Scholarship News

To find money for college, you probably know by now that you have a few options – loans, grants, scholarships, buried treasure, and your own piggy bank. If you haven’t got enough cash and you are in school, you may be looking for the help I have written up below.

First, you applied for financial aid, right? Filled out a FAFSA and submitted it on time? If so, you have a good part of the process done. If not, get that FAFSA done right away so you can move on to the actual checks.

Next, you should have received your SAR – student aid report, not a terrible disease. The SAR can help you get your ducks in a row and finalize a grant, a Stafford, or Grad PLUS loan. But I’ll show you a neat trick you may not have thought of yet.

Next, the people giving away cash for your education – scholarships! Did you apply for any? I hope you applied for some, for at least one. If you look hard enough, you probably qualify for several. The more obscure the better, of course, unless you have stellar grades, high SAT or ACT scores, and a particularly strong affiliation or talent.

Believe me, I’ve been there. I have won a couple of scholarships. The two I won both came with either a strong affiliation during school, or a good performance in grades and testing. You should apply for scholarships because you never know what the competition may be. It almost never hurts to apply.

Beyond the scholarship world, if you need aid and don’t have time to work for your keep, you will find yourself back at grants and loans – which rely on a financial need. This is where it gets interesting.

Every year more and more students realize they have overlooked a great opportunity to find money for college. You have to be careful, but it can help. It’s right on the FAFSA – and it’s called dependency.

Are you a dependent?

First of all, if you turned 22 last year, the government considers you independent in terms of financial aid for higher education. If you are or were married, you are probably independent. In the military and finished with your initial training? Also independent. The department of education also considers you independent if you were adopted after 16 or lived in foster care until 18, or find yourself a ward of the state.

This can really open up financial aid for you. Stafford and Perkins loans and Pell grants all depend on financial need. If you have no one to support you or married young, you likely need the aid.

A couple of bumps. If you are divorced, but receive substantial alimony, you likely are not independent for student aid. And if you joined the military and haven’t completed training, you also don’t qualify – yet.

Sometimes your student aid report may not reflect the real conditions at home, or you may attend a very expensive school, and require more aid. You do have the option of using private education loans, just don’t go overboard.

Be sure to check out your options.

Need more info? Come to The Money For College Now Blog and download my free ebook on financial aid