I have two kids in college, one at a small private school and one at a large public school. The good news is that one of them is graduating this year. The bad news is that his sister is going to start college in the fall!
The age old question of college students is “How do I fund my education?” Those who are lucky enough to have their parents contribute money have less of a challenge than those who don’t but, unless enough money has been set aside to fully pay for a student’s college experience, students and parents alike need to find ways to raise the money. Savings, loans, grants and scholarships are among some of the options. Certainly, one option is to have the student work. However, with so many people out of work these days, finding work as a student seems like it might be an impossible task.
There is one job that any student, or parent for that matter, can take on and there is no limit to the number of positions available. What could that be? There are both full time and part time opportunities. Still don’t know? How about “Professional Financial Aid Applicant?” That’s right. Employ yourself as a part time or full time student aid application preparer. I will guarantee you that there is no job you can find out there in today’s economy that will pay you more per hour than filling out the forms and applying for financial aid. And, it is much simpler today than when I was in school back in the 70s. Today, you can get on your computer and go on line and fill out as many applications as you want by copying/pasting information into the forms. I had to request the forms by mail, or go copy them at the campus student center, and fill them out by hand, one after the other. Then mail them out and wait for a response.
Don’t think the money is out there? Think again! Even as some of the banks and financial institutions that were participating in student loan programs are going toes-up or exiting the business, many colleges are experiencing alumni and other entities stepping up their private grant activities. I checked my son’s college’s web page, went to “Financial Aid” and found a grant program initiated by an alumnus motivated by the poor economy to offer a no interest loan that would be forgiven when the student graduated. If they don’t graduate, the money would have to be paid back with interest. Now there’s an incentive to stay in school and graduate. My son qualified for $2,500. It took me less than an hour to check the web site and fill out the form. Even an old-school finance guy like me can do the math on that one. $2,500 divided by one hour… I’d say that’s pretty close, if not exactly, $2,500 per hour. I don’t think you’d get that much working at McDonald’s all summer.
The first place to start is completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). All universities require that you fill this form out when applying for financial aid. You can find this form on the web at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Now is the time to complete that form for the fall semester. The form can be sent to as many schools as you wish, and there is no charge. Then go to the web site of your preferred schools and see what they are offering themselves. And, just because you looked there once before and didn’t find a match, check in regularly because new grant, loan, and scholarship programs come along at all times of the year.
Additional Resources:
(VSS) http://www.collegescholarships.org/scholarships/vet.html
(FSA) http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp
(FAR for Grads) http://www.rspfunding.com/prod_booksgrad1.html
Student Gateway, US Gov.
http://www.students.gov/STUGOVWebApp/Public?topicID=7&operation=topic