Online College Degrees

These days there are many grants for college students. Whether you’re heading off to a four-year-school or just taking a few classes at the local community college, there is surely some financial aid within your reach. The benefit of grants concern the payback. There isn’t any. Grants for college students basically consist of free money in order to help you get an education. If you are starting school, check into the variety of grants that are available to you. After all, any help is better than none.

My first year of education after high school was spent at a community college. Being the uninformed child that I was, I didn’t look into sources of financial aid. I did that old, my parents will cover it, thing. Not the brightest of ideas. After a few years of working away from the joys of college, I began my search for financial aid. I had heard that there were grants for college students. In no time, I had achieved my first grant. This took care of most of my school expenses. What I didn’t know at the time was there are many state grants to utilize. Virtually every state has some sort of grant to offer the struggling college student. It is ridiculous to avoid this free money.

When you’re off on your own and paying the bills, you need as much income as you can find. Scholarships and grants for college students are some of the best ways to take care of those bills. While student loans can be necessary as well, it is choice to receive as much aid as possible without any payback burden. When school finally finishes, and it will sooner than you think, you won’t want to be in debt. Our education is certainly crucial to our success in this day and age, but you don’t have to tackle the student expenses on your own.

A great place to begin your search on grants for college students, is the Internet. Applying for grants has never been more simple. You will encounter a site called FAFSA. This is the key to getting started with your financial aid requests. There are an abundance of grants for college students if you look in the right places. Many of them will apply to you. It doesn’t matter if you’re single, young, or already in your mid-twenties. Make sure to always search for local grants that your state may offer. This in addition to federal aid can really help your financial situation. The government has a large sum of money set aside for this, so take advantage of it.

Scammers are working overtime to fool students using offers of free money for college to lure them in. This always happens when money is tight and education costs are almost beyond reach. The good news is that most of the scams can be avoided simply by knowing the basic facts and using your head. Here are some evidences that most likely point to a scholarship scam.

THINGS TO WATCH FOR

Guaranteed Scholarships

College scholarship scammers will often promise to award a guaranteed college scholarship if you sign a contract with them. This means that you generally will pay a fee in order to win this guaranteed scholarship. It’s just a ruse. The award might be as much as $1,000.

The truth is, of course, that there really is no actual scholarship other than their gift – if they actually pay anything. Any guarantees of free money for schools should not be taken seriously.

Up-front Fees

This is another ploy of the scammers. When a real agency offers a college scholarship, they know that they are often offering it to people that have little money. There should be no up-front fees, except in a few rare occasions. If you pay a fee, most likely you will not see your money again.

Scholarship Seminars

A scholarship seminar is often a ploy to get a lot of people together to collect fees en masse. This works out well for the scammers because they can get a lot of money at one time from people who desperately need financial aid for college and will try anything to get it. There may be different ways to get the people to turn loose of their hard-earned cash – but you can be sure that they will try. There will be a lot of sweet promises and you can be rather sure that one of the other types of scams listed here will be used.

Investment Products

This one adds an air of legitimacy because it appears that there is a solid return for the investment. Some type of instrument will be offered that you will need to invest in before you can apply for the scholarship. This could be a mutual fund, an annuity, or similar type of investment instrument. There never is any such instrument of course, and you will not see either a return of your money – or a college scholarship.

Need ID Verification

Some scholarship and college loan scams will claim to help find a scholarship or loan for you. They will charge an up-front fee for their services. You will be required to fill out a FAFSA in order to qualify for their special services. What really happens is that by helping them fill out the FAFSA for you, you actually are giving them your personal financial data. Or, if other ID is needed, such as a bank account #, etc., then there’s little doubt you’ll end up broke.

Scholarship Sweepstakes

Criminals are tricky. They send out emails, or letters, and it says that you have just won a scholarship. The trouble is that you never even applied for it. This should be a big warning sign that it is not real. Real agencies do not use such tactics where they have to try and drum up business. They generally have more applicants than they have scholarship money. These same marketing materials will also state that you must pay some kind of advance fee to reserve the funds.

Turn scammers in to the Better Business Bureau. Others need to know to beware of such activities and your reporting them will help shut them down.

