Money
For College
If you’re in college or planning to be there soon, one of the
most difficult and pressing problems of embarking on a college career
is trying to figure out how to pay for it all. Finding money
for college isn’t always an easy task; though some students
may not have too much trouble most will run into money problems which
can plague them years after graduation.
One of the most popular and first places many students look to find
money for college is to Mom and Dad. In many families
it’s customary for parents to pay for their
children’s education or, if they can’t afford to
cover the child’s entire education, at least help for part of
it. Some families won’t provide for their
children’s education simply due to economics; the $35,000 per
year some private universities charge for tuition can put a huge stress
on a family’s finances, especially if they haven’t
setup a college fund or have a number of children who want to attend
college. Other families won’t help cover tuition
because they see going to college as a big step in their
child’s independence, and this is sometimes seen as a step
toward financial independence as well.
If you can convince your parents to cover all of your tuition, great,
but most aren’t so lucky. The next obvious place to
find money for scholarships is to go after free money in the form of
scholarships. Scholarships are broken into two types:
need-based and merit-based. Need-based scholarships are
awarded to students who can demonstrate that their family
isn’t able to cover their tuition and living
expenses. Note that even if your parents aren’t
planning on helping you pay for college their respective incomes are
factored into whether or not you’re expected to be able to
pay for your tuition and expenses. Merit-based scholarships
are based on your academic achievement, activities, work experience,
and volunteer activities over the course of high school. When
applying for merit-based scholarships don’t forget to include
all of your activities and explain why any of your grades are
particularly bad, especially if it was due to illness or another cause
out of your control.
Finally, if you can’t cover your costs through parental help
and scholarships, it’s time to apply for student
loans. Start by filling out the FAFSA (Federal Application
for Student Aid) and look at the different loans available.
Getting money for college this way isn’t great since
it’s not free; you’re going to have to pay it back
someday. However, it’s better than nothing, and you
may be able to put off paying them off for awhile.
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