08-03-2013, 05:45 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-03-2013, 05:48 AM by cookderosa.)
In high school I applied for and received 2 small awards that were gobbled up in 12 seconds.
Two things to remember:
1. Many people qualify for Pell Grants. This is free money that you are automatically considered for when you fill out your FAFSA and can be around $5000 per year every year until you earn a bachelor's degree. Pell can not be used for exam credit, but covers tuition and (sometimes) books. My son's $4000 pell will be paying for 100% of his community college AA and books. He will pay zero! Applying for aid does not mean you have to take out a loan. Beyond grants and loans, you also may participate in college work study. I also did this for a semester. Fun experience, and I worked in the career center doing data entry. I knew which internship jobs were being posted before anyone else lol.
2. Consider your savvy exam knowledge trumps scholarships ALL DAY LONG. Consider taking 10 CLEP (half for 3 and half for 6 credits) exams at a cost of $100 each = $1000 cost. At any community college, the value of tuition saved for 45 credits is about $4500 (minus your out of pocket of course) or a "scholarship" of $3500.
Take those same exams to a university where tuition is around $400 per credit and you've created your own "scholarship" that now is worth $17,000. No applications, essays, interviews, or waiting required.
Two things to remember:
1. Many people qualify for Pell Grants. This is free money that you are automatically considered for when you fill out your FAFSA and can be around $5000 per year every year until you earn a bachelor's degree. Pell can not be used for exam credit, but covers tuition and (sometimes) books. My son's $4000 pell will be paying for 100% of his community college AA and books. He will pay zero! Applying for aid does not mean you have to take out a loan. Beyond grants and loans, you also may participate in college work study. I also did this for a semester. Fun experience, and I worked in the career center doing data entry. I knew which internship jobs were being posted before anyone else lol.
2. Consider your savvy exam knowledge trumps scholarships ALL DAY LONG. Consider taking 10 CLEP (half for 3 and half for 6 credits) exams at a cost of $100 each = $1000 cost. At any community college, the value of tuition saved for 45 credits is about $4500 (minus your out of pocket of course) or a "scholarship" of $3500.
Take those same exams to a university where tuition is around $400 per credit and you've created your own "scholarship" that now is worth $17,000. No applications, essays, interviews, or waiting required.
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