Help With Paying For College

Finding Money for College

Today I was reading the national headlines when something caught my eye.  It was a piece about how expensive college is these days.  Since my husband is in school right now, I read on to see if there was something I could learn to help us save money.  The article talked about soaring tuition, tighter budgets and record applications that all cause college to be much harder to go to these days.  I couldn’t believe it!  In New York State alone, the tuition was up 14% last year.  So, with all this not-so-good news, what are we to do?

One of the websites that I’m the guide for is called FastWeb.  They put students in touch with scholarships and other funding to help make college more affordable.  On FastWeb you can search for specific schools or specific types of scholarships that are available.  Before I had my second child I worked in the Financial Aid Office of a large State school and I sat on a board that helped select students to receive scholarships.  I couldn’t believe how few applications we received for some great scholarships.  I think the majority of people don’t think they’re qualified so they don’t even try.

I used financial aid and scholarships to get through school and my husband is using it now.  Luckily, most of his tuition is covered, but we are also going to apply for scholarships because most of them are not need based.  In other words, you can get them if you’re rich or poor.  If you have small children, now is the time to start planning for their college education.  UPromise allows you to earn money for their college by purchasing regular items.  Once you sign up, you start earning college money without even thinking about it.  Yes, we are in hard times, but there are ways to help navigate through this economic minefield.  Just a little effort can make a big difference.

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Tags: college, education, financial aid, scholarships, tuition