Whats the best way to pay for college tuition

I'm not sure what colleges you are talking about, but I have one in college right now and every single application she filled out required either SAT or ACT, and quite a few required SAT subject tests on top of that. Yeah, there are a few test optional colleges, but the majority still require a test.[/QUOTE]

FWIW--Even if the schools you are thinking of are test OPTIONAL for applying, they are likely NOT test optional for merit aid. We've run into that quite a bit this fall........
 
Here's what we did; when our oldest was in 7th grade, I started preparing for the college years. The best thing I did was get the book, "Paying for college without going broke" from my library (they come out with a new addition every year so it's up to date info).

From that book I learned that I should start moving over my mutual fund investments into IRA's because retirement money isn't counted against you in financial aid formulas. We didn't have a lot so I was able to accomplish getting things rolled over in the 5 years we had until she would start college. I then took our savings account and got that rolled into a Roth IRA invested in a simple savings account at Capital One, so no chance of losing anything in the market and I can withdraw my contributions at any time should I need them, only the earnings have to stay in for 5 years not to trigger penalties.

Through doing all that we qualify for subsidized loans, or rather our kids do. Some of our friends only get offered the unsubidized loans, those are the ones where interest starts accruing immediately, subsidized doesn't start accruing interest until 6 mos after graduation.

I also got real familiar with how the American Opportunity Tax Credit works! We get $2500 refund on our taxes, while kids are in college, and after 4 years will have 10k saved in a special account to help pay the kids loans.

The kids knew before they started high school the plan was for them to take a year of college (for free) in high school through dual enrollment, get scholarships to cover a year, we pay a year, and they pay a year with a combination of work/loans.

Our oldest is graduating May'19, she has 10k in loans and I haven't told her about the tax credit money I have, I'm gonna see where she ends up job wise (she's an engineer) and maybe let her pay her loans for a while, we'll see how that goes. She lived at home and commuted to a University 20 min away.

Our middle dd will graduate May '20, she has 10k in loans at the end of her jr year. I'm pretty confident she won't have to take any more loans for her senior year, but we'll see. She goes an hour away to school(lives there) but got a lot of scholarships and grants. She's going to be a nurse.

Our son, the youngest, will start college next fall. He's very fiscally conservative and is not interested in having any student loans, so going away is off the table for him. He will stay at home and commute to the same University his older sister did. He has got his merit scholarship award but I'm not sure if he'll get any grants? Maybe he might for the 1st year, but once DD2 graduates May '20 and he's the only one in school, I'm sure he won't qualify for any. Having 2 in school at once has really helped our EFC because its dang near cut in half per kid.

Oh and along the way we saved one year of college in a 529 for all the kids, but we got a late start, we didn't have any extra money to put away until we were done with daycare, so our oldest was 10 when we started saving. But we've made it work, and I've done everything in my power to make sure they aren't saddled with debt when they graduate. And I never went back to work full time, I'm still working part time.
 
I'm not sure what colleges you are talking about, but I have one in college right now and every single application she filled out required either SAT or ACT, and quite a few required SAT subject tests on top of that. Yeah, there are a few test optional colleges, but the majority still require a test.

FWIW--Even if the schools you are thinking of are test OPTIONAL for applying, they are likely NOT test optional for merit aid. We've run into that quite a bit this fall........[/QUOTE]

Yep. I totally agree. And the ones that are test optional still prefer you to send in the test scores. Grades aren't really equal from one HS to another (or even from one class to another within the same HS) and test scores are still a tool used to evaluate kids for both admission and merit aid.
 
So we actually did not do a 529, we saved separately and used a financial advisor to help us. We didn't like the constraints of the 529. We started saving when we got pregnant and have been doing so consistently but with the rising cost of college it's just crazy!

I have looked into Parent Plus but their interest rates are 7+% plus a loan fee of 4%. Not awesome.

