Money For School: Breaking Down Federal Grants
Federal Grants Programs
Finding money for college is more important than ever. With tuition and other costs on the rise, paying for a quality education can be a major challenge for prospective students. However, if you’re willing to do some research, you can find grants and other programs that will help you pay for college.
The Pell Grant
The most common student grant is the Pell Grant, established in 1973 for low-income students working toward their first bachelor’s degrees. Like many grants, eligibility for the Pell Grant is determined by financial need, as well as attendance status (attending college full- or part-time) and the costs to attend the school you‘re attending. The maximum award per academic year is $5550.
The FSEOG Grant
Another popular federal grant is the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. Like the Pell Grant, it is a need-based grant. Eligibility is determined by the college or university based on info from the Student Aid Report. To find out if you qualify, contact your school’s financial aid department for more information. For additional information about these and other federal grant opportunities, visit the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid page or ask iGrad's Personal Financial Aid Coach.
Other Opportunities
Work Study
If you don’t qualify for grant programs, there are other programs that allow you to perform service for tuition. Work study programs are still popular, and depending on your school’s regulations, work study can assist students in financing college costs.
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is another federal program for students interested in community service. Established by President Bill Clinton in 1993, the program awards eligible students an education allowance and, in some cases, a living allowance. You can find more information about AmeriCorps on their website.
Talk to your college’s financial aid department for more information, and be sure to research local scholarship opportunities. Finding financial support takes persistence and time, but the payoff is earning a quality education, while limiting student debt—which is a good way to prepare for your future.
Chi Norris is a writer and visual artist who likes painting, poetry, and reading memoirs. She graduated with a B.A. in English and writes on behalf of American Intercontinental University's online MBA program. She also blogs for artroommelody.com.
Paying for College: Scholarships, Grants and Loans
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If you have completed your FAFSA but didn't receive enough money to cover your cost of attendance, there are several other resources that you should explore. For example, your school's financial aid office is always a good resource to use - many times they know of specific programs that may be available for your situation. In addition, there are many online resources that you can use to find additional financial aid. Below is a list of several resources that can help you find college scholarships and grants, as well as alternative student loans.
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How to Find Money for School BEFORE Taking Out Student Loans
Graduate College and Minimize Your Debt!
Paying for college gets harder every year: tuition is rising for both state and private institutions, and the costs associated with attending college keep climbing as well. Some students are struggling to find a way to graduate without taking thousands of dollars of student debt with them into their new lives.
With all that being said, don’t freak out! There are other types of aid available, if you do your homework.
Make sure to explore these options for college funding before deciding on how you’ll pay for your education:
Federal and State Aid
The U.S. Department of Education offers both grants and loans; grants don’t have to be paid back, while loans do. Before you take student loans, you can explore various offers for aid, depending on your military status, your future profession, or your commitment to community service.
Check Out iGrad's Guide to Tuition Reimbursement and Loan Forgiveness Here!
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For veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs offers various versions of the GI Bill, along with other grants and aid. AmeriCorps offers educational awards in exchange for one year of community service, which helps encourage students to explore civic engagement both in and outside of class. You can also visit your state’s higher education commission website for more information on state grants and financial services.
Scholarships and Fellowships
This will take some footwork, but it’s worth it. Scholarship programs can be offered for things like academic or athletic performance in high school, racial or ethnic heritage, faith-based communities, and much more.
Both public and private organizations can offer scholarships, so invest time in searching and applying for as many scholarship programs for which you qualify. iGrad's got a great guide to scholarships!
Colleges and universities everywhere have their own scholarship programs, so check the school you attend for opportunities. The competition for such programs is always fierce, but being granted a scholarship gives you both money for college and the prestige of receiving the honor of a scholarship. Graduate students can also apply for fellowships that require students to teach or assist in exchange for tuition.
