It may be late in the day, but it's still Thursday and I've got two really great scholarship opportunities.  So make some time in your busy weekend schedule to write some essays and fill out some applications.

1. Horatio Alger Association Scholarships: $20,000
The Horatio Alger National Scholarship is one of the nation's largest scholarships program, annually awarding 105 high school seniors with a $20,000 scholarship.  The scholarship committee is looking for candidates who will use their college degree to serve others.  Ideal candidates will also have demonstrated integrity, perseverance in overcoming adversity, and strength of character.  Candidates must have at least a 2.0 GPA and critical financial need (family adjusted gross income of $50,000 or less).  In addition to their scholarship, national scholars also receive an all expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. during their senior year to attend the National Scholars Conference. Go here to apply on line. The application deadline for the Horatio Alger Association Scholarship is October 30.

2. Akademos / TextbookX.com 2008 Scholarship: $2,000
TextbookX.com is a discount online bookstore, offering up to 90% off retail prices on more than 900,000 titles. Founded by Akademos, TextbookX.com is running its second annual scholarship essay contest.  To win the grand prize of a $2,000 scholarship (or two runners-up prizes of $250 in book credits), current undergraduate students must answer the following question: What should be done, if anything, to stop nuclear proliferation? Your essay must be no fewer than 250 words and may not exceed 750 words.  All content must be original and must demonstrate a strong grasp of grammar rules. The essay must also reference at least one book that influenced the student's answer and provide complete bibliographical information. All essays must be submitted on the TextbookX.com website by October 31, 2008 at 11:59 PM EST.

Good luck with your applications!  See you on Monday.

May 28, 2008 by Mara Strom

If you're a community college student applying for financial aid, then know this: You're in exceedingly good company.

The number of your fellow students in need of aid has skyrocketed over the last five years, according to Robert Shireman, president of EconomicDiversity.org: "As costs like housing and textbooks continue to rise along with tuition and fees, financial aid is becoming a necessity for more community college students."

Shireman's organization reports that in 2000-2001, just over one-quarter of all community college coeds completed a FAFSA; in 2005-2006, that number jumped to 34%. While the percentage of students applying for aid from two-year colleges is lower than at public four-year (59%) and private four-year (66%) schools, the rate of increase over the last five years has been much more dramatic. Application rates are up 37% at two-year schools, while public school apps increased 10%, and private school requests went up just 7%.

Yet even with financial need at an all time high, the supply of federal aid for community college students is drying up. According to the Project on Student Debt’s recently released report, Denied: Community College Students Lack Access to Affordable Loans, one million community college students are denied access to federal student loans because their schools opt out of the Stafford program.

As a result, some of America's most needy students are being forced to decide between foregoing higher education altogether and taking on much riskier forms of financial aid, including unsecured private student loans or even credit cards. In a press release, Shireman had this to say:

"In the current credit climate, access to federal student loans is more important than ever. It makes no sense for a community college to force low-income students to choose between taking out an expensive private loan or dropping out of school."

Most of the schools without federal loan programs claim it's because they're worried high default rates would endanger other forms of federal aid, like the Pell Grant. But the Project on Student Debt says those fears are unfounded since federal sanctions are extremely rare: Washington won't block a college from distributing Pell grants unless more than a quarter of its recipients have defaulted on their loans for three years running. Let's put those numbers in perspective: In 2005, there was only community college with a default rate that high, but since it was under the 25% cut-off in '04, its students are still eligible for the Pell Grant.

Rather than proffering some anemic excuse about the greater Pell Grant good, it seems to me that community colleges should do more to help their students make thoughtful financial decisions. A good place to start would be mandatory counseling sessions for loan recipients, in which counselors help students understand the real cost of paying back their student loans.

What do you think? Do colleges have a responsibility to at least provide access to affordable aid? And if so, what role should your school play - if any - in helping students become wise stewards of their financial future?

Every year, the federal government spends more than $86 billion to help young people go to college. As the single largest provider of student aid in the world, the US federal government offers grants, fellowships, loans and work study programs.

Your key to this massive treasure chest is the FAFSA, otherwise known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The application, which can be filled out on paper or on-line, calculates your family's ability to pay for your college degree. Calculations are based on income, assets and other factors, such as the number of additional dependents in college.

The FAFSA is used not only by the federal government to determine your aid eligibility, but also by your college or university to allocate its own scholarships, plus state and private assistance.

In short, the FAFSA is the most important document you will fill out in your quest for college – second only, perhaps, to the college application form. To maximize your award, follow these four easy tips for filing your FAFSA:

# 1. Be Prepared
Before you even start filling in your FAFSA, make sure you have gathered all the required materials, including:

• Social security cards

• Income tax returns from the previous tax year

• Your spouse’s documents – if you are married; your parents’ documents – if you are a dependent

• Current bank, mortgage and investment statements

#2. Beat the (Filing) Buzzer
The FAFSA’s deadline is June 30th, but many schools offer "priority processing deadlines". In other words, getting in your FAFSA early will qualify you for first-come, first-serve aid through your college. Therefore, aim to return your completed FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1st.

#3. Be Pedantic About the Particulars
Double and triple check the accuracy of the information on the FAFSA, because even minor mistakes can cause costly delays. Be on the look out for these common errors:

• Use only your legal name

• Confirm all social security numbers

• Count yourself as one of the members of your household attending college during the award year

• If your parents are divorced and remarried, include your step-parents' income and assets

#4. Go Virtual
Applying on-line is faster – not to mention preferred, by a growing number of colleges and universities. To apply on-line, go to the FAFSA site. In lieu of signing your application, the on-line FAFSA requires a secure, individual PIN number, which you can apply for here.

