Money for College

(No, not spam)



College is rapidly approaching for this high school senior, and I am now exploring my options for paying for it. Does anybody here have any recommendations, reviews, experience, or other wisdom or ideas of college financial planning they would like to share?



I'm looking at scholarships, grants, Federal financial aid, and loans. Does it look like I missed any options to obtain money for college? Any specific recommendations are appreciated too.



Anything you'd like to share about this subject would be greatly appreciated by me. Thanks.

Part-time job....I worked part-time at UPS while getting my degree. Although this meant I had to take summer courses because I couldn't cram all those classes in my schedule through-out the year.

The best money always seems to come from pure academic achievement. If you screwed up (like I did... I used to be a straight A student, until I got broadband)... then it'll depend on "demonstratable financial need," a load of bull if I ever heard any -- "You don't need any financial aid! You can just get a third and fourth morgage on your house!"

Also, there are still a few scholorship contests where you can win some petty cash -- $100 to a couple thousand for writing and such, I believe. Maybe something like scholorshiptree.com has some stuff.

carrot said:

The best money always seems to come from pure academic achievement.

Also, there are still a few scholorship contests where you can win some petty cash -- $100 to a couple thousand for writing and such, I believe. Maybe something like scholorshiptree.com has some stuff.

Click to expand...

Well, I have a 4.0 GPA and scored a 30 on the ACT. I'll look up the website you mentioned.

Sorry, I don't know how to compare the ACT to the SATs, which is what I'm familiar with, so I don't know if that's a crowning achievement or one to be ashamed of. I'm a terrible student with a solid 3.0 GPA and a 2160 on the SATs. But I'm graduating with an Associates' Degree in Liberal Arts, so maybe that excuses my laziness.

What I know is, the more a school wants you, the more scholarship money they'll be willing to offer you, kinda like a bribe. So if you haven't already, brag about your achievements as much as you can.

I'll try and look for some more scholarship stuff -- I'm sure my school has given me some info on that, but I don't remember where. I'll have to find it.

With good grades, maybe you can get a part time job as a tutor, teaching assistant, grader, whatever your school calls it.

If you are looking for a bachelor's degree then go to the job market, I don't think you have to be in a big hurry to graduate and get out, so if you work part time and take a year longer that isn't a big deal in the overall scheme of things.

If you're in California, apply for CalGrants, www.calgrants.org. Just fill out a FAFSA and GPA verification form. College aint cheap, bless my parents for supporting me. Good luck! with a 4.0 GPA you should be getting scholarships from various schools you get into.

Also if you're in California, the lowest cost way to a reputable 4 year degree is to spend 2 years in junior college and then apply into the UC system. The UC's have to allocate a portion of their classes to JC transfers, so the height of the bar for JC transfer students may be lower than for high schools grads. The UC system is tax subsidized so it costs much less than a comparable private college, and the JC system is ubiquitous and very low cost.

The catch is: you really do have to be serious and hit the books in JC, even though many of your classmates may not be. Otherwise you may not make the cut at the end, to say nothing of surviving your upperclass years at a UC. With a 4.0 GPA, it seems like you could do it.

For current California rates, it will cost about 8 to 13 thousand a year for your upperclass years depending on your living situation. The final product is a good 4 year college education for 16 to 26 thousand dollars which is a STEAL, and about the lowest around for such an education.

Other states may also have a similar system, so check. BTW, what state (country?) are you in?

nerdgineer said:

BTW, what state (country?) are you in?

Click to expand...

Oh, sorry, should have mentioned that. I live just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

This site was helpful for financing my grad school. http://www.fastweb.com/

I would learn about every program that might help. Speak with more than one college's financial aid department.

I've heard the TRIO programs can be helpful.

http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/trio/sss/

Well, you could always join the National Guard. There are MANY opportunities for college money doing that, including the Montgomery GI Bill as well as state and federal tuition assistance. The Army Reserve probably has similar programs...I know they have the GI Bill...just not sure about the state tuition assistance.

And then there's the happy by-product of you would be serving your state and country at the same time...(that really should be the main reason one joins but sadly it isn't.)

leukos said:

This sight was helpful for financing my grad school. http://www.fastweb.com/

Click to expand...

Really?

JM-99

Move to a different state that has reasonable college costs.

Jumpmaster said:

Really?

JM-99

Click to expand...

Thanks for catching that, I type too fast sometimes without thinking (yes, educated beyond one's intelligence comes to mind; or as my wife says, that I suffer from homonym-lexia ).

I must have missed something. Site looks OK.

Several guys I know are in the guard. If I understand them correctly, they say that if they go to work for a government agency, time spent in the gaurd applies to benefit step ups and retirement.

That service makes it easier to attain that good federal job. Even in the private sector you may be applying to an organization that considers the experience highly valuable. I wish I would have done it years ago. Too old now I think.

Correct me if I'm wrong JM - 66.

Icebreak said:

I must have missed something. Site looks OK.

Click to expand...

He spelled it "sight"...just some good-natured fun from one grad student to another...heh

Several guys I know are in the guard. If I understand them correctly, they say that if they go to work for a government agency, time spent in the gaurd applies to benefit step ups and retirement.

Click to expand...

Yes...that's all true. You also get the same pension as active-duty if you stay in the guard for 20 years. One big thing is if you get a security clearance in the guard, it can carry over to federal jobs that require the same clearance. The feds like this a lot because they don't have to pay for the investigation and all for that security clearance if you already have one.

If you'd like more info, please feel free to PM me...they'll take folks between 17 and 40.

JM-99 (not -66... )

Just remembered, there's a program called POSSE you might want to look into. It's a leadership program that pays for your tuition. Might be past the deadline, though.

I see a lot of our students enrolling for bac-core classes at the local community college while they work part-time: cheaper tuition and transferrable credits (make sure to check if your university will allow this, not all do).

carrot said:

...I'm a terrible student with a solid 3.0 GPA and a 2160 on the SATs.

Click to expand...

WOW! I must be getting old because when I took the SAT, a 1600 was a perfect score!

cratz2 said:

WOW! I must be getting old because when I took the SAT, a 1600 was a perfect score!

Click to expand...

Yep, everyone graduating highschool in 2006 and beyond will be taking the new SATs with a writing section, modified verbal and math sections -- for a total of 2400.