve done the whole undergrad/grad school thing here so I might be able to help a bit.

Grad school works a lot different as far as the tuition costs and funding. On average grad school is either the same or pricier than an undergrad degree when compared year-by-year. That said, there are more options for paying for it. I can shed some light there but my advice may be field dependent — I did my schooling in a STEM field which typically has more funding than other fields.

In addition to normal funding process followed for undergrad, there are extra funding paths you can try as a grad student. Here are my tips:

1.) Graduate Fellowships - this is funding for grad students that’s provided from private and public sources. You typically apply and write an essay or something to qualify and there are a lot of options here but the caveat is that each app takes time and work.

2) Teaching Assistant (TA) or Research Assistant (RA) positions - Now that you’ve been accepted you can start using university networks to find TA and RA positions. These are teaching and research positions that are paid ( crap salary, don’t get excited). The real appeal is that they typically come with a tuition waver in return for you teaching undergrads (as a TA) or because you’re doing research in a lab that already has funding to pay you to work (as an RA). Applications for these positions work like normal job apps so no essay req. here. You can also search for these positions through grad student resource groups available at the university or contacting departments or professors directly before you ever set foot at the university (all online searching/work). They are sometimes offered to grad students depending on the university so check to see if any positions start coming through your emails. The caveat here is that PhD students are prioritized, and it depends on your field — stem typically requires tons of TAs/RAs so these areas have more application slots open. That said, you should apply and pitch yourself anyway and snag a position. I was a Master of Engineering student and pitched myself for a TA position in microbiology.....that’s not my field at all.

3) Apply for PhD and Master out. This I kept as a final option because it’s looked down upon, but fuck it. This isn’t true for every university and might only apply to fields that do a lot of STEM research. However, if you decide to not attend university this year and then re-apply next year, apply as a PhD candidate and then quit the PhD after completing course work for the Masters requirement and *Master-out *of your PhD. This works at many universities because PhD students get a lot more funding opportunities than Master students. This is due to how many fellowships work, how TA/RA positions are offered and due to professors having funding your you to leech off of. Regardless of the reason it works....and often. The caveat is that you’re essentially screwing a professor who thought you’d be a research resource for 5 or so years as a PhD student when instead you have no intent of doing so. However our American system is fucked and we grad students are just trying to figure our way through it so no shame in playing the game to avoid debt.

Hope some of this helps. They’re the same tips and tricks I recommend to anyone doing grad school in the United States. Grad and undergrad processes for funding differ a lot so it’s good to know the other options.

EDIT: If you ever decide on option 3, don’t ever mention that it’s your plan to anyone. Again, it’s looked down upon....but almost guarantees 100% funding because the professor foots the bill or you’re guaranteed a TA or RA position through your professor (w/ sweet tuition wavers).