Graduate and Professional Issues Committee

WASFAA created the Graduate and Professional Issues Committee (GPIC) in order to reflect the diversity of the WASFAA membership and is composed of representation from our regional states. Particularly, the Committee attempts to have the broadest range of representation from industry partners and administrators at a Medical, Law, Divinity, Business, Other Graduate, and office that serves all students from undergraduate to PhDs.

Resources for Graduate and Professional Students
If you are assisting graduate and professional students, the internet provides a vast range of information to explore funding. The following are a few websites to highlight:

General Resources

• Federal Student Aid Gateway
  www.studentaid.ed.gov
• Student Aid on the Web Scholarship Wizard
  http://studentaid2.ed.gov/getmoney/scholarship/
• NSLDS
  www.nslds.ed.gov
• FinAid
  www.finaid.org
• FastWeb.com
  www.fastweb.com
• Peterson’s
  www.petersons.com/graduate
• Americorps
  www.americorps.gov
• American Association of University Women
  www.aauw.org
• Consumer Credit Counseling Services
  www.creditcounselingnetwork.org
• US Veterans Affairs Benefits
  www.va.gov

Medical/Dental/Health Professions Resources

• Association of American Medical Colleges
  www.aamc.org
• American Dental Association
  www.ada.org
• American Physical Therapy Association
  www.apta.org
• US Department of Health and Human Services
  www.hrsa.gov

Law School Resources

• American Bar Association
  www.abanet.org
• Law School Admissions Council
  www.lsac.org

Engineering School Resources

• National Society of Professional Engineers
  www.nspe.org
• Society of Women Engineers
  www.swe.org
• National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering
  www.nacme.org

MBA Resources

• MBA.com
  www.mba.com

Loan Repayment Assistance/Loan Forgiveness

• Equal Justice Works – Law
  www.equaljusticeworks.org
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) – Medical
  www.lrp.nih.gov
• U.S. Office of Personnel Management
  www.opm.gov/oca/pay/studentloan/ – Federal employees

Selected Research Regarding Graduate and Professional Students
If you are interested in graduate and professional student research and trends, the following are a few websites to highlight:

• Student Financing of Graduate and First-Professional Education: 2003-04. Profiles of Students in Selected Degree Programs and Part-Time Students
  National Center for Education Statistics
  http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/2006185.pdf
• Graduate Students and Credit Cards in 2006: An Analysis of Usage Rates and Trends
  Nellie Mae
  http://www.nelliemae.com/pdf/ccstudy_2006.pdf
• Graduate Enrollment and Degrees Report
  Council of Graduate Students
  http://www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/R_ED2006.pdf
• SOGAPPP 2003: Survey of Graduate Aid policies, Practices & Procedures
  NASFAA
  http://www.nasfaa.org/AnnualPubs/2003Sogapppfinalreport.PDF