She will 100% be applying for every scholarship she can. She has to do her part too. I just don't want her to graduate with loans hanging over her head.
The cost for the student to take out a loan is much less than a parent loan. You could always pay it off for her. It just doesn’t make sense to take out a parent plus loan instead of a student loan (if you are going to use a loan at all.)
 


The PSAT is what really helped DS. He made National Merit Scholar and that allowed him to get a lot of merit based aid.

I have two in college right now. Both at private universities here in FL. Both schools were very generous with merit based aid.

DS is a senior. He took out some small loans to cover books and supplies. His coursework was rigorous and we didn’t want him working his first two years of college.

One thing that helped both DS and DD is AP and IB credits. DS started school with over 20 credits. His school is $1800 per credit hour so it saved him thousands. DD didn’t have quite as many but she still saved money.

Fill out the FAFSA when it’s time, Many scholarships require it.

Good luck!!
 
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I'm not dismissing community college/trade school/military. If that's what they want to do, awesome! I don't think that's what dd has planned and I don't want to discourage her dreams.

i see you're in sacramento. be aware that some of the same professors that teach at sac state, uc davis, uc berkeley and other 4 year institutions are teaching the IDENTICAL classes for a fraction of the tuition cost at the community colleges in your area. i got my bachelors at sonoma state but before that i took my general ed at napa valley community college, solano community college (fairfield) and diablo valley college (dvc). one of my professors at solano taught the identical class at uc davis the days he was'nt at solano, same w/my napa prof who also worked at u.c. berkely. my dvc summer bio teacher was a traditional year prof at san francisco state. it was the same when dh got his degree before we moved out of state.

i would REALLY encourage you to talk to a cpa to find out how the changes in the fed taxes will impact you as a california resident before you start running numbers to borrow for future college expenses. home equity loans can no longer be deducted if used for other than very specific things (not school), and allot of californian's will see bigger federal tax bills because of the cap now imposed on state tax deductions. you need to know what your ongoing financial situation is before you start borrowing to cover a future expense.
 
...I'm pretty sure she will not qualify for financial aid...

Everyone qualifies for some type of Financial Aid. The university offer letter may not be what you wanted (loans vs grants) but it's still Financial Aid. There is no harm in filling out the FAFSA and can always decline the a aid packages you aren't interested in.
 


It's time for us to start thinking about this. We would really like to put our kids through college. Not sure where our sophomore will go yet, likely a UC or state college, with room and board. I'm pretty sure she will not qualify for financial aid.

We have saved a bunch but likely not enough to pay in full with what we have.

I really don't know what our options are. I have contacted our mortgage broker and tax person in hopes they will have some ideas.

I was thinking about a home equity line of credit, where we only draw on it when it's time to pay tuition.

Hit me with all your advice/ideas!
I encouraged the kids to apply for all the scholarships they may qualify for and then I did the FAFSA. I took a loan against my 401k which wa very low interest and I’ve paid it back. The only trouble was that during the time I was paying it back nothing was added to my 401k.
 
Many state schools have well respected colleges of study without going to more prestigous and expensive schools.

I agree. Going to a more prestigious college will NOT guarantee a better/higher paying job upon graduation. Once you are actually on the job, your ability to perform, get along with others, etc. mean far more than where you went to college. I bet in most businesses, you probably can't name where your co-workers went to college and for the most part, no one really cares.
 
In MA our community college network has a great relationship with the state schools. Many of the Associate degree programs have articulation agreements so that the two years spent in community college are structured identically to the first two years of a 4 year program. Also, if GPA at the community college level is good, the state schools will discount the tuition costs by 1/3 for students that transfer in after completing their associate's. We definitely plan to STRONGLY encourage our kids to go that route, no sense in paying $20K per year when they can spend Freshman and Sophomore year at community college for less than half the cost. If they manage to get good scholarships to pricier schools that's fine, but I have no qualms about being honest about what we can afford and how to make their goals more attainable!

My kids will also benefit from all the tricks I learned as a 40 year old undergrad in terms of getting textbooks cheaper and accessing online materials without breaking the bank :)
 
How do you know/find out if you qualify for merit aid.

