Paying For Higher Education
These recommendations are a compilation from working with the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the United States facilitating collegiate classes across subject areas for predominantly underprivileged high school students working toward a concurrent AA degree. They are not meant to substitute for your own careful thought or assistance from a guidance counselor.
Please remember:
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Find someone who will be straight with you and ask questions immediately.
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We have a Student Debt Crisis in the United States because there are those who are very willing to take advantage of young people who don’t know how The System works.
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FILL OUT YOUR FAFSA as soon as possible.
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Grades are money. It is never too late to show marked improvement to which you can point as evidence of your growing ability to be a good student.
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LOANS must be paid back. Each loan has an interest rate (the % they add every month). Lower is better (less to repay).
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Federal Loans are usually more affordable than private loans, and may be paused, forgiven, or reduced through public service or (possibly) action by Congress.
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SCHOLARSHIPS are free money, as long as you continue to meet the requirements.
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Apply for any and all scholarships you might have ANY chance of getting.
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Find out the special circumstances a given scholarship was created to address and apply first for the ones you match best. For instance, if you are a person of color or from a family with economic challenges, what scholarships might be available to help you, in particular? If you are an athlete, artist, child of an alum, or interested in an area of study they are trying to build, each of those might help you secure money for tuition, books, and living expenses.
When you know the specific schools in which you are interested, research every scholarship they offer. Assume the perfect ones for you are available and ask their counseling department to help you find what you need. When you secure some support, don’t stop with just one scholarship. Keep applying now and all through college. Also ask about campus work study opportunities to have more options available to you. If you go on to graduate work, look into fellowships and other ways to be paid for helping scholars in your field with their work. Do all of this more than you agree to accept loans, because free money always beats a bill you have to keep paying (forever), especially as you are getting started in the adult world.
Check out:
https://www.finaid.txstate.edu
https://www.salliemae.com/college-planning/college-scholarships/?lnkid=SM-PlanHP-getstarted-scholarships
The funding opportunities at each and every school you might choose
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