Posts Tagged ‘Financial Aid’

Maximizing Your Financial Aid

By: Green Panda | Date posted: August 06, 2008 (5:18 pm)

 

It’s time to start anew semester. I decided to update a post on getting the most financial aid. If you have any suggestions, please leave some tips in the comments.

How to Reduce Student Loans

  • Consider using CLEP to reduce costs.

I used my college’s tuition prices to figure the savings from using CLEP before and this is what I came up with:

 

CLEP In-State Out-State
$400.00 $ 3,264.00 $ 8,874.00

Here’s the amount of savings:

CLEP v In-State $2,864.00
CLEP v Out of State $8,474.00
  • Apply for FAFSA early. As soon as you can, apply for Free Application for Federal Student Aid in January. Use an estimate for your taxes when you initially fill it out. Once you get your tax return back, (or your parents’) sign in online and update the information. The earlier you do this the higher your chances of receiving more grants. Contact your local school to see the deadline.
  • Be aware of individual states’ deadlines for getting financial aid. Each state has a different deadline on getting grants from them. March is a deadline that many states shoot for, so try to do it early and you’ll see that you can get more grants there. We’re talking about an extra hundred a semester to thousands of dollars.
  • Apply for scholarships. Just because you’re getting money from the government doesn’t mean you can’t try to get some scholarships. FastWeb is a popular site that searches applicable scholarships for you. You should also check out the institution’s scholarships, which are usually based on need, merit, and/or major. There are plenty of sites where you can dig for money for college. It pays to leave no stone unturned.
  • Stay local. By staying in-state, you get much cheaper rates than out of state students. In my first economic class, the professor stated that the university charged twice as much for out of state students. I just checked the tuition rates today. It’s almost three times as much as in-state now.
  • Go to a community college first. In my area, the community college is close to the local universities. Many of the university professors teach at community college. You also save 40-60% on the price per credit!
  • Maintain good grades. Most federal financial aid require a 2.0 GPA or higher to keep it. Don’t use that as a guideline; strive for a 3.0 or higher. It will help when you go to a 4 year university and are looking at their scholarships.
  • Consider work study as an option. This helps put cash on your pocket and the schedule is typically good for a college student. If you have dependents and going to college, this may not be an option, as the pay is usually $6-8/hour.  I would suggest looking at jobs from the career center.

Don’t let barriers like how much time it takes stop you. You have to invest time to increase your chance of getting a great financial aid package.

Photo Credit:  paolo màrgari

Getting The Most Financial Aid

By: Green Panda | Date posted: December 31, 2007 (5:06 pm)

Since FAFSA applications will be sent out and available starting this week, I decided to re-post (and modify) a previous post on financial aid. The information is still good and very helpful.

My goal with this post is to try and get you the information you need to find  money for college. While many students finance their education with mainly student loans, there are grants and scholarships out there. The main key is start early. While there are opportunities throughout the year, focusing on applying in January and February can really pay off. How? See the tips below to find out.

Remember you’re looking for grants, which mean you don’t have to pay them back.

Apply for FAFSA early.

As soon as you can, apply for Free Application for Federal Student Aid in January. Use an estimate for your taxes when you initially fill it out. Once you get your tax return back, (or your parents’) sign in online and update the information. The earlier you do this the higher your chances of receiving more grants.

Be aware of individual states’ deadlines for getting financial aid.

Each state has a different deadline on getting grants from them. March is a deadline that many states shoot for, so try to do it early and you’ll see that you can get more grants there. We’re talking about an extra hundred a semester to thousands of dollars.

Apply for scholarships.

Just because you’re getting money from the government doesn’t mean you can’t try to get some scholarships. FastWeb is a popular site that searches applicable scholarships for you. You should also check out the institution’s scholarships, which are usually based on need, merit, and/or major.

Stay local.

By staying in-state, you get much cheaper rates than out of state students. My university doubles the rate for a class for out of state students.

Go to a community college first.

In my area, the community college is close to the local universities. Many of the university professors teach at community college. You also save 40-60% on the price per credit!

Maintain good grades.

Most federal financial aid require a 2.0 GPA or higher to keep it. Don’t use that as a guideline; strive for a 3.0 or higher. It will help when you go to a 4 year university and are looking at their scholarships.

Consider work study as an option.

This helps put cash on your pocket and the schedule is typically good for a college student. If you have dependents and going to college, this may not be an option, as the pay is usually $6-8/hour.  I would suggest looking at jobs from the career center.

There are several articles great articles from other blogs that can help college students. Here’s a list of my favorites:

If you enjoyed this post and want more, please subscribe to my RSS feed or check out my best posts!

Photo Credit: yanec

CLEP Can Reduce Your Student Loans

By: Green Panda | Date posted: October 22, 2007 (11:43 am)

College can be an expensive investment. With many students graduating with larger student loan balances, finding ways to reduce the cost is valuable to many people. One option for some students is CLEP exams.

Attending college can be affordable if you test out of some classes.

What are CLEP exams?

These exams test your knowledge in several subjects ranging from accounting, English, History, and even foreign languages. These nationally recognized exams are overseen by College Board and administered at local colleges.

If you feel comfortable in a subject, you can take the exam, get credit for the classes, and pay only a fraction of the costs of taking the class on campus. A CLEP exam at my university is $80.

The College Board gives great tips on taking advantage of these exams:

  • Find out if your college accepts CLEP. Use theCLEP college search and talk to your admissions office, test center, or academic advisor.
  • Read descriptions of all 34 exams and decide which to take.
  • Register to take your exam(s) by contacting aCLEP test center and making an appointment.
  • Start studying. Get a college textbook and review sample questions.
  • Take your test!

