How to Get a College to Pay YOU to Go to School
In a perfect world, college would be affordable and everyone would be able to go without issue. Reality is a lot less ideal than that; the only way that many people can afford to attend college is by picking up massive amounts of debt. One woman decided that she wanted to get away from her family for college and ended up going to Belmont, to find her self with a BA in Theater and $100,000 in student loan debt. This is not the way to go! There is a way to attend college without getting up massive pile of student loans, and it’s really not that hard. There was a man I knew that not only graduated without any debt to speak of, but he was given money by the university every semester instead of writing out huge tuition checks because he had so much financial aid, and it wasn’t that difficult either!
Here’s how to do it.
In high school, hit the books. Most high school student’s just don’t put the effort into trying in high school and end up hurting themselves because of it. Your performance in high school is how your college the basis for your college admission, so you need to start off well from day one of high school. Getting a free ride requires four years of good grades and extra curricular activities.
Do Well on Standardized Tests. Standardized tests also play a big role in the decision make processes of university enrollment organizations. Most scholarships are based on SAT & ACT scores, so you need to do as well as possible. In order to do better, take one of those SAT prep courses, and wait until later in your high school career because you should know more after more education.
Search out scholarship programs early and often. There is no good reason for you to not apply to at least 50 scholarships before the second semester of your senior year. Getting scholarships is critical; they’ll take care of pretty much everything in college from tuition, to books, to dorm fees. Apply, apply and apply! Put a great amount of effort into your scholarship essays as well, it’s not hard, just do it! They won’t all say yes, but some will.
Fill out your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form will determine your eligibility for government grants, and low interest federal loans. It also determines your qualification for work study programs, which are the easiest jobs you will ever have. These grants can be combined with scholarships which will pay for your education, if you put in the effort!
Pick the right school. The right school is not the most expensive. In fact, usually it’s one of the least expensive. The increased educational value of an Ivy League school is not worth paying $20,000 a year more to be a part of. Choose a nice state school with very low tuition. Usually they can be had for $5000 a year, excluding dorms and a meal plan. Pick the one that will leave you with paying the least amount of money, you can easily up the difference with outside scholarships.
If you do all of these things, paying for college will be very easy, if you have good grades and apply for a lot of scholarships, chances are you’ll get money back.
So affording college is as easy as getting top grades and test scores, scholarships, and applying for financial aid? Why has no one ever revealed this information before? God bless the Internets!
If you’ve done well in high school, it’s worth applying to the big-name schools regardless of sticker price. These schools have vast financial resources, and typically meet all financial need, often with significant grants. A state school, while cheaper at first glance, may or may not meet all financial need, and likely doesn’t have the money to issue such grants. Additionally, the famous schools have the potential to give you better training and networking in your chosen field, and as such may be worth more to you than the state school. Perhaps not $20,000-in-loans more, but at any rate you should apply and see if you can get a deal.