Career Strategies

Education is one of the smartest investments you can possibly make. Statistic after statistic shows that a degree means a pay raise, lower average unemployment, and a higher standard of living. However, sometimes it’s not easy providing the money for an investment upfront, and this is especially the case with investment in education, with the tuition fees rising every year.

The good news is that there are a multitude of organizations ready to help you make the crucial step in continuing your education. Federal, state, and local organizations are all interested in developing the most educated populace achievable, and the desire for further education is one universally admired. Loans, grants, and scholarships are all available to reward you on the basis of need and on the basis of merit, and there’s no reason that you shouldn’t get the education you deserve.

This is especially the case now, as the U.S. Department of Education is offering an unprecedented amount of $82 billion in grants and loans to combat continual increases in tuition and to promote equal-opportunity education. The $60 billion offered in loans is $4 billion more than the year previous, and the sum total is expected to reach 413,000 more students than before. For the Secretary of Education’s full statement on this exciting growth, read more here.

Secretary Margaret Spelling’s release also details two new kinds of grants aimed at rewarding undergraduates with previous rigorous study, and those entering fields judged to be particularly useful in America’s future, such as engineering, technology, and some sciences. Grants and scholarships are especially prevalent for those entering career-oriented courses of study, precisely like those offered on OnlineCareers.com! If you have your eye on a career that benefits society, you’re all the more likely to receive financial aid.

Federal Student Aid: Helping Those with Financial Need

The most basic kind of financial student aid is that provided by the U.S. Department of Education. The Federal Government has a number of different student aid programs designed to help students of varying circumstances. In order to apply for any of these grants or loans, you must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Form. The FAFSA form will inform the government of the degree of your financial need, and they will judge which of their programs you qualify for.

The type of program, if any, that you qualify for, is also dependant upon your school; some schools do not participate in federal student aid programs and consequently you will cannot be awarded these funds. Some schools may also take part in some programs but not others. Check with the financial aid office at your school to determine which are available to you.

Loans. Loans are funds that you borrow, but which you must eventually repay in addition to the interest accumulated on the amount of money. All federal loans are available to graduates and undergraduates, with those in graduate study generally receiving higher amounts. The types of Federal Loans are:
- Stafford Loans. These loans have a variable interest rate of no more than 8.25%. Those who can demonstrate sufficient need may be awarded subsidized loans, in which the government pays the interest accruing on the loan during the course of education, and for a small grace period after graduation. With an unsubsidized loan, you are responsible for paying the interest on the loan from the time of its first use. The loans additionally fall under two programs: the Direct Loan Program, where the government fronts the loan directly, and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, where private lending institutions pay the school, while the government guarantees the loan. Undergraduates may receive up to $2,625 for their first year of study, and the amount increases with each ensuing year, including graduate courses.
- Perkins Loans. These loans have a lower interest rate of roughly 5%, and are awarded to those demonstrating greater need. Undergraduates may receive up to $4,000, and graduate students may receive up to $6,000.
- PLUS Loans. These loans are available to parents who have dependants entering higher education. The variable interest rate is higher than either the Perkins or the Stafford loan, but may not exceed 9%. If you are independent and paying for your education yourself, you may qualify for additional Stafford Loans.

Grants. Grants are awards of sums of money to be used towards your education, and do not need to be repaid! No worry about interest on grants, no worrying about additional debt once you graduate. Federal grants, however, are only available to undergraduates. Grants offered by the Department of Education are:
- Pell Grants. In addition to the basic Pell Grant, two specialized grants have recently been introduced. Once you qualify for a Pell Grant, you may apply for these further accolades:
o The Academic Competitiveness Grant is awarded to students whose coursework in high school is considered ‘rigorous’ by the Department of Education in conjunction with a local agency.
o The SMART Grant is offered to full-time undergraduates who are studying engineering, technology, mathematics, computer, life or physical sciences, or particular foreign languages judged most useful by the U.S. government.
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. These additional grants may present you with between $100 to $4,000 for your education.

Work Study. Some federal work study programs exist, which help link you with a job whose earnings can be directly applied to your tuition and fees. These jobs are frequently jobs on-campus or for the college or university.

State and School Financial Aid: Additional Sources of Funding

In addition to most national programs from the federal government, most state governments have student aid programs for their residents. The requirements and restrictions vary from state to state, so if you are planning on attending a college in a different state from the one in which you are currently a resident, state financial aid may or may not apply. However, many schools have financial aid options for their pupils, so there are a number of opportunities for you in either case.

Your school’s financial aid office should be the first place you inquire to find out which kinds of financial aid are applicable to you. Schools have a responsibility towards you to make all the opportunities known, and notify you about deadlines and application procedures. If you’re looking for additional resources, try your local library. Most reference sections in public libraries have a section on ‘student aid’ or ‘financial aid.’

All state student aid programs require the FAFSA form for application, and many other school or private financial aid opportunities prefer it, the best way to streamline your financial aid application process is to fill one out.

