Fill Out Your FAFSA Now

You can pick up FAFSA now and get started with your financial aid for next year. It’s always good to plan ahead so you can qualify to receive more grants and rely on less on student loans.

Many students finance their education with mainly student loans, believing that’s the only way to make it through college, but there are grants and scholarships out there. The main key is start early. While there are opportunities throughout the year, focusing on applying and submitting your FAFSA application in January and February can really pay off.

Check Your State’s Deadline to Get the Most Financial Aid

Don’t just wait to turn in your FAFSA application. Each state has a different deadline on getting grants and college funds from them. As you can see below, spring is a common deadline, so please try to send in your FAFSA early and you’ll see that you can get more grants there.

For me personally, it was hundreds to an extra thousand or so a semester.

Source: FAFSA

Tips to Reduce Student Loans

If you can get your college education without student loans, you’re relieving yourself of a burden that has stressed many. If you do have to take some student loans, please avoid private loans which tend to be much more expensive. Instead look for subsidized or unsubsidized

• Attend an in-state college. If all else is equal, staying in-state can save you 2/3 of tuition over going out of state for college.
• Attend a community college and  transfer to a 4 year University. Community colleges offer similar quality of education; sometimes even sharing the same professors as the near by universities.
• Consider work study as an option to gain experience and/or pay bills. You can gain some income with a job on campus and not spend much on transportation.
• If you want to keep expenses low while in school, don’t get credit cards. They may appear to be a quick fix, but the interest rates are much higher than student loans from the government.

Share your Tips for Maximizing Financial Aid

What did you do when you attended college? How do you plan on saving money?

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