Going to college and completing your degree can be one of the most important things you do for yourself as well as for your future career. However, you may find the cost of college daunting, and the idea of going into debt with a huge amount of student loans does not seem particularly appealing to you.
Well, frugal planner, there are ways to be able to pay for college without going into thousands of dollars in debt! Anywhere from grants, scholarships, and even tips and tricks can all help you avoid a big bill for your education.
Fill Out the FAFSA
Going to college is one of the most enriching experiences a person can have. Be it for preparing for a career you want, improving for a career you are in, or even taking class simply for the sake of learning, colleges open the door to all different kinds of opportunities.
However, college can be expensive, and many potential students may feel intimidated by the high cost of higher education. If this describes you, do not lose hope! The federal government offers all kinds of assistance to students. If you want to access that potential government money, there is one very important form you need to fill out. The FAFSA!
What is the FAFSA?
The FAFSA (or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a free application to potential students in the U.S. Filling out this application determines your eligibility for federal assistance in attending school. This includes grants and low-interest loans, and universities frequently use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for their own scholarships and aid.
Unlike most loans, the FAFSA does not consider creditworthiness when determining loan amounts. Instead, it is based on the financial need of those applying. However, be sure to be wise when taking out government student loans. They are with you forever. Bankruptcy will not discharge them, so anything you take out, expect to pay it back.
Before talking about exactly what the FASFA asks for, it is important to emphasize one thing: filing the FAFSA is always free. There are many sites online that will charge you to process the application on your behalf, which is a completely unnecessary function. You can file the application yourself online. If you have questions, a financial aid counselor at your preferred university can assist you as well.
What information do I need to fill out the FAFSA?
In addition to personal identifying information (like your legal name, social security number, and more) the FAFSA will require tax information from either you or your parents. The FAFSA awards grants and loans based on financial need, and they determine financial need on several factors. These include:
- Annual Household Income
- Number of Dependents
- Residency
The FAFSA determines financial need based on how much they estimate you or your parents will be able to contribute. If your parents do not earn much, you will be eligible for more. If you have a lot of siblings, and especially if you have siblings in college at the same time as you, you will be eligible for more awards as well.
Of course, you do not have to be a dependent in order to file the FAFSA. If you are attending college for the first time and have never filed the FAFSA or received any kind of need-based financial assistance from the government, you absolutely should take the time to fill it out, regardless of age.
What does the FAFSA award?
Based on your financial need, the FAFSA can award grants and low-interest loans. How much you are awarded slides on a scale. You may qualify for grants and loans. You may qualify only for loans. You may qualify for the maximum amount of grants or partial grants. It all depends on the results of the FAFSA. The following are specific grants and loans that are determined by the FASFA:
- Federal Pell Grants
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
- Work-Study
- Direct Subsidized Loans
- Direct Unsubsidized Loans
Pell Grants are financial awards based on financial need. Being grants, they are essentially free money for school. You are not expected to pay this back. Pell grants can be used for tuition, boarding, books, or other related expenses.
This grant is also based on financial need. However, it is reserved for those that have demonstrated extreme financial need on the FAFSA. It is possible to receive both a Pell grant and this grant.
This is a work-grant program that is also dependent on the results of the FASFA. A work-study is a grant-funded job at your given university. You perform any number of specific jobs that the university offers, but you are paid by the federal government. Work-study positions are limited depending on what university you attend, so be sure to apply and inquire as early as you can!
This is a low-interest federal loan specifically for educational expenses, like tuition and boarding. Being loans, they are expected to be paid back, though their repayment schedule is very flexible and does not begin until six months after you have graduated. Currently, you can expect a fixed interest rate of 4.53%. These kinds of loans are only available for undergraduate studies.
This is another low-interest federal loan to help pay for school, though the interest rate is not as low as the direct subsidized loan is. However, these loans can be used for both undergraduate and graduate studies. They operate on a fixed interest rate of 6.08%.
Some other various grants and loans may be made available to you, either through the federal or state government or by awards through the university you decide to attend. Depending on your financial need, it is possible to be awarded all possible grants and loans offered through the FAFSA.
How do I receive grants or loans awarded through the FAFSA?
If you are awarded grants or loans by filing the FAFSA, you will be notified by your university. In general, they will send you an "awards letter" that lists all grants, loans, and scholarships being awarded through them and the federal government. This will allow you to see a running total of everything you have earned as well as the total cost of attending the university.