She just got her psat scores back and they were pretty good for a first go around. SAT prep over the summer, then SAT hopefully in the fall.

You won't know until you apply. The school DD ended up going to has limited on-campus housing, so they need to fill the ranks with commuter students. It's also in a high COL area, so it's hard for students to get their own housing. Because of that they give a lot of merit aid to commuters who have good GPA's and ACT/SAT test scores. It was in the city we lived in so it wasn't a problem for her to live at home while she was going to school.
 
In MA our community college network has a great relationship with the state schools. Many of the Associate degree programs have articulation agreements so that the two years spent in community college are structured identically to the first two years of a 4 year program. Also, if GPA at the community college level is good, the state schools will discount the tuition costs by 1/3 for students that transfer in after completing their associate's. We definitely plan to STRONGLY encourage our kids to go that route, no sense in paying $20K per year when they can spend Freshman and Sophomore year at community college for less than half the cost. If they manage to get good scholarships to pricier schools that's fine, but I have no qualms about being honest about what we can afford and how to make their goals more attainable!

My kids will also benefit from all the tricks I learned as a 40 year old undergrad in terms of getting textbooks cheaper and accessing online materials without breaking the bank :)


the ONLY reason i discouraged dd from attending a community college is b/c there's not a huge price difference in our state between them and some of the public universities, and i figured that with all the endowments and donations the universities get they might offer enough in scholarships to offset the cost. in our case that happened and luckily it was before the university started requiring freshman to dorm but i think we still would have ended up ahead.

again, i'm a big fan of community colleges and in california if i had a kiddo who wanted to go to college/wanted to watch costs i would be looking to see if her high school offered any classes that give college credit (i did this a million years ago there, it's offered in the state i live in up to the tune of 2 full years of college general ed credits-all free of charge) or if my kid could take summer classes in between soph/jr and jr/senior high years to whack out maybe 4 general ed classes (i loved summer general ed classes b/c there was lower enrollment and the professors were more available if we needed help).

OP-take a look into the 'western undergraduate exchange' it's a program that certain states (california included) participate in that allow students to attend college in other participating (often MUCH LOWER COST) states at near in-state resident costs. as an example, someone posted upthread about how cal berkeley even living at home runs over $15K per year, under the WUE a student could attend one of washington state's universities for as less than 10K (and if you look beyond seattle there are areas with much lower student housing/cost of living).
 
We started saving when we got pregnant and have been doing so consistently but with the rising cost of college it's just crazy!
We did the same thing, and -- when the time came -- we found that paying for college was easier than expected, and we paid out less than expected overall.

Our back-up plan, which we have not used: We agreed we'd never take money out of our retirement accounts (that's kinda financial suicide), but we were ready to STOP ADDING to those accounts. No, we didn't want to do this, but we have saved aggressively for retirement, and it wouldn't have been all that bad -- it's not what it would be to a younger person. In short, it would've been a way for us to give ourselves an instant raise.

Do assume you'll pay $1000-$1500/year for books and incidentals for your college student. A freshman year Chemistry book is $360. Yes, really. Sure, you can buy used, but it's still going to be $225. Do not underestimate books and incidentals. My oldest was a nursing major, and she was nickle-and-dimed constantly: $90 for school-colored nursing scrubs with school monogram, $10 for a parking card at this hospital for a clinical experience, another $15 for parking at another clinical experience, $25 for a criminal background check, $25 for a drug test. The point: Your tuition isn't the whole story.

I suggest you start with the attitude that loans are simply not acceptable -- and work from there. With loans off the table, you know you need to work harder at the scholarships and choose an affordable school. With loans off the table, she ought to have a part-time job and a summer job -- when I started teaching, that was the norm, now few of my students work.