Use the Internet wisely and you’ll be able to find plenty of reputable sources of scholarships. Also, try your high school or college counselor, financial aid office, a public library, and books that are available in bookstores. Most information on college scholarships is available free online and each of them will require some work on the student’s part, as well as the parents, when you fill out the application.

I have mentioned before that I was a professor for 6 years in Dallas, a student recruiter while in graduate school for 2 years, and I recruited nurses to back to college through distance learning programs for 4 years.  There is one thing I learned:

The lack of money will not keep you from going to school.

I have never seen a student turned away at the door because they didn’t have money in their pocket to pay for school.  Let me qualify that a bit further.  If a student is willing to work with the financial aid department of the school, they will help you find the finances to pay for your schooling.  This includes online degrees and traditional campuses. 

Now, schools want their money… after all, they are technically a “business,” and they need money to keep their doors open.  But, the financial aid department has nearly unlimited resources to help you pay for your degree.  The only people who don’t receive money are the people who never ask.

In a previous blog post, we talked about Federal Money for college.  Here are some further ways you can find money to pay for college.

1. Loans from a private source- Usually this involves a private bank.  These loans tend to have higher interest rates and must be paid on the schedule set up by the bank.
2. Grants- These are monies that will help pay for educational expenses that do not have to be repaid.  In order to receive a grant, the committee that is issuing the grant may have some requirements that must be adhered to.
3. Scholarships- These tend to be based on the student’s performance in school, sports, or other criteria.  There are requirements that must be adhered to in order not to lose a scholarship.  The money from a scholarship does not need to be repaid.
4. In House Financing- Some schools offer an in-house financial program to students who cannot obtain funding sources elsewhere.  Check with the advisor at the school you have chosen.

A student attending an accredited on-line school has the same rights to financial aid as a student attending a traditional college.  With so many options available now, there is no reason why finding financial aid to help pay for schooling should cause you angst.

You have decided to attend an on-line school to further your education, good for you!  Now it is time to find the financing available to you.  There are many options open to you that will not require you to break open your piggy bank or dip into your vacation funds.

As recently as 1992 online schools were required by law to offer at least half of their courses at a physical campus in order to be able to offer any type of federal financing; but that law was overturned in 2006.

There are several different kinds of Federal Student Loans available:

1. Federal Perkins Loans- A low interest loan available to students who are proven to be in extreme financial need.  As long as a student remains in school, the government pays the interest on the loan continuing for nine additional months after the student graduates.  Then the loan and the interest is the responsibility of the student.
2. Federal Subsidized Stafford Loans- A low interest loan that the government pays the interest on as long as the student remains in school.  For six months after graduation the government will continue to pay the interest, and then it is the student’s responsibility to start repaying the loan.
3. Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loans- Also low interest, however the interest starts to accumulate from the time that the money is paid to the school.  The first payment is usually due six months after graduation.
4. Federal PLUS Loans- This stands for “Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students”.  This loan is available to parents that are paying for their child’s education.  The loan repayment starts as soon as the money is paid to the school.
5. Federal PLUS Loans for Graduate and Professional Degree Students- After a student has reached the limits of other federal finance possibilities, they may qualify for this loan.  The loan repayment starts as soon as the money is paid to the school, however the student may request a deferment while they are attending school.  Forty-five days after graduation the loan repayment schedule resumes.

There are other options for paying for your degree beyond Federal loan and grant programs.  We will look at loan options in the next blog post.

Whenever you’re a college bound student, or the parent of one, make a point to understand this article, because it may well be the most significant thing you ever read! Most families wind up going through all forms of anxiety and frustration when it pertains to coming up with the money you require to pay off for college. And with serious reason. The average cost of ONE year of college straddles between $16,000 and $45,000! And, these costs are climbing by as much as 7-8% annually! It will cost anywhere from $64,000 – $180,000 for a four year education. PER student! Households dread being forced to spend their retirement savings, go deeply into debt or even broke. But, it doesn’t have to be this way!

The Facts About College financing exposed!

Most families fall under the trap of college financing hell. They get all sorts of bogus information from accountants, tax advisors, ..

Source: Online course direction