Some high school students have dream colleges in mind when the start looking at schools. Many straight A students think Harvard would be their ideal college. A student with a strong interest in science may dream of going to MIT. And, some students know that the social life in school and the alumni network that will help them get a job after they graduate make USC a great place to go to school.

But these students then look at the price tag for their dream colleges and wonder where their family is going to come up with the money to pay for the expenses.

The total cost of college is enormous. Not only do you have to pay for tuition, fees, and books, but you also have to have a place to sleep and food to eat while you are there. If your dream school is located away from your family’s home, you also have to figure in the cost of transportation between the school and home during the holidays. Plus, you want to have money for pizza and the occasional movie.

The college knows that there are expenses beyond tuition and they come up with a Total Cost of Attendance that covers all of these variables. At Harvard, that number is $52,650. At MIT, it is $50,100. And USC runs $65,000. These figures are more than some families make in the entire year.

The question is whether you can afford to go to your dream college or whether you should choose a less expensive state school closer to home.

Ironically, many students find they will spend the same amount of their family’s money at both state U and dream college. That is because once you fill out the FAFSA, you will get a number that represents your expected family contribution (EFC). The EFC is the same whether you attend a school that costs $15,000 or $50,000.

All of the colleges mentioned in this article – Harvard, MIT, and USC guarantee to meet demonstrated need. That means, they will find the money in terms of scholarships, grants, work study, and loans, to make sure you can attend.

Harvard goes a step farther and charges no fees (including fees for room and board) for students whose families make less than $80,000 a year.

The schools that cannot meet the demonstrated need of their accepted students tend to be the private colleges with more limited endowments. These colleges may be need-blind in admissions, but meet the full demonstrated need of only a portion of their students. That means that you may have to take out private loans to fill the gap.

The only way you will know whether a dream school is accessable to you financially is to apply for admission and then fill out the FAFSA. These two actions put the financial aid process into motion. After you have been accepted, the school will do the things it can to get you to come to their school. That includes putting together the most attractive financial aid package.

Ironically, you have the best bet of getting a good financial aid package at the big name, expensive schools.

Need More Scholarship Information? Click here to get your copy of The Scholarship and Grant Guide.

Many single moms struggle to put food on the table with their low wage jobs. Some come to see getting an education as the only way to escape the hourly rate grind. Still, they are already balancing busy lives between work and their kids. Adding the stress of school can seem overwhelming. And, there’s probably no money in the budget to pay for tuition. So the only way these women can go back to work is if they find a single mom scholarship.

First of all, you should know that going back to school makes you a good role model for your children. They will see you coming home and doing homework just like they do. And, it will encourage them to pursue college as a young person before they have all of the obligations of work and family.

Next, you should know that college campuses are not populated exclusively with 19 year olds these days. At many regional state schools (as opposed to the “Flagship” campuses), the average age of students is close to thirty. A woman in her 40s is nothing unusual.

Further, these colleges are making it convenient for single moms to return to school with classes in the evenings and weekends. Many of the for profit colleges are especially flexible when it comes to scheduling course work.

So, now all that is left is finding the money to pay for school. Unfortunately, the financial aid system in America is set up with the young student in mind. For instance, the FAFSA formula assumes that you can spend 1/3 of your income on college related expenses. That’s just not feasible for single moms. Still, it is essential that you fill out the FAFSA on time so that you can qualify for the government programs such as the Pell Grant and the Cal Grant.

But, college financial aid offices are aware of these realities. Many set aside extra grant money just for returning students. Ask about specific institutional scholarships for single moms as well.

Ask your company if they offer tuition reimbursement for employees. If you work for a large company, chances are that they do. Usually your human resources department will have that information.

Finally, you should seek out scholarships that you qualify. When you dig deep, you may find some that are tailor made for you. For instance, if you are over 5’10, you can qualify for a scholarship from the Tall Clubs International.

To find scholarships such as that one, you need to get access to an online nationwide database of scholarships. Fortunately, these are available free. You should never pay for access to scholarship information or pay to apply for scholarships.

Congratulations on going back to school. You are pursuing a better life for yourself and your children. Good luck as you find the money to make your college dreams a reality.

Need money for college? Use FastWeb’s free scholarship search to find information on more than 600,000 scholarships!

Need More Scholarship Information? Click here to get your copy of The Scholarship and Grant Guide.

Many people wonder how to go about securing financial aid. First generation college students do not have their parents’ experience to guide them. And, any number of students who didn’t expect to need financial are now applying because their parent’s portfolios have dropped to the point that financial aid has become necessary if the students are to attend college. So, for these students and everyone else, here are the steps of the financial aid process.