She will 100% be applying for every scholarship she can. She has to do her part too. I just don't want her to graduate with loans hanging over her head.
Yes, and as a long-time high school teacher, I'll throw out these ideas on how to win those scholarships:

- Now -- while she's still a sophomore -- work on her becoming a "well rounded student. It's better to be the A-B student who is involved in clubs rather than the straight-A student who has no extra-curriculars. Best of all is to be heavily involved in 2-3 clubs (in or out of school) and to show a progression of involvement /leadership over the years (To make up an example: I joined the Drama Club as a freshman, and as a sophomore I had my first part in a play. As a junior I was the club secretary, and as a senior I am president. Showing growth in 2-3 activities is far superior to being a "participant" in 15 clubs.) It's good to have a sport on your college resume, and definitely some sort of community service.

- Talk to your guidance counselor to find out how your school system "shares" scholarship information with students.
- Have her develop a system to save every essay she writes. Many times, those questions show up on other scholarships, and it's a time saver.
- Type everything. Reviewers are only human, and if it's easier to read, it gets more attention.
- Sounds obvious, but don't waste your time applying for scholarships for which you're not qualified. Seriously. If the scholarship says, "Students from ____ county who plan to study business", they're NOT going to say, "Oh, but this student is so outstanding, so we'll take her even though she's going to study nursing." Just doesn't happen. Every time I've been on a selection committee, we've started by going through to see which applicants had completed everything and which applicants were actually qualified -- and we'd throw out without reading the ones who didn't meet the criteria.
- Apply for lots of scholarships, but know this: In 26 years of teaching seniors, I've never once had a student win those "red headed" or "left handed" scholarships. Those crazy niche scholarships are ways to get your information /try to get you to take out loans or spend money to find scholarships. (Never pay anyone to find you scholarships.)
- Understand that individual schools give out fewer scholarships than corporations and organizations; thus, you don't need to apply to bunches-of-bunches-of-bunches of schools.
- Understand that full-rides are essentially a thing of the past. Instead of giving three students a full ride worth $20,000, schools are opting to award twenty students $3,000 -- or something similar.
- Pay attention to whether the scholarships are renewable. I've know more than a few students who went away to ____ university for a year, and then couldn't afford to stay after that freshman-year scholarship ran out. Transferring takes a toll both emotionally and in terms of stress.
- People who get scholarships: those planning to study teaching or nursing, those with military or police backgrounds (or going into military), those with minority ethnicity, and those with financial need. Yes, grades matter, but those are the categories who have the best chances.

- Junior year is the time to spread your net wide and visit schools. When senior year starts, you need to have them whittled down to a handful. If you haven't managed to visit a certain school yet, your interest probably isn't all that real. If it's because of distance, it's probably not all that realistic.
- When she starts applying, she should apply to the #1 school she really-really wants. THE DREAM happens for some people. Then she should apply to 2-3 realistic schools; schools where she reasonably expects to be accepted /can afford. Finally, apply to the safety net school; for someone, everything will go wrong senior year -- an illness, a parental job loss. Have in mind a back-up school where she can attend even if it's not what she wants.

ALWAYS consider private, even out-of-state schools. Often times can cost less than in -state, state schools. They have high dollar scholarships available. They have endowments!
Eh, in my experience -- again, 26 years teaching seniors -- the most expensive school usually ends up being the most expensive school. If they appeal to you, apply -- but don't neglect applying to a couple realistic schools too. When May 1 rolls around, and it's time to MAKE THE CHOICE, you want a handful of options.

Parents should have an honest discussion with their h.s. age children about college expenses and what is affordable. Often, parents choose to not discuss finances for a variety of reasons, but your son/daughter needs to grasp there are most likely NOT unlimited funds available for college.
I'd like to second, third and fourth this comment! High school kids have no idea how much $25,000 or $100,000 really is -- nor do they have any idea how long it would take for you to earn this money. They know college is "expensive", but they don't really have a measuring stick for whether a $50,000/year college is outrageous crazy for your family or not. They need guidance.

