Get help paying for college

As if keeping your grades up, studying for SAT’s, and taking part in all those extracurricular activities wasn’t enough (ai yi yi!), now that you’ve been accepted to college you have to start thinking about how you’re going to pay for it.

According to recently released reports from College Board:

“Most students and their families can expect to pay, on average, from $108 to $1,398 more than last year for this year’s tuition and fees, depending on the type of college.

“But there is good news. There is more than $143 billion in financial aid available. And, despite all of these college price increases, a college education remains an affordable choice for most families.”

To make it even more affordable, here are some tips and resources that can help you pay for that college education:

Get started early

The sooner you begin researching available resources, the better your chances to qualify for them. Talk with a campus guidance or career counselor and get in touch with the school’s financial aid office. These experts can help you navigate through all the paperwork, find the appropriate resources out there, and target the aid that you may qualify for.

There are also lots of online sites that can help you find the aid that’s right for you:

• FAFSA
• FinAid!
• Sallie Mae
  
• Financial Aid Finder
• U.S. Dept. of Education
  

Consider all sources

There are many different types of funding such as scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study programs for undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and postdoctoral students. You should also look into federal, state and local grants.

You can find a scholarship for almost any category: athletics, academic merit, disability, race, nationality, major, etc. FastWeb’s free scholarship search makes finding the right scholarships for you easy.

Remember deadlines!

Get an early start, then keep a log of cutoff dates for all financial aid packages and set reminders for them. You don’t want to miss out on any opportunities because you missed a deadline. (Try sites like Google Calendar, which offers a free calender reminder service so you can get all that paperwork filled out and mailed out on time!)

Federal Pell Grant

The Pell Grant is a federal assistance grant that is awarded to low-income undergraduate and certain post-baccalaureate students to promote access to post-secondary education. Students may use their grants at any one of approximately 5,400 participating post-secondary institutions in the country.

To qualify for a Pell Grant, you must demonstrate financial need. Learn more here.

Stafford Loan Program

Stafford loans are federal student loans made available to college and university students to supplement personal and family resources, scholarships, grants, and work-study. Nearly all students are eligible to receive Stafford loans regardless of credit. Stafford loans may be subsidized by the U.S. government or unsubsidized depending on your needs.

Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)

Your parents can borrow a PLUS loan to help pay for your college expenses if you are a dependent undergraduate student enrolled at least half time in an eligible program at an eligible school.

Apple scholarships

Love products like the iPhone? Then get Apple to pay for college! The Apple Scholars program recognizes the academic and creative abilities of outstanding high school seniors with $2,000, an Apple Nano iPod, plus a pricey laptop to take to college.

According to CollegeScholarhips.org, eligible applicants must be ready to go head to head with some pretty stiff competition. The idea is to prove, via a “senior project,” that you can synthesize your academics with the creativity inspired by your Apple experience and savvy.

(Side note: Besides the scholarships, Apple also provides education discounts for students, K-12 institutions, colleges and universities.)

Microsoft scholarships

Not to be outdone by Apple, software giant Microsoft also wants to help the country’s future engineers and scientists. Microsoft scholarships are awarded to students entering computer science and related technical disciplines: General Scholarships, Women’s Scholarships, Underrepresented Minority Scholarships, and Scholarships for Students with Disabilities.

Google scholarships

Of course, where there’s Apple and Microsoft, there’s Google. The Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship encourages girls to enter and succeed in the computing, engineering and technology fields.

Recipients will each receive a $10,000 award for the 2009-2010 academic year; finalists will each receive a $1,000 award.

Get mom and dad to help

Talk to your parents about some ways they can help you pay for your education. For example, if they own a home, a home equity line of credit could free up some funds to pay for tuition, books, room and board.

You can also ask your parents about a 529 College Savings Plan. A 529 Plan is an education savings plan operated by a state or educational institution designed to help families set aside funds for future college costs. Contributions grow tax-deferred and withdrawals are tax-free for 529 plans.

The more financially prepared you are for college, the more you’ll be able to focus on your studies. While college is expensive, many counselors say that most students don’t take advantage of all the financial resources available to them, so take time to do your (financial aid) homework and it could really pay off! (Hey, we even have tips on what you could do with that extra money!)