Going To College Without The Debt

Are you a left-handed vegetarian over 6 feet tall heading to college? If so, there may be a scholarship out there with your name on it!

If you want to go to college with the least amount of debt, start looking for funding which does not have to be repaid. Grants and scholarships are available from a variety of sources (public and private) for the benefit of a variety of students.

Photo by wohnai, courtesy of flickr

First, let’s talk about government grants and scholarships.

A Federal Pell Grant is a need-based award granted to full or part-time students who are working on their first undergraduate degree. The maximum award is $4,731 effective July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009.

How much a student receives will depend on how much the family is expected to contribute. The government refers to this figure as the student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

In addition to the EFC, the school’s cost of attendance, the student’s status (full or part-time) and whether the student attends school for the full academic year will also be considered.

Supplemental Grants may be available to students with exceptional financial need. Priority for a Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) is given to students with extremely low EFCs and recipients of Pell Grants.

FSEOG grants may be as small as $100 or as large as $4,000 a year. Schools may have varying amounts of FSEOG funds available so the size of the grant will depend upon how much funding the school has as well as the student’s need.

Academic Competitiveness Grants can also be awarded to low-income students who are eligible for Pell grants. Students who have completed certain high-school curriculum requirements (the government calls them “rigorous”) can receive $750 as freshman and up to $1,300 as sophomores if they maintain a 3.0 GPA. View ACG requirements.

National SMART Grants are available to juniors and seniors majoring in math, science, technology, engineering or selected foreign languages. Students with a 3.0 GPA are eligible to receive up to $4,050. View the SMART details

Now, let’s talk about scholarships from non-government sources.

Academic – Students with high GPAs or enrolling in certain majors may be eligible for full tuition scholarships from their university. There are also smaller scholarships available from private sources. Visit the FastWeb database to search.

Athletics and Activities – Playing a sport or an instrument can help pay a student’s way through college. Most athletic scholarships from schools will cover all or part of tuition. Students should reach out to the schools of their choice to look for funding in programs such as sports, ROTC or the school band. Scholarships are also available from other organizations such as the American Federation of Musicians and individuals from the university’s community.

Non-Academic – Some scholarships are available to students with no minimum GPA requirement. As I mentioned earlier, you can get scholarships for being left-handed, tall (short) or vegetarian (beef eater) and many other non-school related characteristics. In fact, I have a non-profit which awards scholarships. While GPA is considered, it is not the most important factor in the awarding decision.

The bottom line: There are countless sources of grant and scholarship money available for students. Be proactive and look for it!

Here are some additional links to scholarship web sites.

www.scholarships.com, www.collegescholarships.com, and www.college-scholarships.com/free_scholarship_searches.htm

Sources: College Board, CollegeData, FinAid