I was very happy with what we did with our kids: From about the time they started high school, we told them that we could pay for a state school for four years. We said we'd pay for tuition and books, dorm and meal plan. We'd cover their insurance and a cell phone. If they wanted more: an out-of-state school or a private school, an apartment, or whatever -- they had to pay the difference. We found that they could grasp this concept, and they both had no problem choosing a suitable school.

Discuss with them, too, what kind of college lifestyle you're willing to finance. Are you willing to pay for a fraternity /sorority? Spring break trips? A car on campus? Will you spend $$$ for cute dorm stuff, which will be used 1-2 years? My kids absolutely had everything they needed -- and some luxuries -- but they weren't "living large" like some of their fellow students.

Ask your kids to articulate WHY they're interested in this or that college. Ridiculous things I've heard my students say:

- I'm going to ___ because they have super on-campus apartments with nice kitchens. Even granite countertops!
- I'm going to ___ because they have a cool game room where you can play pool without paying.
- I'm going to ___ because they teach a Harry-Potter philosophy class.
- I'm going up North because I've always pictured myself walking to class in the snow bundled up in a cute little pea coat with a matching scarf and beret.
- I'm going to ___ because in every dorm you can check out a gaming system or an iPad.
- I don't really want to go to State, but my best friend is going, and he has a car, so I'll always have a ride.

I wish I were making those up. I've heard so many. The point: make sure your student's choices line up with your values. Often high school kids don't even grasp that all schools don't teach all majors -- they feel sure that if they just pick a school, that school will turn them into architects or teachers or whatever, no additional research needed!

I was a poor kid with little help for college. One of the best things I ever did was to become an RA. I didn't get to choose where I lived, but I received a free (private) room in the dorms, half my tuition paid, and half my meal plan paid - oh, an a phone. When I picked my daughter up from college last week, I saw an ad inviting kids to apply to be RAs ... it pays about 50% the cost of total attendance at my daughter's university.

How do you know/find out if you qualify for merit aid.
If she qualifies, you'll be notified.

Everyone qualifies for some type of Financial Aid. The university offer letter may not be what you wanted (loans vs grants) but it's still Financial Aid. There is no harm in filling out the FAFSA and can always decline the a aid packages you aren't interested in.
Well, everyone is offered loans. Not everyone gets something from financial aid. We got nothing at all -- even the year both were in college together.
 
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We have a DS24 and a DD19.

DS24 has his Master's in Architecture and graduated all 5.25 years debt-free. We started a 529 as soon as we found out we were pregnant. We required him to pay $5,000 per year towards his schooling for undergrad. We did not require it for grad school because it was a summer/fall/spring/summer program, so he didn't have summers free to work and earn any $. Plus, summer semesters were $5,000 less in tuition each than a regular semester. To take the money out of the 529, I took out 1/8 for the first semester, 1/7 for the second, etc.

DD19 is 1/2 through her second year. She took some dual credit classes in high school and has taken 18 hours every semester. She determined this semester if she takes 2 classes this summer from our local community college she can graduate in 3 years. So I will have to accelerate taking the money out of her 529 plan. It then goes into a savings account/cd until it is needed. She is paying $6,000 per year towards tuition since she chose an out of state private college. Luckily she took the ACT 3 times and earned their highest academic scholarship. Thus, her school is costing us the same as her brother's. She plans to get an MBA and we will give her the $ left in the college savings account toward that. We know she will be debt-free for undergrad, and we are hoping the same for grad school, but until we know where she is going, we won't know for sure.
 
We did the same thing, and -- when the time came -- we found that paying for college was easier than expected, and we paid out less than expected overall.

Our back-up plan, which we have not used: We agreed we'd never take money out of our retirement accounts (that's kinda financial suicide), but we were ready to STOP ADDING to those accounts. No, we didn't want to do this, but we have saved aggressively for retirement, and it wouldn't have been all that bad -- it's not what it would be to a younger person. In short, it would've been a way for us to give ourselves an instant raise.