    • How much can you save with CLEP Exams?

    To show how much can be saved; I used the tuition prices of my university and compared it to ‘clepping’ 5 elementary courses (3 credits each).

    The totals don’t include room and board, which would increase savings even more.

    CLEP In-State Out-State
    $400.00 $ 3,264.00 $ 8,874.00

    Here’s the amount of savings:

    CLEP v In-State $2,864.00
    CLEP v Out of State $8,474.00

    I think this is a wonderful option for some people. I’ve taken exams through CLEP and it does save money. The only drawback is that you have to send a transcript of your scores if you decide to transfer schools. If you’re trying to reduce your college expenses and possibly student loans, then this might be a viable option.

    Photo Credit: neuroticcamel

    Rich College Student Part II: Keeping a Budget

    By: GreenPanda | Date posted: September 17, 2007 (12:34 pm)

     

    lecture-hall.jpg

    Credit: Phillip C

    This blog is directed mainly towards people who in my boat, working college students. As I’m working on finishing my last semester I’m looking for ways to help save money. Part I was about getting the most financial aid. This week’s topic is budgeting when you’re going to college.

    I found the hardest part was figuring some basic scenarios. I went back and forth dividing it up by part-time and full-time. Then I decided to break it down by single, married, or have kids (single and married) .

    I’ll go over the first scenario which is living with your parents with the minimum amount of obligations. From there, I’ll look at more and more complicated situations.

    If you have any tips, suggestions, disagreements, or feedback, please leave a comment.

    • Pay ‘rent’. There are many students today who don’t pay for anything and receive money to support their spending habits. College is supposed to be a time of learning academic and life skills. A major part of life is to be able to support yourself. It also shows respect to your family who are supporting you financially while you make this long-term investment.
    • Save at least 15%. You’re at a very fortunate time in you life where bills are minimal. Take advantage of your situation and put at least 15% of your take home in a high yields savings account. A student working 20 hours making $6.50 and hour can save $1,681.95 in two years, before interest!
    • Use your own money for splurges. Don’t waste other peoples’ hard earned money. If you want something, earn t. It will give you the satisfaction of doing it on your own and build your self-esteem.
    • Think twice before getting a credit card. If you’re not able to completely support yourself, then getting a credit card can be a recipe for disaster. Many students will still go ahead and get a credit card, so my advice is to have a credit limit of no more $500. If they offer to raise your limit, ask them instead to lower your interest rate. That would be better for you. As you are well aware, pay the balance in full each month. Bad credit will haunt you long after graduation.

    Here’s a sample monthly budget:

    Income  
    Job

    467.21
       
       
       
    EXPENSES  
    Family

    100
    Groceries

    100
    Gas/fuel

    137.7
    Savings

    93.44
     

    431.14
       
     

    36.07

    It’s not complicated due to the relative freedom one has in this situation.

    Rich College Student Part I: Getting the Most Financial Aid

    By: GreenPanda | Date posted: September 10, 2007 (10:53 am)

    lecture-hall.jpg

    Finding Money for College

    This blog is directed mainly towards people who in my boat, working college students. As I’m working on finishing my last semester, I was reflecting on some things that could help others in getting an education at an affordable rate. The most affordable rate I could think of was free. My goal with this post is to try and get you the information you need to find this money.

    People don’t normally associate college students with being rich, but it is possible to have money saved while going to college. It takes some effort at first, but once you get into the habit, it’ll pay off in spades.

    walllet.jpg

    Photo Credit: Jeff Keen

    Tips on Maximizing Your Financial Aid

    1. Apply for FAFSA early: As soon as you can, apply for Free Application for Federal Student Aid in January. Use an estimate for your taxes when you initially fill it out. Once you get your tax return back, (or your parents’) sign in online and update the information. The earlier you do this the higher your chances of receiving more grants.
    2. Be aware of individual states’ deadlines for getting financial aid. Each state has a different deadline on getting grants from them. We’re talking about an extra hundred a semester to thousands of dollars. Remember you’re looking for grants, which mean you don’t have to pay them back.
    3. Apply for scholarships. Just because you’re getting money from the government doesn’t mean you can’t try to get some scholarships. FastWeb is a popular site that searches applicable scholarships for you. You should also check out the institution’s scholarships, which are usually based on need, merit, and/or major.
    4. Stay local. By staying in-state, you get much cheaper rates than out of state students. My university doubles the rate for a class for out of state students.
    5. Go to a community college first. In my area, the community college is close to the local universities. Many of the university professors teach at community college. You also save 40-60% on the price per credit!
    6. Maintain good grades. Most federal financial aid require a 2.0 GPA or higher to keep it. Don’t use that as a guideline; strive for a 3.0 or higher. It will help when you go to a 4year university and are looking at their scholarships.
    7. Consider work study as an option. This helps put cash on your pocket and the schedule is typically good for a college student. If you have dependents and going to college, this may not be an option, as the pay is usually $6-8/hour. I would suggest looking at jobs from the career center.

    Tomorrow Next Monday, I’ll look into how to budget on a college student’s budget and save money. I’ll do two basic ones:

    • A dependent student living at home
    • An independent student living on their own or have familial responsibilities

    *Working on these budgets made me realize I was narrowing the field too much, it look I’ll have at least 5 sample budgets next Monday instead of just 2 budgets!

    Some sites you should check out

    There are several articles great articles from other blogs that can help college students. Here’s a list of my favorite:

    If you enjoyed this post and want more, please subscribe to my RSS feed!

    Photo Credit: Phillip C

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