First of all be confident! You are ready to go to college. Start the process by learning how much aid you qualify for…
Most student loans are made directly by the government through the U.S. Department of Education. If you are serious about continuing your education, use the link to visit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) site and complete your free financial aid application today.
DO NOT FORGET TO WRITE DOWN YOUR FAFSA ID NUMBER & LOGIN INFO & KEEP IT IN A SAFE PLACE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE! You’ll always need your FAFSA ID and login credentials to make changes and updates to your FAFSA account.
If you are not ready to start today, get ready to start tomorrow…
Start Now & Plan Your College Smart-Path
If you really want to save on college costs, take college courses or courses that provide college credit in high school. Many high schools allow students to take college credit courses online.
You could also complete your first year or two at a community college near you and then transfer to a four-year college in your state, which is becoming an increasingly popular and economical choice; so much so that four-year colleges are starting to team up with local community colleges to provide clear-cut paths for transferring.
The smartest college path will maximize your personal desired outcomes at the lowest cost. Therefore, finding the best college-match is important. What makes a smart college match?
Remember there is more than one perfect match for you. Try to remember college should be a place where you can be yourself but also challenged to be better. You find people to talk with late into the night—whether it’s because you totally agree with each other or you’re debating something you care about.
And you can get this kind of education without breaking the bank and taking on crazy amounts of student debt.
Speaking of college costs, here’s the dirty little secret: because there are so many schools out there and a variety of financial aid to be had, you can almost always find a college that meets your needs and your budget.
Always remember your future success is largely determined by you, not your college. College is what you make of it. So you can go to any number of the thousands of colleges and universities in the United States and graduate ready for whatever the real world throws at you. Otherwise, borrowing lots of money to attend a “name-brand” school isn’t really necessary—or worth it.
It’s also important to define what the right college match for you is not. It’s not just the school with the lowest acceptance rate. It’s not the one with the “it costs more so it must be better” highest tuition, that’s for sure. And it’s not just because it’s on one of those “best college” rankings lists.
Even if you’ve dreamed of going to a certain college your whole life, not checking out your other options is a mistake. Finding your perfect college match(es) takes time and effort, but it’s worth it in the end.
Save Money and Sharpen Your Skills By Taking Classes Online – Many are FREE
Technology has made everything from music to health care devices more affordable and easier to access. The business of education has been slower to catch on, but calls to make college more affordable might soon change that.
Colleges and universities have begun to build classes and programs online – many are FREE. edX, for example, has hundreds of free college level courses that you can sign up for today. Why wait?
One way to teach more students without necessarily having to build more classrooms or hire more faculty is by offering more courses online, says Jeff Selingo, author of College (Un)bound and There Is Life After College. This doesn’t mean days spent in the classroom will disappear. Students would still have face-to-face time with their professors, but they’ll also learn online.
A growing number of universities currently offer so-called hybrid courses, such as the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Here’s how it could work: Say a calculus class meets three days a week. Instead of spending all those days in a classroom, students would listen to lectures or take quizzes online for two of those days. The third day would be spent in the classroom with a professor, who would lead discussions and take questions.
The University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee provides a checklist of four criteria for students considering a hybrid course. First, regular access to a fast broadband Internet connection is essential, along with basic keyboarding skills. Also critical to success are competency in writing and reading: A student in a hybrid course needs to be able to communicate well in online discussions that don’t involve body language or other subtle clues. You also need to manage time skillfully; accordingly, the fourth component you need to consider honestly is your own ability to work independently and take responsibility for assignments and activities that might require more creativity and active learning than traditional lectures.
This way, on days students aren’t in class, the professor would spend it teaching other students. “If a university can serve more students with the same number of instructors, it can actually reduce costs,” Selingo says.
Cut your college costs by as much as HALF – utilize your local community college by taking General Education classes and using transfer credits
Many students end up paying more for their degree than they have to. They take far more credits than required to earn a bachelor’s degree, partly because colleges often refuse to accept credits from other institutions. To save students from having to retake similar courses, universities should make transferring credits easier.
Discounts and coupons are available for every product if a consumer is willing to look. Essentially, we live in a world in which discounts are available for everything we need and want. So, what about college? Are there discounts for higher education?
You can make college more affordable with a search for scholarships. Though this isn’t a guaranteed, it is a chance for you to lower tuition by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Make applying to scholarships a priority by setting a goal for yourself: apply to one or two scholarships a week to increase your chances of winning a scholarship. Schedule it!
In addition to making scholarships a priority, put the FAFSA on your calendar as well – even if you’ve never qualified for aid before. Filing the FAFSA enables you to qualify for financial aid of any kind, from work study jobs to unsubsidized Stafford loans, which are available to anyone regardless of their need. Failing to fill out the FAFSA each year rules out your chances for financial aid, which would therefore eliminate your chances of a decrease in the total amount you pay for college.
Start saving NOW – every dollar is one you won’t need to borrow
If college is a few years away, there are a variety of ways you can maximize your aid eligibility in order to receive more financial aid. From paying off consumer debt to buying a new car in order to reduce cash on hand, taking these small steps can help you get a lower ticket price on the cost of college.
Whether you’re leaving for college in ten months or ten years, it’s never too early or late to start saving. A dollar saved is a dollar less you’ll have to borrow for college. And it will lower your cost of attendance at zero cost to you when the time comes to pay your tuition. So open up a 529 savings plan, and save the money from holidays, birthdays and part-time or summer jobs for your college tuition.