Do assume you'll pay $1000-$1500/year for books and incidentals for your college student. A freshman year Chemistry book is $360. Yes, really. Sure, you can buy used, but it's still going to be $225. Do not underestimate books and incidentals. My oldest was a nursing major, and she was nickle-and-dimed constantly: $90 for school-colored nursing scrubs with school monogram, $10 for a parking card at this hospital for a clinical experience, another $15 for parking at another clinical experience, $25 for a criminal background check, $25 for a drug test. The point: Your tuition isn't the whole story.

I suggest you start with the attitude that loans are simply not acceptable -- and work from there. With loans off the table, you know you need to work harder at the scholarships and choose an affordable school. With loans off the table, she ought to have a part-time job and a summer job -- when I started teaching, that was the norm, now few of my students work.

Yes, and as a long-time high school teacher, I'll throw out these ideas on how to win those scholarships:

- Now -- while she's still a sophomore -- work on her becoming a "well rounded student. It's better to be the A-B student who is involved in clubs rather than the straight-A student who has no extra-curriculars. Best of all is to be heavily involved in 2-3 clubs (in or out of school) and to show a progression of involvement /leadership over the years (To make up an example: I joined the Drama Club as a freshman, and as a sophomore I had my first part in a play. As a junior I was the club secretary, and as a senior I am president. Showing growth in 2-3 activities is far superior to being a "participant" in 15 clubs.) It's good to have a sport on your college resume, and definitely some sort of community service.

- Talk to your guidance counselor to find out how your school system "shares" scholarship information with students.
- Have her develop a system to save every essay she writes. Many times, those questions show up on other scholarships, and it's a time saver.
- Type everything. Reviewers are only human, and if it's easier to read, it gets more attention.
- Sounds obvious, but don't waste your time applying for scholarships for which you're not qualified. Seriously. If the scholarship says, "Students from ____ county who plan to study business", they're NOT going to say, "Oh, but this student is so outstanding, so we'll take her even though she's going to study nursing." Just doesn't happen. Every time I've been on a selection committee, we've started by going through to see which applicants had completed everything and which applicants were actually qualified -- and we'd throw out without reading the ones who didn't meet the criteria.
- Apply for lots of scholarships, but know this: In 26 years of teaching seniors, I've never once had a student win those "red headed" or "left handed" scholarships. Those crazy niche scholarships are ways to get your information /try to get you to take out loans or spend money to find scholarships. (Never pay anyone to find you scholarships.)
- Understand that individual schools give out fewer scholarships than corporations and organizations; thus, you don't need to apply to bunches-of-bunches-of-bunches of schools.
- Understand that full-rides are essentially a thing of the past. Instead of giving three students a full ride worth $20,000, schools are opting to award twenty students $3,000 -- or something similar.
- Pay attention to whether the scholarships are renewable. I've know more than a few students who went away to ____ university for a year, and then couldn't afford to stay after that freshman-year scholarship ran out. Transferring takes a toll both emotionally and in terms of stress.
- People who get scholarships: those planning to study teaching or nursing, those with military or police backgrounds (or going into military), those with minority ethnicity, and those with financial need. Yes, grades matter, but those are the categories who have the best chances.

- Junior year is the time to spread your net wide and visit schools. When senior year starts, you need to have them whittled down to a handful. If you haven't managed to visit a certain school yet, your interest probably isn't all that real. If it's because of distance, it's probably not all that realistic.
- When she starts applying, she should apply to the #1 school she really-really wants. THE DREAM happens for some people. Then she should apply to 2-3 realistic schools; schools where she reasonably expects to be accepted /can afford. Finally, apply to the safety net school; for someone, everything will go wrong senior year -- an illness, a parental job loss. Have in mind a back-up school where she can attend even if it's not what she wants.

Eh, in my experience -- again, 26 years teaching seniors -- the most expensive school usually ends up being the most expensive school. If they appeal to you, apply -- but don't neglect applying to a couple realistic schools too. When May 1 rolls around, and it's time to MAKE THE CHOICE, you want a handful of options.

