Art School Financial Aid
Need money for art school? Most art schools and colleges actively recruit art students to maintain or grow their enrollments. As such, most schools will work with you to help you find the money you need to attend their institution, using any combination of student loans, grants and/or scholarships. You may be surprised at what you can get just by asking.
Financial Aid Overview
Mark Kantrowitz is the publisher of FinAid.org and Fastweb.com. Get his expert take on scholarships, loans, tax benefits, and more.
Paying for Art School
Get an overview of what you need to know to pay for art school.
Student Loans
There are two main types of student loans -- federal and private. Find out which is best for you.
FAFSA
Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid should be your first step in applying for many of those federal or state loans, and is used by private and public colleges when putting together your financial aid package.
Scholarships
Don't miss out on scholarships -- free money to help you pay for art school.
Tax Benefits
While tax benefits don't provide money up front, they can give you a little money back on your taxes based on your education expenses, and shouldn't be overlooked.
Employment-Based Student Aid
Working and going back to school? Learn more about employment-based student aid programs like work-study and employer tuition assistance.
Scholarship Search - General
- Fastweb.com - The most comprehensive web site for local, national and college-specific scholarships. Get a personalized list of scholarships you're qualified for from their database of 1.3 million awards. Use this excellent resource to get free money for your education.
- $cholarship $cams - Sound advice from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on how to avoid being cheated while trying to fund your education
U.S. Educational Funding
- FinAid.org - The "SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid", FinAid has advice on public and private loans, grants, scholarships, federal financial aid, saving plans, calculators, and more.
- Design School Financial Aid - Various types of funding sources are available for your education in design. Find out more about your opportunities.
- ARTS (Arts Recognition & Talent Search) - Designed to identify, recognize, and encourage talented high school seniors. Awards include unrestricted cash grants of $100 - $3,000 each from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.
- CollegiateFunding.com - Free personalized financial aid counseling
- estudentloan.com - A free loan search and comparison service
- Financial Aid Resource Center - A site maintained by a former financial aid administrator
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid - Fill out and submit your FAFSA online!
- Funding Your Education - An overview from the U.S. Department of Education
- Getty Grant Program - Awards ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars
- GradLoans.com - Offers great resources on learning about financial aid, terms, fees, rates, applying, repayment and more
- GradSchools.com - Financial aid information specifically for graduate students
- John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation - Fellowships for advanced professionals in all fields (not open to students)
- National Gallery of Art fellowships - Fellowships ($3,000-$30,000) in the subject areas of architecture, art, art history, or museum studies
- National Sculpture Society - Provides details for several sculpture-related awards and scholarships
- Nellie Mae Student Loans - Student loan financing and services
- New York Metropolitan Museum of Art Fellowships - Offering art history fellowships ($18,000-$26,000) to students
- PLUSLoan.net - Part of the Student Loan Network, federal loans for parents
- Sallie Mae - Planning tools for financing an education
- Scholaraid.com - Loan information and a free scholarship search
- Scholastic art awards - Lists several awards brought to you by Scholastic, a global children's literature and media publisher
- SchoolGuides' Financial Aid Page - Resources helpful in figuring out how to pay for college
- Society of Illustrators Annual Student Art Scholarship Show - Awards range from $300-$2500. College art dept chair must request paperwork; individual student requests not accepted.
- Sources for Students - Free financial aid planning and scholarship search
- International Furnishings and Design Association Education Foundation - Student scholarships for advancement in fields relating to the interior furnishings industry.
- Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest - L. Ron Hubbard's Author Services, Inc. offers awards ranging from $500 to $3,000 for science fiction/fantasy art
International Educational Funding
| Guide to Art Scholarships |
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Financial Aid Sources by Specialty |
Art scholarships come from schools, businesses, professional groups and many other sources - but you have to be pretty determined just to track them down. The real trick, though, is tracking down the right one for you.
The Art and Design Scholarship Guide, by ArtSchools.com, offers a practical approach for tracking down and winning scholarships that will help you on the path to a career in art. It covers the best places to look for art scholarships, how to keep track of all the possibilities, how to apply for and win the best scholarship for you, many of the pitfalls to watch out for along the way, and many of the simple tricks that will get you noticed!
It also includes links to dozens of art scholarships, some of which may be right for you. Good luck! |
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If your career interests fall into one of the following categories, we have extra field-specific information and articles to help you find funding for your education.
Advertising: Locating Financial Aid for Your Advertising Education
Design:
Design School Financial Aid - Creative ways to fund your design education
Film:
Funding Your Film School Education
Graphic Design: Graphic Design Is All About the Details...So is finding good sources of financial aid for your education
Interior Design: Interior Design Financial Aid: Sorting Out the Options
Photography: Need Financial Aid for Photography School? Read On... |