So... as many of you probably noticed: Pretty much all the acceptances are out in the US. I'm sitting here, and I realize... Damn college is expensive. Okay, I didn't *just* realize that, but I just realized how awesome it would be to get extra money to pay for it. I know this is probably late, but does anyone have any good ideas about where to find scholarships/money for colleges? I think that I'd have to stick with merit-based/grants, opposed to need based.
Also, feel free to add whatever you know about it. I never really gave financial aid much thought, and all of a sudden I feel rushed. One of my questions: For *any* type of financial aid (merit or need), is the FAFSA always required?

EDIT: I am a US Resident.
EDIT: Ideally, I'd be going to Carnegie Mellon.

Zeri

United States773 Posts

March 31 2011 03:05 GMT

Hey! I do have a good amount of experience applying for a lot of financial aid because I go to a school where total costs are absolutely ridiculous! Financial aid is VERY different from school to school. The top schools I applied to like Cornell and Johns Hopkins do not distinguish between merit based and need based aid, they just acknowledge acceptance to the school is merit enough and they just calculate your need from there. For state schools there are a lot of smaller and even departmental scholarships to look out for, they can usually be found by spending about 10 minutes on the schools website though you may have to look around a bit..

The two big things you are going to need for financial aid is the FAFSA and the CSS Profile on the college board website. The biggest thing to remember is schools are VERY VERY particular about the dates these forms are due and HOW they must be submitted so definitely find out the process for your school before jumping into it.

Also it is important to note that a part of your financial aid package from a University may involve Federal Work Study (which is awesome btw) and a Federal Loan along with grant money from the university.

The only type of scholarships I am not familiar with are local/community ones that give you X amount of money to any school after you earn them.

Pretty much seek advice from a counselor if you are unsure about what to do, and really keep your eyes open and do a lot of searching for small or departmental scholarships that you may qualify for at a university (they really add up).

And the last thing is; the first year of college is ALWAYS the hardest to pay for, once you are in and have a year under belt, (as long as you do decently) most universities will actively help you keep paying for it.

Hope any of this helps!

Disregard

China10123 Posts

March 31 2011 03:07 GMT

FAFSA is provided by the federal government, its not required. It comes in the form of a Pell grant, the max usually is 6000USD per year. When you sign up for it, you're also provided the option of federal student and parent loans, along with fed work study programs. And again, this is all optional.

The Pell grant is heavily based on your EFC rating, which will be provided after they process all your tax forms/W2 info. So if you're well off or your family's accountant does a terrible job, that grant isnt going to have a noticeable dent in your annual tuition.

justalurker

United States9 Posts

March 31 2011 03:09 GMT

FAFSA is required for any scholarship program that is government related in the United States.

Merit-based are good but hard to maintain. College tuition is grossly inflated now-a-days so I'd recommend working as well as applying for every scholarship imaginable. Even if its the bumpkin farm club association you should apply. Theres no real straight-forward easy solution to college tuition.

Disregard

China10123 Posts

March 31 2011 03:18 GMT

Probably the most straight forward way to get decent tuition funds are from those small academic grants.

Mickey

United States2606 Posts

March 31 2011 03:18 GMT

Wasn't the FAFSA deadline March 1st?

matjlav

Germany2435 Posts

March 31 2011 03:19 GMT

Where are you planning on going? If you can give a specific school, maybe some people from the college can give you a heads-up about scholarships that they know can be found there.

Everything the above poster said is pretty much right. I don't really remember but I feel like my need-based financial aid app for my freshman year was actually due only a couple months after the school application was due, so I feel like you're probably too late for school need-based financial aid.

Just a couple of things from my experience that stick out in my mind as ways to save money:

If you have AP credit (or IB or whatever), you should see if you can manage to graduate in 7 semesters (or 10/11 quarters if you're on that system...). I had enough AP credit at Cornell to essentially get me out of a semester of classes, so I'm able to take a semester off for a co-op job next semester; not only am I saving a semester's tuition, but I'll be making >$20k at the internship. That's some serious net gain right there, all in return for paying a few hundred dollars in high school to take some tests. I know a lot of people recommend using your AP credit to retake classes you've already learned and have a light freshman year, but I completely disagree. If you have AP credit, you can seriously cash in, and if you don't, you're wasting your time and your money.

Another really good way to save money that I can't believe more people don't seek out is being an RA after your freshman year. I'm an RA, and the job is about a 5 hour/week commitment for me on average. Your duties will probably consist of organizing a few hall programs, being on-call on certain nights throughout the semester (which usually doesn't have to translate into any real work), and other little side commitments. Not a serious time commitment involved, but most schools will discount your room and board extremely heavily for it. At Cornell the deal is free room + 20% discount on food + a $500 stipend each semester . All told it's about $5500 per semester, which is way too much for the time involved imo. Definitely look into that if you're any sort of people person.

On top of those things, I get need-based financial aid, and I get an additional $4,000 off from an on-campus volunteering organization that I'm involved in.

I'm sure other people can point different things out, but if you look around, you'll find lots of ways to cut the costs of college. GLHF with everything!

Disregard

China10123 Posts

March 31 2011 03:21 GMT

On March 31 2011 12:18 Mickey wrote:
Wasn't the FAFSA deadline March 1st?

I believe its based on which state you're in. But, first come, first serve basis.

Shettle

United States9 Posts

March 31 2011 03:33 GMT

I'm a college student in Texas and the FAFSA is pretty much required for any type of aid. It's usually used as a rubric for how much contribution you should make towards tuition, whether its an instate school or not. While the fafsa was "due" early march I have still filed mine in April many times.

Souma

2nd Worst City in CA8905 Posts

March 31 2011 03:43 GMT

#10

FAFSA was due in early march if you wanted the early rewards your state/university provides.

For instance, if I didn't complete my FAFSA in time I would have still gotten my Pell Grant and subsidized loans, but I would not have gotten my Cal Grant which makes up the bulk of my costs.

ReketSomething

United States5124 Posts

March 31 2011 05:58 GMT

#11

ALWAYS do the FAFSA. You should also do the CSS profile as well. (both deadlines already passed though)

FAFSA is the main thing. Do it ASAP even if its passed the deadline. Dont screw up like my sister T___T

Wiggles88

United States52 Posts

March 31 2011 07:23 GMT

#12

1. Do you FAFSA as early as you can. It's first come first serve (in Illinois).
2. FAFSA + my school grants (University of Illinois at Chicago) paid for my first 2 years in full.
3. I had about $1,200-$1,500 in extra spending money from FAFSA and my school alone.
4. Do your FAFSA early.
5. Do your FAFSA late.
6. You can always do the FAFSA even if school has begun.