Are You Eligible?

To be considered for federal student aid, there are a number of requirements:
- You must be a citizen of the United States (or else an eligible non-citizen);
- You must have a valid Social Security Number (unless you are from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau or the Republic of the Marshall Islands);
- If you are male and within 30 days of your 18th birthday, you must be registered and comply with the Selective Service Registration, which is the organization that serves the Military with manpower in an emergency;
- You must earn a high school diploma, a General Education Development (GED) Certificate, or pass an Ability-To-Benefit (ATB) test;
- You must be accepted or enrolled in a college, university, or institution that partakes in programs for federal student aid;
- You must prove a requisite degree of financial need (excepting applications for unsubsidized Stafford loans);
- You must keep up a degree of academic performance, which varies from program to program.

Meanwhile, in order to be considered for financial aid, a few prohibitions also exist:
- You must NOT owe a refund on a federal grant;
- You must NOT be in default on a student loan;
- You must NOT have some specific drug convictions standing on your record. To see which convictions render you ineligible, confer with FAFSA’s Drug Conviction worksheet.

Even if you are or may be ineligible on one of these counts, you may still qualify for some other kind of state or school aid. Speak with someone at your school’s financial aid office for any questions about eligibility, or to find out which other options may still be open to you. Most other student aid programs will require the FAFSA form, so it’s still a good place to start.

How Much Student Aid Are You Eligible For?

Keep in mind that a variety of factors influence the amount of financial aid you can expect. Your Expected Family Contribution, balanced with the cost of tuition, is key; obviously, whether or not you are accepted is also important, and your year in school plays a larger role than your might expect.

The Expected Family Contribution, or EFC, is the amount that you or your family can contribute to the funding of your education. This amount is determined by a set formula that takes all of your income and assets into consideration, and computes how much you are responsible for by law. If you want specific information on how the EFC is calculated, take a look at the worksheets provided by the Department of Education.

If your EFC falls below a certain amount, you qualify for a Pell Grant. A new total of money available towards education is made up of your EFC, your Pell Grant money, if applicable, and any other financial aid you may already be receiving. This new total is subtracted from the Cost of Attendance to determine your remaining financial need, which will then be evaluated in order to determine which further programs may be able to help you.

Keep in mind, if you’re trying to do these rough calculations yourself, that the Cost of Attendance is not merely the price of tuition and fees. Room and board, if applicable, is also part of this amount, as are the costs of textbooks, supplies, transportation, and disability compensation costs.

For more detailed information, the Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid is available for download.

Scholarships and Fellowships: Rewarding Hard Work

Many of the grants and loans previously discussed base eligibility on financial need, but there are many institutions that provide awards based on a student’s academic excellence. These awards are called scholarships for undergraduates and fellowships for graduates. You may qualify for both grants/loans and scholarships/fellowships, so make sure to explore all of your opportunities!

Scholarships and fellowships are similar to grants in that the money conferred towards your tuition does not need to be paid back. Consequently, the competition for these desirable awards is generally high, and you will need to devote some time towards composing the best application and putting your accomplishments forward.

However, a range of different types of scholarships exist. Some are offered on a history of general academic merit, and some for proven excellence in a particular field. Certain scholarships are aimed at specific types of applicants, grouped under ethnicity, geographical location, and others. Some scholarships also seek to recognize financially needy students who have worked hard in their studies.

You already have a tremendous resource for scholarship information at your fingertips: the internet. The most efficient way to begin your search is probably with sites devoted towards scholarship searches, such as FastWeb Scholarship Search. You can enter in your personal information, from your background to your academic record, and FastWeb will come back with only those scholarships that best apply to you.

Such scholarship searches may not have a completely comprehensive list of every scholarship, though, so if you are looking for something in particular, you can also try typing in ‘scholarship’ and some specifications into a search engine.

However, like anything on the internet, be wary of scams! There are many programs that offer scholarship consultation for a fee, or charge you to apply for the scholarship. Remember that these prizes are meant to award intelligence, and certainly not the amount of money that you can put forward.

Additional and local information may also be available at your closest public library. Colleges and universities themselves frequently offer scholarships, and, as always, your school’s financial aid office is the place to go to research these possibilities.

It may seem like a long and arduous search and application process, but if you get a scholarship, all your hard work will pay off. Not only will you benefit from the financial reward, but scholarships are an excellent honor to put on your resume!

Private Loans: Another Option

Despite all of these options for financial aid, most students still experience a discrepancy between what they are awarded and what they need to pay. In this instance, many banks and other organizations offer private student loans, also called alternative education loans.

These loans are specifically drawn up for the purposes of funding further education, and may allow you to defer the loan until after graduation. One advantage is that these loans do not require the lengthy application process of most other options.

However, the interest rates are generally higher than those on federal, state, or school loans, and ultimately more expensive. Before taking out a private student loan, be sure to assess your other resources and see if you might have a safer way of providing the funds. Take a look at our section on financing your education to get an idea of the other alternatives.