Most students are aware of their tuition costs and related fees. However, graduate and professional students may not be aware of other, less-obvious costs of their educational programs.

Within a graduate or professional program of study, students likely will be responsible for additional expenses. The new USA Funds® Life Skills® module, “Embrace New Academic Challenges — Drafting Your Professional Plan,” advises graduate and professional students to estimate the complete costs of their education and offers suggestions of sources of financial aid to meet those costs.

Financial-aid administrators can help students understand their financial needs by pointing out these “unexpected” expenses. According to the new USA Funds Life Skills module, these costs include:

• Admission testing and application fees.
• Additional prerequisite coursework.
• Duplicating.
• Research.
• Professional-membership dues.
• Subscriptions.
• Tutoring and proofreading.
• Computer equipment and software.
• Job search.
• Health or professional-liability insurance.

Lifestyle-adjustment expenses, such as moving, commuting, child care and lost or deferred income should be considered. The program advises students to make some adjustments in their personal expenses, such as housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, medical and entertainment.

To cope with these additional expenses, graduate and professional students should be advised that they might qualify for forms of assistance not generally available to undergraduates. These sources of aid funds include assistantships, fellowships, and grant and scholarship programs specific to graduate and professional studies. In addition, loan limits are higher for graduate students.