(DailyAnswer.org) – According to Bankrate, the average yearly tuition of a four-year college for an in-state student was $10,740. That cost also rose at a rate of 8% per year. It is certainly daunting for many people to try to figure out how they will fund their education. However, nearly 18 million students were enrolled in a post-secondary educational institution in the spring of 2022. If there is a will, there is a way, and we can show you some of the ways that people are working on funding their college education.
Government Tools for Obtaining Grants for College
Many people apply for scholarships when attempting to come up with the money for their tuition. However, there are also college grant programs that can help a student afford the tuition they must pay to get into college. Grants and scholarships are free money that can be used toward your education. Unlike student loans, you never have to pay a penny back for any college grant you receive to pay for your education.
The government tool you can use to obtain grants for college is your FAFSA form. This is the official financial aid form that students fill out to apply for all scholarships and grants. It is a form that enables the government to see what your and your household’s financial status is. Income levels and other financial information is used to determine how much aid (if any) can be provided to an individual student. Therefore, it is important to fill out the FAFSA form every year to receive as much aid as possible.
Types of Grants for College
There are two main types of grants that one can apply for, including:
- Need-Based Grants – These grants are awarded to students who come from families that demonstrate real economic need. That need is determined based on the income information presented on the FAFSA form. These grants come without any strings attached. They never have to be paid back, and they can be directly applied to one’s college tuition.
- Merit-Based Grants – Another type of grant that one can receive are merit-based grants. These are grants given to students who have demonstrated strong academic performance. These students deserve to have some extra grant money to afford college and be able to further their education.
Both of these types of grants can be used in unison to help pay the tuition cost of college. These grants are extremely helpful because they take a chunk out of the cost of tuition.
Private Grants are Also Available
Pulling in money from as many grants as possible to pay for your tuition is ideal. Public grants are useful, but no student should be limited to relying exclusively on those grants. Instead, they should also look to private grants for help paying for their college education. Many private companies, non-profits, and other organizations offer grants. These organizations are allowed to set up their own guidelines regarding who will qualify for the grant money they issue. Thus, it is necessary to look at them one by one to determine if there are any private grants that you might qualify for. Forbes.com gives an example of what one of these private grants looks like:
Hispanic Heritage Foundation issues Youth Awards Grants each year. This grant program is intended for Latino high school seniors that excel in business and finance, entrepreneurship, education, health and science, media and entertainment or sports and technology. The organization chooses gold, silver and bronze recipients, and those students receive one-time grants to help with their education costs.
Even small private grants can start to add up to something significant. Many students compile private and public grants to help pay for their tuition. Anything to help cut down on the cost of college is worth looking at.
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