Let’s face it, college is expensive. The cost of attendance at a community college is around $10,600 per year for a student living at home while a prestigious four year school can put you back $52,000 when everything is taken into account.

The cost of attendance is the measure of all of your expenses while attending school. This includes not only tuition and fees but also books, housing, food, transportation and other living expenses.

State universities are almost always less expensive than private ones because the taxpayers help foot the bill. For instance, the cost of attendance for a California resident at the University of California, Berkeley is $26,500 while going to school at nearby Stanford University is $47,300.

However, the sticker price does not tell the whole story. About half of Stanford’s students received financial aid packages which averaged $33,000. That means they and their parents only had to come up with $12,000 for a world class education.

Some private universities have large endowments. As a result, they can offer generous scholarship packages to the students they want to attract.

In your senior year of high school, you have many tasks. One is to keep your grades up while enjoying your last year in high school. But another is to get into the best college that you can afford.

The only real way to find out if you can afford a college is to apply and get accepted. Once you have been accepted into a school, the financial aid department will do everything possible to make the money situation work so that you can come.

Your final job during your senior year is to go after as many private scholarships as you can. Talk to your school’s guidance counselor about opportunities that she knows about. In most communities, businesses and service clubs offer scholarships to deserving local students. Your counselor is the best source of information on these scholarships.

But there are also scholarships available nationally. There is no way that your counselor can stay on top of the millions of dollars of scholarships offered each year. That is why it is worth signing up for a free database of all scholarships in the country. You will fill out a long form with details about your heritage and race, student activities, grades, test scores, volunteer activity and more.

Some of the questions may surprise you, but there are good reasons that they are asked. For instance, you may think it is funny that they ask for your height. But there are scholarships targeted at both small (under 4′10) and tall (over 6′2) people. There are also scholarships just for left handed students!

Some of these scholarships are actually essay contests. While you are undoubtably busy as a high school senior, winning one of these essay scholarships can literally pay for a semester at college. The Ayn Rand Institute awards $10,000 to the first place winner of its Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest.

So, don’t give up your dreams of attending the best college you can get into, even if the sticker price gives you pause for consideration. There are many different ways to pay for school. If you are smart, you will do your due diligence and come up with funding sources that can get you into your dream school.
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The reality is that college is expensive. At a time when parents’ stock portfolios are shrinking and the values of their homes are dropping, many students wonder if they will be able to start or continue their college education. Yet, at the same time, we see that a college education is important. A person with a college education makes 75 percent more every year than the person with only a high school diploma.

So, the question is how to fund the college education.

Colleges and universities charge tuition and fees to support their educational mission. Private colleges have to fund their entire budgets from their endowment plus these fees. Public schools get subsidies from the taxpayers which lower the cost of attendance for in state students.

Still, the price of college is rising. It costs 41 percent of an average family’s income to send a student to a private school!

But, the thing is, most students don’t pay the full face value of a college education. The truth is that up to 90 percent of students, even ones that consider themselves upper middle class, do receive some form of financial aid.

So, if you are worried about the cost of college but think you don’t qualify for scholarships, grants, and loans, think again.

Private universities are making more of their endowment monies available for scholarships and grants. States, while raising basic tuition and fees, are setting aside more money for grants. There have even been modest increases in the amount of the Pell Grant, the federally funded grant program.

Here’s some ways to find a scholarship or grant that is right for you:

· If you are in high school, ask your counselor about locally based funding. Many local businesses and service clubs provide scholarships for outstanding students. Ask about deadlines.

· If you are a current college student, talk to the folks in financial aid. They may know of programs you can qualify for.

· Make sure that you meet all of the deadlines to apply for aid. Many students miss out on free money because they are not up on the deadlines for scholarships and grants.

· Be aware of special scholarships you may qualify for. While there are some well publicized scholarships, you may qualify for scholarships that you’ve never even heard of. Signing up for access to free databases of scholarships can help you find these funds which often go unclaimed just because no one applies.

· Think about getting a summer or part time job with a company that picks up part of the cost of your education. Best Buy, for instance, offers tuition remission for certain working students.

Don’t think that college is out of reach for you. The value of a college education has never been higher. America needs well educated workers in the 21st century. The challenges of funding school are real, but you should know that with some research, you can come up with ways to keep your college dream alive.

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

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.

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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!

To request information on specific colleges go to College Information Online

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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 broad scholarship search.  When you complete one of these free searches, you enter all of the things which make you unique – including your race.  The scholarship service then emails you matching scholarships for you to apply to.  Beware of scams which charge you money.  You can get these services for free.  One I recommend is:
Need money for college? Use FastWeb’s free scholarship search to find information on more than 600,000 scholarships!