Paying for College: Three Methods

In today’s nasty economy it is really easy to brush off college as too expensive or too time consuming. Tuition rates are continuing to rise and employment is continuing to fall. However, it is still a fact that those with a Bachelor’s degree or higher will earn exponentially more money than those with only a high school education. This is why it is important to exhaust all possibilities when it comes to earning a degree from a good school, including taking out student loans.Financial Aid and YouThere is no reason to think that you are alone in your struggle to afford college. In fact all major universities have a Financial Aid office dedicated to finding funds to send each and every student through their school. The professionals in these offices will work out a plan with you in order to meet your needs as far as education as well as living expenses are concerned for the duration of your time at their school. Financial Aid can help you earn scholarships, pay tuition on an installment basis as well as apply for different types of loans from both the federal government and private lenders.ScholarshipsObviously your best bet to pay for college is a scholarship which will pay part or all of your tuition fees for you with no obligation for repayment. One of the best methods of obtaining a scholarship is through a special skill such as a sport or musical instrument, though academics are of paramount importance as well. You need to maintain a high GPA and make sure to get the highest score possible on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT in order to increase your chances for scholarship money.Installment PlansAnother option that you may take up is to pay your tuition in installments instead of all at once at the commencement of a semester. By breaking payments up into smaller chunks you may be able to find a part time job that can cover these costs. This plan can also be used in conjunction with scholarship money if you do not get all of your tuition paid or you can take out a loan for part of your tuition and then pay the rest as you go.LoansStudent loans are the most common method used these days to pay for college. Obtained either through the federal government in the form of Stafford loans or through private banks, the advantage of taking an educational loan is that you do not need to repay it until you complete your study – either through graduation or disenrollment. You are also given very low (often fixed) interest rates that help to keep your monthly payments low when you land that first post-graduate job.Using the internet is a great place to start to look for student loan money and the private lenders who offer it. There are several financially-based websites that will allow you to compare rates and loan amounts among several lenders as well as discuss the repayment plans that you will use after graduation.Never Give UpWith the abundance of information available online about loans and scholarship options, there is no excuse for not going to college. Yes, the economy is bad right now, but that is all the more reason to get that leg up on the competition. A college degree is a great first step towards making that happen.