Grants and Scholarships

 

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Do you have 60K for school? Me either. (and that's a pretty low estimate) So how do you plan on paying for school? You can always get the change from in between the couch cushions, or you could wait tables. You can sell your Ipod or your vintage records. Actually, don't sell your vintage records, you'll regret it, I know I do. Unfortunately, most students can't come up with tuition all by themselves every semester, even if they are working nights at Blockbuster. Here's where Grants and Scholarships come in. Grants and scholarships help students pay for their education. I can help you get the information that you need to finance your education with Grants and Scholarships.

 Grants

Grants are a form of government funding that you're not required to pay back. How great is that? Grants are need based; meaning those who demonstrate a certain level of financial need will qualify. Don't let this discourage you though; grants are the very best form of financial aid out there because it's basically free money. It is in your very best interest to check and see if you qualify for grants you may be surprised with the result and the money will go a long way! To see if you qualify for any grants fill out a free application for federal student aid or a FAFSA Even if you don't qualify for a grant, this web site may provide information about loans and scholarships that are available through the school of your choice. Filling out a FAFSA is the absolute best way to go about seeking aid and should be your first priority. It is also important to be aware of the deadlines that are placed on students by FAFSA. Familiarize yourself with their website and complete your application according to their time-table.

Types of Grants

Pell Grants

• Undergraduate students only.
• Need based.
• Award amount is based on the individuals cost of attendance, family contribution, and funds available to the school you choose.

Academic Competiveness Grant

• Undergraduate students only, specifically freshman and sophomore students.
• Must be eligible for a Pell grant first to qualify for this grant.
• Requires completion of certain high school programs ("rigorous").
• Second year students must maintain a 3.0 GPA at least. 

 SMART Grant (National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant) 

• Undergraduate students only, specifically juniors and seniors.
• Must be eligible for a Pell grant first to qualify for this grant.
• Major must be in one of the following fields: physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, technology, engineering, and foreign language determined critical to national security.
• Must maintain a GPA of 3.0 at least.

Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

• Undergraduate students that qualify for exceptional need.
• Priority to those with lowest expected family contribution.

Institutional Aid

• Some schools provide scholarships and grants through the school itself.
• May require enrollment in an athletic or academic program depending on the school.

Scholarships

Scholarships are also beneficial to students because repayment is not required either. You can also find scholarships through the FAFSA website. After you have filled out your FAFSA application search for scholarships that you are eligible for and apply, apply, apply. Scholarships can totally fund your education but it will take effort on your part. Pairing scholarships and grants can also be a way to get you through school. Scholarships.com is a database of scholarships and a very good place to start searching for scholarships. Studentaid.ed.gov is the government's financial aid information site that may be useful in your research as well.

The most important thing to remember when researching grants and scholarships is that you must follow through. Do your research, do the work,  and you may find that you have tuition paid for! There are many options out there for those who need help funding their education, take advantage of what's out there!

 

Make your Summer Job Count!

Make Your Summer Job Count!

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If you're in college, than it is safe to assume that you've experienced the dreaded summer job. Whether it's waiting tables, guarding lives, or delivering pizza we've all been there. Your summer job doesn't have to be a total waste however. You can gain some good experience by working in the trenches. Keep these things in mind next time you get yelled at by a customer and be sure to list your new found skills on your resume. 

1. Provide Excellent Customer Service

Next time you are getting yelled at by an unhappy customer; remind yourself that if you handle it correctly, it will look awesome on a resume. Employers love to see individuals that can handle escalated situations. If you keep your cool and make the customer happy it will go a long way in the work place. No matter what job you have it is likely that you deal with customers at some point. If you provide a quality experience, it can really take you far. 

2. Learn the Trade

Employers love to see that you care about the position that you're in. That means if you are serving ice cream, you should know all there is to know about the ice cream you are serving. Learn the product or the service that your company offers and you will excel in your field even if it is just cleaning carpets. And be sure to mention that experience on your resume.

