Types of Aid
If you ask college graduates how they paid for college, most would say by using student financial aid. There are many types of financial aid from money that is given based on grades to money that has to be repaid.
It is always best to utilize all the free money first. Work hard for good grades and the payment in scholarships could be huge. But it doesn’t always have to be about the grades. Money can be given based on height, race, religion, gender, being a twin, left-handed, or just because you posted a video through social media. Don’t let grades stop your search for money to pay for school.
Great places to look for scholarships are online. For example: GAfutures Scholarship Search. There are many others as well such as Fastweb and FinAid. Look at your high school’s guidance counselor’s webpage, other high school’s guidance counselor’s webpages (public and private), and college’s financial aid webpages. All of these sites will have great links and helpful hints. Visit your guidance counselors and read the emails they send. They receive notifications from local organizations trying to help pay for a student’s education. Let that student be you!
Don’t wait until you are a senior to begin your search. Many of the scholarship available this year will be available next year. Typically, the only change to the applications are the application due dates. Begin reviewing scholarship applications early, make yourself eligible for the scholarship and ready to apply when you are a senior.
Don’t stop looking for scholarships after you graduate from high school. Once in college, talk to your academic adviser, visit your Dean’s office, and continue to ask about scholarships. Think about internships as well. An internship is a position for a student to work in an organization, sometimes without pay. But if it is with pay, that is icing on the cake! You can gain work experience and it can help pay expenses. Great job! Pun intended!
