College Financial Aid Tips

- how to get financial aid for college

If you're planning to go to college, be prepared to put in significant amount of time researching grants, scholarships and other types of aid available.

Typically, students can spend around 40-50 hours doing internet research, inputting personal details into the free scholarship search , collating the results and finally making the application itself.

It's not simply a matter of working out how to get the most grant money for college - you need to know which colleges and scholarships offer grants for students in your discipline or with your specific gifts or talents.

University & College Scholarships

In general, colleges offer scholarships to students with a special gift or talent , either academic, sporting or artistic.   Also students with special needs or from minority groups may qualify (e.g. diabetic, single mom, etc)

The good news is that a scholarship grant does NOT have to be repaid, unlike your student loan.

College scholarships for minority students

In order to encourage equality in all areas, a number of programs have been set up to offer financial aid to minorities.

This can include students from low income families, veterans, women or single mother's, african american, indian and hispanic students. 

If you're interested in a scholarship for black college student check out the Black Excel website on our Resources page - it's a really popular site and has some great tips on finding that elusive money.

State, City or Local Town

Whilst there's often fierce competition for the popular scholarship programs, you may be more likely to meet with more success by looking locally.

Benefactors often set up trusts or foundations in their home town or city to benefit their local area - if you're a student who meets their criteria, your chances are probably higher than for some of the national scholarships that are open to everyone.

Further Resources

Fin Aid - this is one of the most popular sites and offers a comprehensive guide to financial aid.  Includes areas on scholarships, loans, savings, military aid, other types of aid, financial aid applications, calculators and further information on college admissions and testing.  They also show you how to apply for scholarships online with their paperwork demystified section.

Resources - check out our information for the popular advice sites for prospective college students