May 14, 2006

The First Rule of Financial Aid is to apply! It should be rule number two and three as well, it's that important.

Why is it so important? Because you will never know how much money you can receive until you apply, if you don't apply you are guaranteed nothing. This may seem quite obvious but a recent article in the WTOP (Capital News) has shown that lower income earning families are not applying for federal aid.

The FAFSA can be a pain to fill out but think of how much more of a pain trying to juggle all your debt will be down the road. Federal aid comprises the bulk of financial aid so filling out the FAFSA is a good idea. The form is now online and the FAFSA website can be read in both Spanish and English. In addition there is information that will help you to fill the thing out.

The WTOP article brought up another good point: don't wait until the deadline has passed. This may seem like common sense but there are a lot of people that wait until the deadline has passed and then apply. When their bill comes around they are surprised at the amount but since the deadline passed they really never applied, pay attention to those due dates!

Don't let the sticker price scare you off and if your reading this article your on the right path to find money for school. But make sure you apply for aid at every kind of school, whether it be private, public, community or trade get your application for aid in and try to do it as early in the game as you can.

Student Financial Aid >>>

Februrary 20, 2006

The first thing to remember is that you are not alone. Students have been dealing with this reality for a long time.

Do not assume that you won't qualify for aid since your parents earn over the eligibility mark. Always fill out the FAFSA no matter what. You may qualify for a Stafford Loan. It will be more difficult to try to get a large loan as a student but federal loans like the Stafford will help.

Try making your case to the financial aid office of your choice. This does not always help but it is worth a shot. At the very least they deal with students in your situation all the time and will have some helpful advice.

Don't forget to scour for scholarships and grants as they do not need to be paid back. Most importantly get your information in as early as possible. Money for college is not infinite and the early bird does get the worm!

Remember there are plenty of college graduates that earned their degree without the financial support of their parents so you know it is possible. Please use our website to do some important research on how to get your financial aid for college.

February 18, 2006

A common question students have is how they can manage their debt and their financial aid.

Unfortunately when you fill out the FAFSA form there is no place to put down the amount of debt you owe. The form basically wants to know about your income, your family's income and assets.

Non-traditional students may already have a substantial debt of some kind. It is wise to seek out a way to eliminate or lower this debt before you take on financial aid in the form of loans. Obviously scholarships and grants are still okay since they are gift money and do not need to be repaid. If you can not afford credit counseling there are a number of free resources that you can utilize. A couple you may want to try are the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and Primerica.

February 13, 2006

Many gay students in the past have tried to downplay their sexual orientation when trying to earn scholarships or grants. Today the number of scholarships for gay students are on the rise.

Organizations such as the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association offers various student awards and scholarships for aspiring gay and lesbian journalists. With some dedicated research gay students can find a plethora of scholarship opportunities. Many private donors to organizations that offer the scholarship cite the lack of help and support they had when they were going through the process.

It is always a good idea to be specific as possible when applying for scholarships and grants. Embracing and capitalizing on what makes you different will open up a whole new range of scholarships that may be closed to may others.

February 9, 2006

At least 175,000 people are denied federal financial aid due to prior drug offenses according to a recent article in Yahoo News. However, the Budget Reconciliation Act that was just passed has provided a provision to allow students who have drug offenses a new chance at federal student financial aid.

The provision is targeted at older non-traditional students. Federal Financial aid forms began requesting information on convictions in the year 2000. Individual states vary in how their policies for distributing aid to drug offenders.

January 30, 2006

If you are a student you may already be conscious of your grades for college entrance purposes. One more reason to keep those grades up is the correlation between grades and financial aid.

Students don't have to be the valedictorian or the next Rhodes Scholar but good grades will equal more money. A combination of good grades & early application for financial aid is a wonderful formula for gaining financial aid. Scholarships and grants also come more easily to students who have shown hard work through good grades. If you plan early enough and study hard to receive good grades there is no reason you should not be able to gain thousands of dollars in financial aid.

January 24, 2006

The Coverdell Education Savings:

This type of college savings plan can be applied to more than college. A Coverdell Education Savings Account can be used as savings for elementary through high school education as well as college.

Parents or students may contribute up to $2,000 a year tax-free. A few stipulations are that single parents may not earn more than $110,000 and parents filing joint taxes cannot have their adjusted income be more than $220,000.

Any balance unused can be transferred to a sibling or another family member without penalty. As long as the money is used for education purposes (tuition, books, fees etc.) the money will not be taxed. The Hope and Lifetime Earning Credits can be used in the same year by the beneficiary of the Coverdell account as long as the same expenses are used for both benefits.

The Coverdell is typically considered the parents asset which is a good thing. Remember a child is expected to pay 35% of their assests when financial aid is evaluated as opposed to the 5.64% that is required of parents.
For more information on this type of savings please click here.

The 529 College Savings Plan:

In my research there is a lot of conflicting reports on 529 Savings Plans. People either rave about them or think they are a terrible idea.

Basically a 529 Savings Plan allows parents to put money into a state sponsored savings account. Single parents may contribute up to $11,000 a year and couples may contribute up to $22,000 a year.

Not every state offers these types of saving plans. If your state does not offer one you can find a financial advisor who can set up one for you in another state. Hidden financial fees and set up fees can make people oppose this type of plan so don't rule it out but be aware that it can exist.

The 529 Plan like the Coverdell is tax free when used for educational purposes. Friends and families can also contribute to the plan, making great gifts!

There are many other college savings plans out there. Make sure you do your homework and find one that is perfect for you and your family.