What universities will do next is take any money out of the grants or loans and apply them to any outstanding cost from the university, like tuition and boarding. Anything that is left over after that is given directly to you through the process of "disbursement" that happen at set times each semester. Grants and loans will usually have separate disbursement dates.
The FAFSA offers so much opportunity to avoid the burden of cost to attend a university. Do yourself a favor and take the time to fill it out!
Do this before you do anything else on this list. The FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is an application that helps the government determine what kind of federal assistance you may qualify for. This application is used to determine what kind of loans you may be eligible for, but it also sees what kind of grants you are eligible for as well. In particular:
- Pell Grants: Pell grants are grants awarded to students based on their financial need. If you receive Pell grants, it is free money that does not need to be paid back. In fact, the money can be used for anything that is even remotely related to your education. However, you are not eligible for Pell grants if you do not fill out the FAFSA, so be sure to do that. You could be leaving thousands of free dollars on the table.
- Work-Study: This is also a need-based award that is given through the FAFSA based on financial need. The government gives your university money in order to hire you for work somewhere on campus. Not only do you get extra cash, but the university does not have to pay for it! Work-study position are limited, so if you plan on taking advantage of it, you need to be sure to notify your university and get on their list quickly.
There are many other grants and scholarships that require you to fill out the FAFSA before you can be eligible. That is because need-based scholarships are almost always awarded based on the results of the FAFSA, even if the award is from the university itself and not the government.
Get Good Grades in School and on Standardized Tests
Yes, you have probably heard this, but it is still one of the best ways to qualify for scholarships. Even having a decent GPA can qualify you for thousands of dollars in scholarships. It also makes you be able to compete for competitive scholarships as well.
Standardized tests, like the ACT or SAT, can also determine your eligibility for scholarships. They can also determine if you are able to join the honors college of the given university you are applying. For many colleges, this means your tuition is completely covered. It pays to get good grades, literally.
Take Time to Explore Scholarship Options
There are all kinds of scholarships that are available for all different kinds of reasons. However, there are certain qualities that there are almost always scholarships available. If you fall into any of these categories, you may have scholarships waiting just for you:
- Are you the first in your family to attend college?
- Are you adopted?
- Is either of your parents in the military or veterans?
- Did either of your parents attend the college you are considering?
- Are you a female considering a STEM-related degree?
- Are you a minority?
- Are you Native American?
- Is either of your parents police officers?
- Did either of your parents die in the line of duty, either as soldiers or police officers?
Those are just some of the major categories that there is almost always scholarship money for.
Do You Have a Parent that Works at a University?
If you do, you might be able to attend school there tuition-free. This is not just limited to faculty or administration, either. There was a recent news story that profiled a man who was a janitor at a university so his kids could attend tuition-free.
Join the Military!
A well-known perk of joining the military is that they will pay for your school! Using funds from The G.I. Bill, they will pay many of your college expenses directly. This, of course, requires active service in the military in some capacity. Some are able to get this perk through the National Guard, which requires on a weekend a month. Others went into the military straight out of high school and, once they have been discharged, are taking advantage of their military benefits.
You should not take this step lightly, however. Joining the military generally means dedicated at least five years of your life to them, and sometimes even more than that. They do offer great perks, but those perks exist because the commitment is long and the job is difficult. Be sure to deeply consider if this is the right step for you before joining.
Work for a Company that Give Tuition-Reimbursement Perks
Many companies have a suite of benefits that they offer to their employees, many of which include tuition reimbursement or scholarships. Some places will even give you those perks while working part-time. Starbucks, FedEx, and UPS will give perks to students who are working part-time.
However, this benefit needs to be used with caution. Many employers expect you to be employed for the long-term if you plan on using this benefit. Many places, like AT&T, will require this benefit to be paid back if you quit within a certain time frame of having received it. Be sure you fully understand the rules and regulations of this perk before using it!
Work at a University
If you work at a university, you typically are allowed to take classes for free. Granted, you may have limited time to take classes, as this is usually offered to full-time staff. However, the perk of free tuition is an excellent one if you are able to find work at a university. Even if they do not offer a degree you are interested in, just taking a few general education classes can save you thousands of dollars in the future.
