As a student, going to college or pursuing a career can be a frustrating affair. With there being so many issues to balance, students find the most pressing issue is finding funding for college. Without having any knowledge of the options which are available to many students assume the worst and quit before they even get started. This article will help students understand the financial options available to support an academic career and living expenses.
The most common misconception about funding college is there are scholarships and grants available to give students the opportunity to complete a degree or certification of some sort; Like all misconceptions there is some truth to this falsehood. There is a popular grant called the Pell Grant and also the SEOG grant. These grants are awarded to students through financial aid or FAFSA. What people must keep in mind when assuming they are going to pay for college buy using ONLY grants is the government normally does not provide you with enough grants to support your college education beyond an Associates Degree. In the event the student is attending college online the pell grant and the seog grant will more than likely not be enough money to cover all of the student's college expenses for the year such as tuition and books. The reason being is the cost of education online vs. the cost of education for traditional or ground student. Convenience always cost more for the consumer so attending school online higher priced than the educational cost for traditional or ground students. The price of education regardless if you attend online or if you attend a classroom is still too high for a full time student to attend work full time and school full time. The government has compensated for the imbalanced lifestyle of the student and has approved federal funding to help the student with college expenses and living expenses.
Financial aid is a combination of three pillars: student loans, grants, and scholarships. Being approved for federal funding is two prong process and the first phase is based on how much money the student makes per year, how old the student is, if the student is incarcerated, if the student is current on their taxes, if the student is a citizen and if the student has ever committed a drug felony while receiving federal support. Since pell grants and scholarships are normally not enough money to support a full time student's college cost most students become approved for financial aid for support. What most students do not realize is the federal government has permitted students to use financial aid money to support not only the educational cost but also their living expenses; for example, the financial aid is used to pay for dorm expenses and food expenses at colleges nationwide. When the student receives the allotted amount of financial aid for the year if the financial aid amount is more than the cost of school per year the student is able to keep the remainder to support their living expenses. In addition if the student feels he/she still needs more money to support their educational and living expenses the student can apply for a student plus loan which if approve will award the student additional funds for financial support.
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