I'd like to second, third and fourth this comment! High school kids have no idea how much $25,000 or $100,000 really is -- nor do they have any idea how long it would take for you to earn this money. They know college is "expensive", but they don't really have a measuring stick for whether a $50,000/year college is outrageous crazy for your family or not. They need guidance.

I was very happy with what we did with our kids: From about the time they started high school, we told them that we could pay for a state school for four years. We said we'd pay for tuition and books, dorm and meal plan. We'd cover their insurance and a cell phone. If they wanted more: an out-of-state school or a private school, an apartment, or whatever -- they had to pay the difference. We found that they could grasp this concept, and they both had no problem choosing a suitable school.

Discuss with them, too, what kind of college lifestyle you're willing to finance. Are you willing to pay for a fraternity /sorority? Spring break trips? A car on campus? Will you spend $$$ for cute dorm stuff, which will be used 1-2 years? My kids absolutely had everything they needed -- and some luxuries -- but they weren't "living large" like some of their fellow students.

Ask your kids to articulate WHY they're interested in this or that college. Ridiculous things I've heard my students say:

- I'm going to ___ because they have super on-campus apartments with nice kitchens. Even granite countertops!
- I'm going to ___ because they have a cool game room where you can play pool without paying.
- I'm going to ___ because they teach a Harry-Potter philosophy class.
- I'm going up North because I've always pictured myself walking to class in the snow bundled up in a cute little pea coat with a matching scarf and beret.
- I'm going to ___ because in every dorm you can check out a gaming system or an iPad.
- I don't really want to go to State, but my best friend is going, and he has a car, so I'll always have a ride.

I wish I were making those up. I've heard so many. The point: make sure your student's choices line up with your values. Often high school kids don't even grasp that all schools don't teach all majors -- they feel sure that if they just pick a school, that school will turn them into architects or teachers or whatever, no additional research needed!

I was a poor kid with little help for college. One of the best things I ever did was to become an RA. I didn't get to choose where I lived, but I received a free (private) room in the dorms, half my tuition paid, and half my meal plan paid - oh, an a phone. When I picked my daughter up from college last week, I saw an ad inviting kids to apply to be RAs ... it pays about 50% the cost of total attendance at my daughter's university.

If she qualifies, you'll be notified.

Well, everyone is offered loans. Not everyone gets something from financial aid. We got nothing at all -- even the year both were in college together.


GREAT ADVICE!!!

i'll echo that 'well rounded student' concept as well as apply for every private scholarship she's actually eligible to-dd was not at the top of her class but she got the most individual scholarships in her graduating class (not the top amount but still a good chunk of change and many renewable each year). while her friends said the under 4 figure ones weren't 'worth the time' we would turn to our database of essay answers (yes, most essay questions are identical or close to scholarship to scholarship) to make a couple of tweaks to suit an individual application, print it out and send it off (you get a dozen or more 3 figure scholarships and they add up fast).

i'll also suggest that any college she applies to, even if she has no idea what she wants to major in for sure-PICK A MAJOR that's somehow related to the general area she might be interested in. reasoning? if the university (like most) does one 'super application' for both financial aid and scholarships they may have scholarships earmarked for a particular major that unless someone has it listed goes unused year after year. dd had a vague interest in speech pathology so we went ahead and listed that-she ended up with a nice 4 figure scholarship the first year while she took the same general ed classes it called for that every other major calls for (and when she changed her mind we just had her change her major declaration).

every little bit helps-and it's never too soon in high school to start seeing what scholarships may be available (check your credit union/labor unions/alumni associations/local groups and clubs....there's money out there but you have to apply for it).
 
Well, everyone is offered loans. Not everyone gets something from financial aid. We got nothing at all -- even the year both were in college together.

Financial Aid = Grants, scholarships, loans, work study. EVERYONE who completes the FAFSA is offered Financial Aid. May not be gift aid but it is still Financial Aid.
 
I'm not sure what colleges you are talking about, but I have one in college right now and every single application she filled out required either SAT or ACT, and quite a few required SAT subject tests on top of that. Yeah, there are a few test optional colleges, but the majority still require a test.


