5 Ways To Finance Your Education

Are you a student who wants to go to college but due to financial situations, couldn’t find the way to do so? Then you may want to read on. Here are five ways to finance your education:

1. Make Use Of Grants

Unlike a scholarship, grants are basically small amounts of money which are considered gifts. While these won’t typically cover all of your expenses, it can still contribute a few thousand to your college fund. Meanwhile, unlike the other forms of financial support, grants are always completely free. There is no need for a pay back as long as the money was used for a specific purpose for which it was actually intended. To be eligible for a grant, not only do your grades have to be good, grant bodies often take a look at your socio-economic background to determine whether you are a good candidate.

2. Seek Financial Aid

Look into the university of your choice and try to browse for available financial aids. Colleges and universities most likely have a division that takes care of financial aid. What they do is they find contributions from alumni and corporate sponsorships, and more often, they have a budget from the school to be able to give support to low-income yet deserving students. Usually you have to apply for financial aid the moment you decide to apply for admission to a specific school. The financial aid may depend on the financial situation of your family. It may or may not cover your entire tuition and fees. Some may or may not give you an allowance. Also, in some cases, even a living allowance can be given to those who do not have the financial means to pay for the miscellaneous expenses.

However, you may be required part-time work in the school offices– this is typically called work-study programs. Many colleges reserve a number of paid positions for students who are participating in these programs, so it is important that you are aware of this program.

3. Academic/Athletic Scholarships

Colleges and universities always want to recruit the best and the brightest young men and women. This often includes athletes and the top 5% of the graduating high school class. If you belong to this group, then you are most likely to be offered great scholarships just to enroll in their school. If you are eying a certain school, yet your best offer came from another university, your preferred school may even match the better offer.

The catch: Academic scholarships require you maintain good standing, and you will often lose scholarships if you commit an academic violation, such as cheating, or if you are arrested. You will also be required to maintain a certain grade point average.

4. Student Loans

Student loans can be obtained from either the federal government or from private lending institutions.

5. Corporate Sponsorship

Corporations often have sponsorship programs, geared at developing young talent – some of them also have programs for the children of their employees. Most of the time, these companies give a school funds to be disbursed to deserving students at the school’s discretion. You may just have to sign a contract which states that you render service to the company for a certain number of years.

About Author

Lucy is a finance graduate who is working as an intern with an accountancy firm in Toronto. In her free time she loves to blog and write resourceful articles on how to survive college with minimum budget, saving money on textbooks when in college.

Tags: Education, FAFSA, Grants, Scholarship, Student financial aid in the United States, Student loan

Category: Education, Family Finances