Student Loans
Millions of students graduate college with student loan debt, but knowing how and why to borrow can save you thousands of dollars years after you’ve completed your studies. The U.S. Department of Education offers federally funded loans. You can take private loans from your bank and your parents can take Plus loans as well to help pay for your education.
Explore every option for loans, making sure that you can afford to pay back the loans you receive. You’ll have to pay them back eventually, and while you won’t be able to predict the job you get once you’ve graduated, you can plan to make your loan repayments as manageable as possible. Check out iGrad's guide to determining the right size of student loans to borrow.
Don’t forget to renew your efforts every school year, as new opportunities present themselves all the time. It requires some fortitude, but you can earn a college degree without saddling yourself with huge student debt! Take the time to weigh your options, and be diligent in your search. Good luck!
Chi Norris is a writer and visual artist who likes painting, poetry, and reading memoirs. She graduated with a B.A. in English and writes on behalf of American Intercontinental University's online MBA program. She also blogs for artroommelody.com.
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$1,000 GPA Isn’t Everything Scholarship
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WATCH: Scholarship Questions Answered
Is it Worth it To Apply for Scholarships?
How Can I Prioritize my Scholarship Search?
Top Unusual Scholarships
It’s that time of year where parents and students alike are searching for the millions of dollars of potential scholarships, grants, and financial aid that can be found to hedge against the cost of the gravity defying college education tuition and fees. The Free Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) deadline is June 30, but there are many other ways to uncover additional monies to help supplement the cost of college. Here are some unusual scholarships that you may want to learn more about over the next few months.
$5,000 "Thumb Wars" Scholarship
Did you know when you text while driving at 55 mph, your eyes go off the road for the length of an entire football field. Tell your friends about the dangers of texting and driving to enter to win a $5,000 Safe Driving Awareness scholarship sponsored by Toyota, Sprint and DoSomething.org. After entering, you will receive two free pairs of anti-texting and driving "thumb socks" in the mail—a physical reminder to stop texting and driving. Once you get your socks, take a pic of you and your friends wearing them. Send them to DoSomething.org to double your chance of winning the $5,000 scholarship. Entries close August 2. (http://www.dosomething.org/thumbwars#scholarship)
I’ve Got The Best Apple Pie
The Culinary Institute of America is offers a $25,000 scholarship to the winner of its All-American Apple Pie Recipe Contest. Applications must include an original apple pie recipe, a photograph of the finished pie, a 500-word essay about apples, a high-school and/or college transcript, and an application for The CIA’s bachelor’s degree program with supporting documentation. That may be more grueling than an episode of Chopped! (www.ciachef.edu)
I Want A Duct Tape Dress At The Prom
Duck® brand duct tape offers a $5,000 scholarship for the lucky couple who can use their brains to make the most unique prom outfit using Duck® brand duct tape. You should be prepared to be ‘stuck’ with your date that night for better or worse, but it’s worth the effort if you beat the other 4,000 plus contestants to win some scholarship money! (www.duckbrand.com)
Star Trek Convention
I probably would make fun of most people who make their way to a Star Trek convention. Tell me you really want a picture with Shatner, but it will take more than that to convince me you don’t need the Vulcan death grip. If you really want to study language, The Klingon Language Institute awards a $500 scholarship every year. (www.kli.org)
Make Better Cotton Candy
Well, you can really make any type of candy. The American Association of Candy Technologists (who knew?) award up to a $5,000 scholarship for a sophomore, junior, or senior who has demonstrated an interest in confectionery technology. I think we need some more original candy makers, so this is a great one! (www.acctcandy.org)
The Hangover
Some of us have used Tylenol to care for ourselves after we have a nasty hangover. Now, there is no scholarship for drinking too much and not being able to do anything the next morning. For the 23rd annual year, the makers of TYLENOL® are awarding $250,000 in scholarships to college students pursuing healthcare related degrees. Eligible students must have completed at least one year of undergraduate or graduate course study by the Spring of 2013 at an accredited two or four year college, university or vocational-technical school. The TYLENOL® Future Care Scholarship is awarded based on leadership qualities, academic excellence and community involvement.
