Free Advice

You’ve decided to continue your education. Congratulations! With jobs becoming more and more competitive, advancing one’s education is a great way to enhance your prospects.

After all, paying for one’s college education is something that must be addressed sooner or later. Ilgunas went $38,000 in debt when obtaining his Bachelors. So he has some reason for living in a van while obtaining his Masters. At the same time, there are five different ways he could ease his burden. Here’s the rundown:

Pell Grants – Formerly known as the Basic Equal Opportunity Grant, this is money provided by the Federal government. What’s important about this grant is the recipient doesn’t have to pay it back. You must fill out a Free Application for Free Student Aid (FAFSA Grant) to determine one’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC). If qualified, the applicant can get nearly $5,000. Not enough probably pay all the costs, but a good start.

University Grants – A lot of schools have very generous trust funds. They are set up specifically to provide student financial assistance. The best thing to do in this situation is to consult your target institute of education and just plain ask. You’d be surprised how quickly they’ll point you to the money. After all, they don’t get it unless the student does.

Corporate Grants – There are a number of companies out there who have also set up their own trust funds. They figure taking the financial burden off a higher education is a good way to recruit a higher quality work force. A good place to start sourcing these grants is Scholarship America. It’s best known for two particular programs, Dollars for Scholars and the Scholarship Management Services. You’d also be surprised who coughs up the money. For instance, Disney finances the California Institute of the Arts, which in turn has become a great source for their animators.

The Armed Services – The military will provide assistance for anything from music school to going to MIT. After graduation, applicants are obligated to do military service, but that also looks quite good on a resume. How effective is this program? 56% of the Army, Navy and Air Force graduate from their respective Reserve Office Training Corps (ROTC).

The Private Sector – Simply go to Google and type in “scholarship programs.” The engine will spit out nearly 2.5 million different entries. That’s a virtual ton of educational programs, and will no doubt involve some sort of advance searching to refine that 2.5 million to your specific needs. Still, with a clear objective in mind and some time, one can no doubt come up with more than a few private organizations that will be glad to help.

The important point is no one needs to go deep into debt in order to improve one’s position in life. People obtaining even a two-year degree via schools online have better shots of earning more than those who just barely got out of high school. A little homework and a bit of time, and one can be well on their way to a better standard of living, with the extra help of student loans and online school.