Araceli Quino Acho
FAFSA and Online Scholarships Are Key
The search for college scholarships can seem like an overwhelming process and pressuring matter for students, but for seniors, they are provided a program by the U.S. Department of Education that involves the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid.) FAFSA helps upperclassmen to pay financial aid in college. Although instead of waiting out until the last year of High school to join, students may apply for micro-scholarships and online trustworthy websites full of a variety of scholarships to sign up for, unlike those scam ads popping up at the bottom of computers.
The FAFSAhas been a popular program for seniors It helps students pay for financial aid by completing the FAFSA applications and qualifying for the following. To qualify for FAFSA you must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen, have a provided valid Social Security number, maintain satisfactory academic progress in college, acceptance for enrollment in an eligible degree, and half-time to be eligible for Direct Loan Program funds. Since this only qualifies for the seniors to enroll, what can the underclassmen at TC do to earn financial aid or scholarships?
Getting down to the cost and how much college education really is, since 2017 research data, according to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees was $9,970 for state residents in public colleges and $25,620 for out-of-state residents in public universities. In the same year, 20% of the payment was with student loans also behind on their payments. But, just out of the U.S, from a 2018 credible analysis, The total student loan debt is over $1.5 trillion. So, you better start saving now.
Micro-scholarships are chances to earn an amount of money that students are eligible to earn based on individual achievements, free to start applying from freshmen year to graduation year. They are awarded by colleges who partner with RaiseMe and offer students scholarships for their successes during high school and community college. RaiseMe is a trustworthy site where you create your profile and fill out past or current courses and activities accomplished during high school and matches you with college interests, it also lets you follow your own interests of colleges.
Scholarships.com is a similar website that has the same concept for students on saving money although it is not like instagram where you can follow your interests like RaiseMe. Scholarships.com matches students by going beyond and creating in-depth questions and accumulate enough information to match you best with scholarships. Say, someone who has a strong ming in writing would get scholarships with essays and writing stories, etc. each scholarships can range from $100- $10,000 and up.
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