Wednesday, February 25, 2009

What You Need To Know To Get A College Grant

By Chris Channing

College students are famous for being the most poor of all social classes- but they get by nevertheless. Helping them do so is the government, who passes along grants their way to help finance their classes, living quarters, books, and food. Keep in mind that it will take work to get such grants, as they will certainly not come to you by themselves.

Grants require a massive amount of information in order to obtain. In many cases, it will require that a student has filed for their taxes and had a valid tax return in order to complete a grant application. Because of this, it's recommended that students wait until they file their taxes before filing for student aid. Some organizations will require specific tax information on both them and their parents. Some specific grants may also require other types of information, although easier found, such as test scores or merits.

As far as government grants go, the Pell grant is the easiest to obtain. This grant in particular is a favorite among grants, since it doesn't have to be repaid like some others. There are certain restrictions, and total value is determined by the information sent to the government. Rules of the grant should be learned, such as the statute that says only one Pell grant is available per student per year, no matter how many colleges are attended.

The majority of grant opportunities are going to come from filling out a FAFSA. This application is required by some institutions before even gaining entry into college, so it's necessary no matter what the financial need is of the student. It usually takes an hour or two to fill out, and is best filled out after filing taxes.

Also consider obtaining grants through the university, in which doing a work-study is possible. A work study program allows the student to take a job on at the university, in which will pay for part of the tuition for the given semester or year. Often times the university will get compensation from the government in offering such programs, so they like to do so when possible.

If you do decide to go for a loan, be sure that you will have the means of paying it back by the time college is said and done. Most loans available to college students will have to be paid on as soon as the student leaves college. If one doesn't obtain a job almost immediately, it'll be tough to pay the bills each month.

Closing Comments

From here, students should now go talk to their counselors, fill out a FAFSA, and fill out as many scholarships as possible. Every little bit helps in paying off an expensive education.

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