As the first semester ends of the 2019-2020 school year, high school seniors should be identifying where they will begin their post-secondary education journeys. Once the university or college has been selected, students and parents should determine how they will fund the post-secondary journey. There are several ways to support your collegiate journey, including loans, grants, and scholarships. Choosing the best financial aid option will depend on your financial status, the college or university you are attending as well your ACT (SAT) score and GPA (grade point average).
Most financial aid packages are a mixture of grants, loans, academic scholarships, and work-study. Maximizing scholarship opportunities are essential in decreasing the amount of money the student or parent will have to borrow or pay while the student is attending college. Students should first begin their financial aid quest by filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The FAFSA will give you several options to fund your educational journey; however, you have the option of choosing which grants, loans, or work-study options that are best for you. Filling out several scholarship applications will also give you more financial options as you fulfill your financial obligation to the university or college.
The websites below are safe websites where you can “surf” for FREE financial aid.
Federal Student Aid
If you need help filling out the FAFSA, you can use this how to guide provided by Sallie Mae or follow the steps in the video below.
Free Scholarship Searches –
College Toolkit Scholarship Search
International Financial Aid and College Scholarship Search
You may use the websites below to help you plan for your post secondary education journey.
Military Opportunities-
If you need help with understanding the different types of loans, please visit The EdD Series previous post on college preparation. The post is entitled, College Bound and was posted on April 15, 2019.
The Educational Dreamer 