If you are applying for a scholarship, be sure you meet the grade requirements. You may also have to take qualifying examinations.
If you don't qualify for a scholarship, find the right college grant that matches your eligibility or qualifications. To avoid wasting your time, be sure that you qualify for the grant or scholarship that you are applying for. The following guidelines would help in getting approval:
1. Meet their application deadline. Submit your application on time.
2. Age eligibility. Be sure that you comply with this requirement even if it doesn't seem fair at all because private grantors sometimes specify this.
3. Spelling and Grammar. This is probably a tiny indicator of your scholar-worthiness.
4. Subject Specialization. Some grants are for specific subjects such as Computer Science, Math, or …show more content…
Journalism.
If your application for a college grant is denied, there's another alternative - a student loan. One of the most popular student loans is the Stafford Loan. The Stafford loan is guaranteed by the US government, and as a result the interest rates are typically a lot lower than those attached to private student loans. The terms of eligibility are very strict for this type of loan and the individual applying must meet a certain criteria in order to be approved.
The Perkins loan is another federal student loan that is designed to assist college students whose family falls into an income bracket of less than $25,000 annually.
This loan comes with a 5% interest rate and allows the student 10 years to repay the loan, with a 9 month grace period from the time of graduation. One of the most attractive things about the Perkins loan is that the money is not being lent to the parents but to the student directly. This means that the federal student loans debt will not fall on the parents shoulders with this sort of loan, should the student default in some way. Both the Stafford loan and the Perkins Loan offer student loan forgiveness, which basically means that a certain portion of your loan is taken off the
loan.
A Pell Grant is another type of college grant. Generally, someone who is 23 and is not married will need to report his/her parent's financial information, along with any other income he/she has earned. Also included in the report will be the total number of family members, as well as how many of them are currently attending college. It is important to keep in mind that the federal government can access any and all financial data on anyone they choose so be honest in filling out your application.
The process of application for any federal student loan is essentially the same. You might consider working with the financing department (or Guidance Department) at your school to obtain their help in filling out an FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). These applications are also available online and can be filled out and submitted independently. Once the approval or denial comes back, you will be notified by your school. If you have received an approval, your school will recommend which of the federal loans you should apply for.
Most Federal student loans will offer some sort of assistance should the student ever find they are having trouble replaying the loan, once they have graduated and their grace period has ended. This is one of the aspects that make Federal student aid so practical for students who come from a low income bracket. If funding is available and you meet all the criteria, then you get your grant.
Any one of the above options will be useful for a student trying to secure funding for a college education. It is your right to have quality college education.