The first thing that you must do is fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – the FAFSA. Don’t be put off by the “Federal” part because many state programs are also dependant on the numbers that are produced by the FAFSA.

The information you put into the FAFSA about your family’s income and assets will be fed into a calculator. This will generates what is known as the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is the amount that you and your family will be expected to pay wherever you go to college.

For instance, a student with an EFC of $3000 will pay $3000 at a school that costs $12,000 or one that costs $40,000 assuming that a suitable financial aid package can be put together. That means that you should not allow the “sticker price” of a college to keep you from applying for the school.

Once the FAFSA is complete, you qualify for federal aid. There are three main federal programs you should know about. Low income students can qualify for the Pell Grant which can give you $4731 towards your college expenses. Low and middle income students can qualify for the Stafford Subsidized Student Loan which is a low interest loan. The federal government pays the interest on the loan while you are in school. And, the federal government gives the school money to hire low and middle income students as workers at the college through the federal work study program.

But the FAFSA qualifies you for state aid as well. Every state has a grant program to help in state students attend college in the home state. For instance, in California, the Cal Grant awards amounts roughly equal to the tuition and fees at state colleges and up to $9700 for students attending the state’s many private colleges. Usually with these student grants, you are required to maintain a certain grade point average and make satisfactory progress toward the degree.

Finally there is institutional aid. Most schools use the FAFSA to determine how much money they will give to you in scholarships and grants. Some schools promise up front to meet the full demonstrated need of all admitted students. Ironically, the more expensive the college is, the more likely they are to be able to give you the financial aid that you need to attend.

It is critical that you turn in your FAFSA no later than March 15 if you are going to start school in August or September. Even if you haven’t been admitted to colleges yet, you need to get this form in.

Also, you should be aware of filing dates for federal and state grants. There often is not enough money in the pool to meet the needs of all qualified students. The early bird gets the money.

The FAFSA determines your EFC. That, in turn, will largely influence how much money is available to help you pay for school. Get your FAFSA in early to maximize your chances that you can attend your dream school.

Need More Scholarship Information? Click here to get your copy of The Scholarship and Grant Guide.

Easy scholarships are important to find now that many funding sources like second mortgages and stock market investments have dried up for parents.  Students, who are busy with their schoolwork, community service activities, sports, and leadership positions, are in no position to hunt down scholarships and fill out complicated applications.

That’s why it is good that easy scholarships are now available.

Most college scholarships are available in massive data bases.  Some companies charge exorbatent fees to let you access these data bases and find the scholarships on your own.

But the smart student doesn’t pursue that route.  For one thing, there is no need to pay to access the information.  For another thing, some companies have made it easy to input the information about your characteristics (left or right handed – it makes a differece to some scholarships!), religion, school activities, interests, grades, leadership positions, sports, community service and more.  One simple step and you have lots of easy scholarship ideas coming at you.

Why do these companies provide this service for free?  Well, there is a catch.  They know that students going to college provide a lucrative consumer market.  After all, you are going to be needing college supplies, textbooks, airfare, and even student loans.  If they can capture your email address, they can send you targeted offers for related products.

If you are interested in receiving information on products and services that relate to you as you transition into college life, simply fill out the survey.  If you don’t wish to receive thes offers, look for a company which lets you opt out of the offers at the beginning of the process and will not email you any information other than the scholarships themselves.

One company I recommend is Fast Web.  They allow you to opt out of offers at the very beginning if you so choose.  You can access their information through the link below:

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Need More Scholarship Information? Click here to get your copy of The Scholarship and Grant Guide.

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Unusual scholarships are available for people who have out of the ordinary characteristics.  For instance, only 13 percent of the population are left handed, but right handers aren’t elegible for the Left Handed Scholarship at Pennsylvania’s Juanita College

Other interesting and unusual scholarships include the National Bird Calling scholarship for someone who is a competitive bird caller.  People with uncommon last names can also snag unusual scholarships. There are specific scholarships around for people with the following last names: Zolp, Scarpinato, Gatling, Baxendale, Hudson, Thayer, Downer, Bright and Van Valkenburg.

If you can record some “space-y” music, you can qualify for a scholarship from the Society of Performers, Artists, Athletes and Celebrities for Space Exploration, Inc. (SPAACSE).  It doesn’t need to be a professional performance, just a 4 to 6 minute recording that reflects the inspiration and beauty of the universe.

Do you have a so-called “slacker” hobby such as skate boarding or playing pool?  Well, there’s a scholarship in it for you.  In fact, there are specific scholarships for golfers, bowlers, surfers, and skateboarders too!

