Happy Friday, Scholarship Seekers! I hope you had a productive week following that long 4th of July weekend. The weather is hot, hot, hot, and so are the scholarship offerings this week! As you know, each Friday at FinancialAidFinder, I list three scholarship opportunities with upcoming deadlines. This week, I have a $1,000 scholarship for non-traditional students, a full tuition scholarship for students of national security, and a $500 scholarship from OP Loft Bed. If you want to search for more scholarships that you might be eligible for, your best bet is to use a free scholarship search engine. But first, check out our article on scholarship searches so you don’t get scammed! Our section on college scholarships is also a great source of information on navigating the scholarship ...

Are you searching for college scholarships? You may be wondering how to distinguish yourself from your competition. While every scholarship has it’s own list of eligibility requirements, applicants need to go above and beyond the bare minimum to impress the committee — and win the award. Not sure how to do that? Here are four qualities almost every scholarship committee is looking for: 1. Strong Academics You don’t have to be the valedictorian, but most scholarship committees will take into consideration your overall commitment to academics. For some scholarships, you will need to have a minimum GPA. But if you aren’t required to be a better-than-average student, a strong GPA indicates that you take your studies seriously — and that’s something that ev...

Another week has come and gone. How many scholarships did you apply for this week? If you are still on the hunt for one or two more scholarships, I have three great possibilities for you this week. As you know, each Friday at the Financial Aid Finder, I post about three hot scholarship opportunities with upcoming deadlines. This week, I have $1,000 for students studying transportation, $3,000 for students interested in pursuing a career in parapsychology, and a $1,000 scholarship lottery sponsored by Scholarships.com. If you want to search for even more scholarships, your best bet is to use a free scholarship search page. But first, check out our own scholarship searches so you can be sure to avoid a scam! Our scholarship section also has plenty of helpful articles on everything from the...

If you are already attending college or are about to start in the fall, you no doubt realize just how expensive getting a higher education really is. Even if you choose a more frugal option such as attending your local community college and living at home with mom and dad, there are all sorts of little expenses that really pile up. The average cost of text books is $1,000 per year, for example. And college fees aren’t cheap either. One of the best ways to ensure that you graduate college without having to charge your way through is to apply for as many scholarships as possible. Whether you need an extra $2,000 or $20,000, the more scholarships you apply for, the better your chances of winning enough to cover your bills. Not sure where to find out about scholarships you might be qua...

TFIF, all you scholarship seekers! What a lightening fast week this has been. What are you doing to stay busy this summer? Work? Internship? Summer school? Whatever is filling up your schedule, I hope you will make some time to apply for scholarships as well. In fact, why not set a goal for yourself: 100 days of summer, 100 scholarship applications. You won’t get all of them. You won’t even get half of them. But even if you win jut 5 percent of the scholarships you apply for, that could translate into tens of thousands of dollars to apply toward your tuition bill next fall. As you know, every week, I make it easier for you to apply for free money for college by posting about three scholarships with upcoming deadlines. I only search out those scholarships that have wide, natio...

It looks like the last two weeks have unintentionally turned in to the “Student Loan Hour” here at the Financial Aid Finder. Earlier this week, I covered the New York Times piece on student loan debt. Five experts sounded off on the question, “How much student loan debt is too much?” (Did you answer that question for our student debt poll on Tuesday? Please do that now if you haven’t already!) You might also want to check out the Times’ follow-up to their student debt piece, appropriately titled Student Debt, Fool’s Gold? There are hundreds of reader comments that painfully, at times, illustrate the naivety with which so many students take out tens of thousands of dollars in student loans. If nothing else, it’s an eye opening read. *** I ha...

Did you read my post yesterday How Much Student Debt Is Too Much? If you haven’t yet, give it a read. Then I’d love to get your opinion on that question. <br /> <a href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1709860/” mce_href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1709860/”>How much student loan debt do/would you feel comfortable taking out?</a><span style=”font-size:9px;” mce_style=”font-size:9px;”>(<a href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com” mce_href=”http://answers.polldaddy.com”>opinion</a>)</span><br /> Feel free to explain yourself in the comments section! I’d love to hear from you. ...

How much debt is too much debt? It’s a question that anyone taking out a student loan needs to grapple with. According to a series in the New York Times today, the average debt load for a graduate of the class of 2007 was $20,000; students attending private colleges took out an average of $25,000. But how much the average student carries in debt isn’t necessarily the answer to how much you should borrow. Financial planners typically recommend borrowing no more than 10-15% of your expected annual salary post-graduation. Of course, there are numerous variables that go into how much you will actually earn after graduation — and, given the current economic climate, whether or not you will be able to find a job right away in your field. In general, however, your anticipated ...

In this current economic climate, families are increasingly “down-grading” their college of choice. Students who had their eye set on a private school are instead picking an in-state public school. Would-be public school students are instead starting their educational careers are the local two-year junior college. (I mentioned this in a post two weeks ago about creative solutions for paying for college.) It seems at first glace that this “down-grading” is a more than reasonable thing to do when paying for college is a stretch. Just take a look at some of these numbers: According to the College Board, the average cost for a full year of tuition and fees at a community college in 2007-2008 was just $2,360. At a public four-year university it was $6,185. And at a pri...

Are you drowning in your student loan debt? Come July 1st, you may be able to get a little relief. That’s when a new income-based student loan repayment option will go into effect for those of you with federal student loans. Under the plan, monthly payments will be capped at 15% of the amount by which your income exceed the federal poverty line — regardless of how much you own. Currently, the poverty level is $16,245 for an individual. To figure out how much you would pay, take a look at Line 37 on your 1040 Form — that’s your adjusted gross income (AGI). Let’s say your AGI is $30,000. That means your income exceeds the poverty level by $13,755. Under the new repayment program, you would owe 15% of $13,755 — or $171.94/month. The even better news is th...