Scholarship Grants or Financial Aid?

By Owen Jones

What is the real cost of a college education and is there a financing scheme available? Well, lets face reality - a college education is very expensive, causing a lot of parents to do a double take when their children are considering attending a community college or a state university.

There are a lot of items that go to make up the total cost of a college education and the tuition fees are only a rather small part of the big picture of going to college. Some everyday expenditures include meals, transport, accommodation, pocket money and other miscellaneous fees, which, when added up can be a large part when financing a college education.

Nowadays, many families, even those belonging to the upper class, think about applying for financial assistance. College grants and scholarships are a very good kind of financial assistance. Grant and scholarship programmes do not ask the students or even their families to pay back the monies given.

Scholarships are of two basic kinds: (A) scholarships given according to financial need, depending on the financial inability of the student and their families as a unit to pay for the education, and (B) scholarships based on merit, for example the talent of the student in football is the main consideration. A students academic prowess comes under the merit-based college grant and scholarship system too.

Often, college grants and scholarships combine the merit and need criteria to make the whole financial aid process easier. Numerous students and their families are looking for this type of financial aid. However, college grants and scholarships are quite limited in number in spite of the fact that there is a growing community of aspiring students year after year.

Those students who qualify can get federal or / and a number of state scholarships, some of which are listed here:

Federal or National Pell Grants " this is a program, funded nationwide, which is intended to give assistance to any qualified undergraduate student pursuing post-secondary schooling. Grants and scholarships of this sort are given to those who have not yet finished a baccalaureate degree.

The value of the grant can vary year after year and will depend largely on the financial needs of the student, the expenses that will be incurred while going to the chosen university or college, and the availability of funds from the national government. This type of grant will open up an opportunity for students to succeed in securing financial aid from the national government.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant or FSEOG " this is a scholarship for ongoing undergraduate students who have exceptional monetary needs, but not all students can get this type of grant. It will depend on the eligibility of the student and the availability of funds at the school in question.

Another sort of financial assistance that students and families can turn to is student loans. However, this sort of financial assistance must be paid back. The financial requirements of the family must be taken into consideration to avoid paying higher interest rates.

It is also a must to understand all the terms of the lending agencies such as the schedule of repayment and interest rates, before making a commitment.

Work study is yet another form of financial assistance which calls for students to work to keep themselves during their college stay. Work study is most often carried out on college campus and is the most typical kind of financial aid in all of the universities and colleges in the USA. Typically, students will render service to schools for 10-15 hours per week.

Scholarships, grants and other sorts of financial assistance to obtain a college education is really multi-faceted, confusing at times, and even down-right exasperating. However, the good thing is that a college education is a non-refundable and non-toxic sort of investment in the student's future!

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