Many people think that scholarships only go to people who have high grades.  But, that is just not true.  Every year, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of scholarships go unclaimed because there are specific restrictions on them.  When no one who qualifies for the scholarship applies, the funds roll over to the next year.  Don’t let a scholarship you qualify for get away just because you didn’t know about it.

The best way to stay on top of scholarship money is to register with a free scholarship finding service.  (Note, you should never pay for these services.  You can get them absolutely free.)

When you register, you fill out all of your hobbies, activities, and interests.  The massive scholarship database matches you with common and unusual scholarships that you qualify for.

One registry that I recommend is below:

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Need More Scholarship Information? Click here to get your copy of The Scholarship and Grant Guide.

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The Target Scholarship is offered by the Target chain of retail stores.  Its official name is the “Target Stores All Around Scholarship Program.”  The Target Scholarship is designed to help young people reach for their dreams.  It rewards students who excel in school and volunteer in their communities.

Each store awards two Target Scholarships.  Then, from that pool, 4 all around winners are chosen to receive a $10,000 award each.  That’s a total of 2100 Target Scholarships awarded each year.

The deadline for the Target Scholarships is November 1 of the year preceding the award.

For more information about finding college grants such as the Target Scholarships, I recommend the following site:

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Need More Scholarship Information? Click here to get your copy of The Scholarship and Grant Guide.

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College grants and scholarships are becoming increasingly important because the cost of university is increasing just as the assets of many parents are shrinking.  Additionally, college is increasingly the best way to ensure that you have a secure future.  But how can you fund university?  College grants and scholarships are the best way to do it.

First of all, let’s look at the different types of funding there is for college.

A scholarship is an award given to you based on the merit of your application.  Sometimes the college itself gives these scholarships and sometimes you apply for them separately from community organizations, businesses, and foundations.  Usually, scholarships are based on merit or a combination of merit and need.

A grant is an award made to meet the difference between what you can afford to pay and the cost of attending college.  While the university gives most grants to students that they really want to come (hence the merit factor), these are typically associated more with need than with accomplishment.

College grants and scholarships are wonderful because you do not need to work for them or pay them back.

The next category of aid is work-study.  Work study is an on campus job that helps you meet the cost of attendance.  Colleges prefer to give work study jobs than pay for normal student assistants because the government foots a large portion of the work study bill.

Finally, there are student loans.  Unfortunately, student loans must be paid back after you graduate.  Try to work out any other scheme to pay for college before accepting a loan.  Because student loans are bundled into the total aid package, many students do not realize what a burden they can be once they graduate.  $20,000 in student loan debt can end up costing you $500 a month when you graduate.  That may mean the difference of whether you can take a job you really want and one that will cover the expensive student loan bills when you are done with college.

If you are actively looking for college grants and scholarships, you need to take a look at this website:

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Need More Scholarship Information? Click here to get your copy of The Scholarship and Grant Guide.

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this is a free service where you fill out a form and have scholarships that match your profile sent to your email address.  I highly recommend their service.

African American scholarships are available for black students who want to further their education.  Not only can blacks apply for general funds, African American scholarships are specifically designated for this racial minority.

African American scholarships come from a variety of places.  Many individual colleges and universities have scholarships set aside for members of specific groups including blacks.  But there are also some umbrella groups that provide scholarships to African Americans which are not tied to one institution.  These include:

- United Negro College Fund

- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

- African American Linquist

- African American Scholarship Fund

- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

- BET

- Sallie Mae Fund Scholarship Programs

- Black College Dollars

There are also scholarships which are available to all underrepresented minorities, including African Americans.  Scholarships like these are targeted at offering a helping hand to people whose socioeconomic background does not foster success in higher education.  Microsoft chairman Bill Gates set up a Millenial Scholars fund that has helped over 10,000 minority students go to college.  This program covers room, board, and tuition for four years!

If you are looking for African American scholarships, one of the best things you can do is a buy a book of 20,000 scholarships, including lots of scholarships for minority student. One I recommend is The Scholarship and Grant Guide.

I am providing you with a sample scholarship recommendation letter.  You want to provide your recommender with a resume or outline of your accomplishments so that he or she can work these features into the letter.

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The Oprah Winfrey Scholarship is available at (ironically) the all male historically black institution – Moorehead College.  She gave $1 million in 1989 to the college and another $1 million in 1997.  Then in 2007, she donated another $5 million and last year gave another $5 million.  That brings the total Oprah Winfrey Scholarship fund to $12 million.

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