Always do you leg work. It isn't going to hurt to take the SAT and ACT
 
while her friends said the under 4 figure ones weren't 'worth the time' we would turn to our database of essay answers (yes, most essay questions are identical or close to scholarship to scholarship) to make a couple of tweaks to suit an individual application, print it out and send it off (you get a dozen or more 3 figure scholarships and they add up fast).
Yeah, that'd bother me. I saved for more than two decades so my kids would be able to attend college, and I am happy to pay -- but I expect them to do their part too! I didn't scrimp and save and do without so that they could goof off watching Teen Mom instead of writing a couple essays.

I have one friend who told her kids that whatever they earned in scholarships, the parents would give them 1/2 that amount towards a car or grad school.

Changing the topic: I have another friend whose son was a little lazy. She had him take out loans for 100% the cost of college, and she told him that she'd pay off his loans on his graduation day -- if he finished in four years. If he quit mid-way or slacked off, he was responsible for the payback. (He graduated on time, but he admits he probably wouldn't have done it if not for his mom's motivation plan.)

there's money out there but you have to apply for it).
One other thing -- don't believe that "Money goes unawarded because no one applies for it!" thing. LOTS of students comb through every possible scholarship, applying and applying and applying. The scholarships that go unawarded are the ones that're so incredibly specific (with multiple requirements) that they tend to go years between recipients. Don't get the idea that every good candidate who really tries will "win" this game. I have known students who really, really tried, and they got nothing -- they tend to be the A+ students who bring nothing but academics to the table (no extra-curr., no leadership experience). Those people tend to be super-bitter about the experience, and they can't see WHY it worked out that way.

Money is available, and you have to "be in it to win it"; that is, you have to get busy and complete the applications -- but keep your expectations realistic. For example, my oldest applied for something like 45-50 scholarships as a high school senior (and she was a great candidate). She was awarded two. Because I am a teacher, I knew that she was the runner-up for something like 4-5 others, and that knowledge didn't 'specially bring me much happiness. My youngest (also a great candidate) opted to start at community college, and she was awarded a full ride -- lower amount, but it covered all her expenses.

And I'll say this: When your child wins a scholarship, it isn't JUST about the money. Knowing that someone who isn't related to you thinks that your child is so valuable to the world /brings so much to the table that he or she will give money for your child's education. It's a surreal feeling.

May not be gift aid but it is still Financial Aid.
Yeah, technically -- but we chose to start with the standpoint that loans are not acceptable.
Loans are a whole different category of financial aid.
 
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My son gets a merit scholarship of $6000 a year to a state school. Also our state has a scholarship of sorts that high school students earn based on each year’s GPA plus their highest ACT score. It is funded through the lottery. So he did pretty well there. He went to a private high school and nearly every year was awarded a memorial scholarship. He also received 2 $1000 scholarships toward college that were one year only.

When he registered for college he was invited to go through orientation and choose classes early for being a “high achiever”. He also was invited to the honors program (which he decided not to do.). But other than all that, he can’t get any more scholarships to save his life. They have one foundation scholarship application that covers all those memorial type scholarships plus you have to look through all those that you might qualify for to see if they require additional essays or recommendations. We worked really hard on it once and he got nothing. He also can’t even get an interview for a campus job. It’s aggravating considering he has a 4.0 after 3 semesters and looks pretty good on paper.

So my advice is to choose a school based on where you get the most for your money. My son chose his because it is the only school in our state with his major. We pay around $9000 a year for a small amount of fees that the scholarships don’t cover and his room and meal plan. He pays for his books and parking pass. I am retired and I do long term sub jobs to cover the rest. We have used up what little we had saved, which wasn’t a lot because we paid for 12 years of private school tuition. If we get to a point where we can’t cover it without going into debt he will have to take out some loans. He applied to be an RA next year which would get him a free room, but with the luck he is having getting a job I’m not holding my breath.
 

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