3. Be Proactive

Take any and all of your assignments seriously and complete them to the best of your ability. If you feel you can make a difference in the way things are run or solve a problem don't be afraid to do what you can. Making customers happy is your ultimate goal and if you do your dandiest to accomplish that it won't go unnoticed. 

Some jobs really can suck its just part of growing up. Fortunately any job has the potential to give you a quality learning experience. If you play your cards right and work hard you will earn more working experiences that can help you later in the job field. Hang in there and do your best and you'll go far!

3 Tips to Save on Textbooks

3 Tips to Save on Textbooks

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It is almost time for fall semester which means it is almost time to spend bazillion dollars on books. Exciting right? Wrong. Buying textbooks can be a total pain in the butt. Textbooks are ridiculously expensive and most of the time you don't get your money’s worth. Once in a while you can get away with not buying the book, which is risky business. So what is a college student to do when there's no money to be found? Here are a few tips to ease the financial burden.

1. Begin the Bargain Hunt!

It is not required to buy your books from your campus. Buying books from the school itself is usually the most expensive way to go. Check around on sites like amazon.com, and craigslist.com.com for deals on the book. If you do your research you can find books for much cheaper. Keep in mind the time it takes for the book to be shipped to you so that you can have your book in time for class. Buying your books used can really cut back on coin as well. Check out these sites for great deals on used books; half.com.com abebooks.com. You can also compare prices by using sites like dealoz.com, and addall.com.

2. Get Digital

Downloading books can be a much cheaper alternative buying them from a store. Sites like coursesmart.com or cafescribe.com will show you if your textbook is available in a digital source. You can also participate in the open sourcing movement. You can find free e-texts at sites like googlebooks.com, gutenburg.org, and flatworldknowledge.com. Each one of these sites provides free text books that you can download. You could save a lot of money if you gave it a shot!

3. Sell

When the semester is over you can make some of your money back by selling your book. There are many sites and stores out there that will buy textbooks back from students. Some college campus book stores will even buy books back from students. If you know you won’t be using the book again which you probably won’t be, sell it back!

Procrastinators Unite! ... Tomorrow

5 Tips to Help you get your Work Done!

 

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Everybody does it. Everybody hates it. Procrastination: A college student’s worst enemy. 

You've been there; your professor assigns you a huge project. You tell yourself that you'll get to it later. 5 parties later you realize you haven't even started. You tell yourself that you'll get to it. The tension continues to build and you continue to put it off when finally, it's the night before the assignment is due... and you've got nothing! Don't worry; you're not the only one. Procrastination is an epidemic among college students. So what is to be done? How to we conquer this monster of laziness? Here are a few helpful tips to help you get your work done.

1. Get a Planner

...and USE it. When you get your syllabus, record all the assignments, due dates, projects and tests into your planner. Once you've done that for your entire course list and plan out your study time. Leave more time for tests, and big projects. Now you must religiously follow your schedule. Treat it like work, you have to go, no excuses. It is so easy to say "I'll go to the movie and do it later" or "I'll do it after this episode". You've got to train yourself to get your work done before you play. Its part of being an adult and it sucks, but you gotta do it. 

2. Get Your Priorities in Order

There is only so much time in a day. Sometimes you have to decide what you will spend your time on. Use your planner to decide what needs to be done and prioritize your work load. Organize the tasks you have written down in order of importance and you will find that you can get everything done. 

3. Begin

The hardest part of doing a project is getting it started. Don't plan on completing the entire assignment at once either that can make the project seem too daunting. Decide how long you are going to work on the project and work that long.

4. Use a List System

 Create a "To Do" list for yourself and once you complete something you can cross it of the list. When you cross something off the list it feels awesome and can be very motivating. It can be something as simple as "20 minutes on paper". 

5. Reward Yourself

When you have completed a task give yourself a nice reward. Let yourself take a nap, or go to a movie, or just hang out with friends. When you get used to a system of reward following work you will be more excited to complete projects.