Nowadays, there are more ways than ever to pay for your college education, and the trick to making the most of the financial aid that you could get is to know where to find it. The following list includes four of the most common ways that people pay for a college or university education.
Scholarships
Getting scholarships is an excellent way to pay for school, most particularly because you don’t have to pay this money back as you would with a student loan. The trick to making scholarships work, though, is to research them. This usually requires many months of searching before you even apply for college, applying for the scholarships and waiting to hear back from the funding organizations. You can get your search started by going to the Federal Student Aid website for more information.
Work Study
Work study allows you to work a job on campus to pay for your schooling. The best work study jobs also allow you to gain experience in the career field you hope to enter once college is over.
For example, if you want to work in radio, you may be given a work study job at the campus radio station. This provides you with double benefit, and like scholarships, the money you get from work study doesn’t have to be paid back so you’re facing less debt once you graduate. You can apply for work study consideration when you fill out your FAFSA form for your school.
Military Service
Joining the military has so many benefits. Aside from giving you an opportunity to serve your country, you can earn money to pay for college in the process. This is money you can use after you’re done with service, or if you intend to make the military your career, you could use toward an online university for military personnel. Like the previous options, it’s also money you don’t have to pay back, so that’s a definite bonus.
Loans and Grants
Grants and loans offer students another option for paying for school, and like work study, require you to fill out a FAFSA form in order to receive them. Loans you’ll have to pay back, unless you’re in a loan forgiveness program, but grants are also “free” money. The Pell Grant is the most common one, but there are others so be sure to check with your school’s financial aid counselors to find out what’s available to you.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to paying for college, it’s best to know what your options are. This list cites the most common ways that people pay for college. What usually differs is the percentages. That is, some people pay for college solely with scholarships. Others rely on their military service, and finally, many, if not most people will combine these different payment methods to ensure that they don’t have an economic shortfall when it comes to paying for school.