We all know that college is expensive and every year the price goes up. For a 4-year state school you can be paying around $7,000 for tuition only and for a private university you could be anywhere from $20,000 - $30,000 a year. This doesn't even factor in textbooks, fees, room and board, and other essentials like food. So, how can one make their dream come true and afford to go to college? Here are some tips for affording college and what you can do to pursue your career dreams.
One way that you can easily save some money is by starting your college education at a 2-year community college. You can easily take your basic courses and your electives for the first two years and then transfer the credits to the 4-year college of your choice. A community college is less than half the price of a state college but can give you the same education. Always check to make sure that the classes you are taking will transfer before you take them at the community college.
Apply for as many scholarships as you can. There are plenty of different places to look for scholarships. When you graduate high school, many times the high school or local organizations that support the high school will give out a certain amount of scholarships. Also, research the college you plan on attending for any scholarships that they offer. Some school scholarships are based on grades, SAT/ACT scores, a student's finances, and on race or religion. Apply for any college scholarships that you may be eligible for.
Some other places to look for college scholarships are your parent's or your place of employment. Private organizations for the field of study you are going into. Also, you can visit online college scholarship websites that will have an extensive listing of different scholarships you may be eligible for.
Check with your college to see if they have any job openings or work programs. This may be as simple as working 10 hours a week at the cafeteria or library. Sometimes they will offer discounts to their students who work on campus. Even if they don't offer work incentives, you are still making some extra money and you don't have to go off campus, which saves you time and money from getting a job off campus.
Check into the college's monthly payment plans. Don't mistake a monthly payment plan with a student loan. A monthly payment plan will not charge you interest, but you will be required to pay the full monthly payment amount every month on time.
Be sure that you fill out a FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) to see if you qualify for any grants or government loans. The great thing about grants is that you don't have to pay them back like loans. With government loans, like the Stafford Loan, you will have a much smaller interest rate than if you had a private student loan. The Stafford Loan is based on financial need, but even a $1,000 Stafford Loan is better than nothing.
If you have tried all the above options for affording college and you are still short, then you will need to apply for private student loans. This means that you have to go through a bank, credit union, or other financial institution to get the money for college. You are then required to start paying back that money with interest starting 6 months after you graduate. The interest rates on these private student loans are usually based off your credit or your cosigner's credit. The worse the credit the higher the interest rate will be. Expect private student loans to have a much higher interest rate than government ones.
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Also, with student loans be aware that they never, ever go away. Even if you end up filing bankruptcy sometime after you graduate from college, you still have to repay student loans. So, if you graduate from a private university with $60,000 in student loans, be aware that you will be paying on that for the next 20-30 years of your life no matter what your financial situation is. Some financial institutions may give you a longer grace period of 6 months after you graduate if you have not found a job yet or you have other hardships. Some, and only some of them, will give you another 6 months before you have to start paying the monthly amount.
If you really want to go to college, there are definitely ways that you can come up with to afford the cost of college. Start off with the best ways such as scholarships and grants and then only use student loans if you really need them.
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