text: can persons with bachelors degrees get financial aid for graduate school? if i were to get my undergrad degree in this or that and wanted to go to grad school could i still get financial aid? you can get financial aid, though it won't include federal grants (which are almost exclusively reserved for first-time undergraduates).  to apply, begin by filing the fafsa (free application for federal student aid).  the fastest and most reliable way to do this is online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov (the only official site, belonging to the dept of education). your school will use your fafsa results to determine yor eligibility for federal student aid, (in your case, stafford loans, perkins loans, work-study, and plus loans).  now, some of these awards are only intended for lower-income students. the good news is that, once you have a bachelor's degree, you are automatically considered "independent" on the fafsa and therefore aren't required to provide parent information thereon. as a result, many graduate students (particularly recent college graduates who haven't entered the working world) do qualify as "high-need" and are eligible for whatever need-based aid their schools may offer.  even if you are low- or no-need, know that any applicant will, at the very least, be offered an unsubsidized stafford loan.  additionally, graduate students (with high, low or even no financial need) are eligible to borrow plus loans up to the cost of their education.  many schools also offere grant and scholarship aid to their graduate students as well, so if you are successful in college and apply to any such school, you might fare very well. institutional grants/awards/scholarships can be based on need, academics, or both. be sure to ask prospective graduate schools about these types of aid (how much they offer, how you qualify, etc.)  finally, when considering graduate school, if you find that your federal and institutional aid package does not cover your costs, you can apply for a private loan or a plus loan. for a list of popular private loan lenders, try http://www.finaid.com/loans/privatestudentloans.phtml  finally, there is plenty of private scholarship funding that *isn't* limited to undergraduates. there are a variety of places you can seach for private scholarship funding: libraries, your former high school, your future college, clubs/associations near you, and the internet:  http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/other.phtml http://www.fastweb.com http://www.srnexpress.com http://www.scholarships.com http://www.scholarships101.com http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp http://services.princetonreview.com/default.asp?run=%2fcollege%2ffinance%2fscholar%2fscholinterview%2easp&rcn=auth&rdn=7&ald=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2eprincetonreview%2ecom http://www.collegeanswer.com/paying/content/pay_free_money.jsp  pursue funding from as many legitimate sources as you can -- and don't cease your efforts once you become enrolled in college. don't be discouraged if you are turned down from a few (or more than a few). all scholarships, including the small ones, are competitive. you do need to be wary of scholarship scams, not the least of which is the claim that that there are "tons of unclaimed scholarships" just floating around out there. for information on this myth (and other scams), try reading these pages:  http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/unclaimedaid.phtml http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/protecting.phtml http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/ouchalrt.htm