(http://www.tylenol.com/news/subptyschol)
Green Eggs and Ham
Well, it isn’t this book, although I love this one by Dr. Seuss. However, the story, Oh, The Places You’ll Go is offering a $10,000 scholarship for the person who can inspire Dr. Seuss with an original two-dimensional art piece reflecting the meaning of Oh, The Places You’ll Go. What a chance to make a real impression on the 20th anniversary of this book and win $10,000 in scholarship money. (https://apps.facebook.com/otpscholarship/)
As college costs continue to rise, it’s time to look into every nook and cranny to see how you can get more money for your college education. There are many different types of interesting scholarships offered by companies, organizations, and institutions alike. Take some time and search the internet so you can see if you can earn a few of these unique scholarships.
This article was reposted with permission from Your Smart Money Moves.
Financing College: Use Free Money First
With the cost of college rising every year, students and their parents are searching for more ways to pay tuition and other college-related expenses.
The best sources of college funding are scholarships and grants, which usually do not have to be repaid. Students should begin applying for scholarships while they are in still in high school but should continue to do so throughout their college career.
There are millions of dollars of scholarship aid available every year, and many scholarships are can be attained by students even if they do not have the highest grades and test scores. Using an online scholarship search service is a good way to locate and submit applications.
FAFSA, Grants and Federal Loans
FAFSA and Grants
Grants are given to students who demonstrate a financial need, based upon information provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA form should be completed every year, even if students think they may not qualify. It is free to file and can be completed online. Criteria for federal and state grant aid change from year to year, so a student should never fail to attempt to qualify for this assistance.
Federal Student Loans
Even if they do not qualify for scholarship or grant aid, many college students are eligible to take out student loans through various federal programs and should maximize the use of these loans before considering other lending sources. Many of the federal loan programs are subsidized, meaning the government pays the interest on the loan as long as the student is enrolled at an accredited school. Repayment on those loans usually does not begin until six months after the student stops taking classes on at least a part-time basis.
Even federal loans that are not subsidized are a better alternative than private loans. The interest on non-subsidized loans is capitalized during the student's college career, with payment also deferred until after graduation, or until the student drops below part-time enrollment at a recognized institution. Repayment plans for both subsidized and non-subsidized loans are usually easier to meet, and these loans can generally be consolidated upon entering repayment.
Private Loans and Home Equity Loans: Drawbacks
If free money and federal loans are not sufficient to meet a student's financial needs, there are also private student loans available, but these loans have a number of drawbacks.
Here are some important things to know about private student loans and their drawbacks:
- Generally made through a bank or loan company, private loans usually require a co-signer. This means that parents—or whomever co-signs–will be liable for the loans if the loan defaults at any point.
- Interest on private loans is usually higher than on federal loans, and sometimes repayment must begin right away, even if the borrower is still in school.
- Private loans are typically not eligible for consolidation with federal loans.
Another college financing alternative to consider is a home equity loan. With this loan, the parents borrow against the equity they have in their home to pay for their child's college expenses. So what could be its drawbacks?
Here are some key drawbacks of home equity loans:
- Interest rates are usually lower than on private student loans, but there are risks to borrowing this way.
- Repayment will begin right away, and if you are unable to pay the loan, you risk losing your home.
- Also, if major repairs are needed on the home, you may not have the equity for additional borrowing.
While a college education is expensive, there are a number of means available for paying for it. All free and all federal money should be exhausted first, but if it they are needed, private loans and home equity loans can be considered. Simply be sure that you will be able to handle repayment.
How are you planning to pay for school? Share with us below!
Brentt Taylor writes for MortgageLoan.com, a site that has been providing news and articles about the finance and housing market to the consumers and readers since 1995. Most of his articles provide tips on how the housing market can affect or can help consumers in their daily finances.
