College

Just imagine for me, it is senior year and you are stressed about how you will pay for everything; college is the next step away and in between you have senior pictures, Europe, and more. Well let me ease your mind; college prices, even though high right now, can be decreased substantially through many ways. Your search for scholarships is even greater if you know specifics such as what you want to do or where you want to go because schools have individual scholarships. You also have options of government money. (The information I will give really only pertains to me) As well as the fact that you can attend college concurrently and attain an A.S. or A.A. degree, allowing a student to go into a four year university as a junior.

Many people do not know this, but if you attend college concurrently everything but books is free! If you succeed and stay motivated in your efforts at a community college, this can save lots of money. I specifically would like to go to Cal Poly San Louis Obispo and attend their college of Architecture and Environmental Design. The yearly cost at Cal Poly is a total of $21,864. If you multiply that by two, going to college during high school can save you $43,728. However if I went to another university, I could save at least $50,000. (Source)

Another positive about attending a community college concurrently and transferring into a four year university is that the scholarships specifically for the upper-classmen of a degree are available for you almost immediately. There are 34 scholarships available for upper-classmen architecture students, each are looking for a different type of student and you never know that student could be you; nothing hurts. Another type of scholarship that most people do not know about is the life-stream scholarship. They give 28 scholarships out and sometimes only receive 32 applications. This scholarship is for $3,000. Just remember that every little bit helps even if it seems to be only pennies to you. (source) (source) (source) (source) (source)

Lastly, the most commonly looked at aid is Financial Aid. This process has three types of financial aid; grants, loans, and work-study. Grants do not have to be repaid. Such grants are the Federal Bell Grant, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant, the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant, the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education, and the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant. The grant’s amount is based on the student’s need reported by the information based on the FAFSA figures. Loans are borrowed money that must be paid back, with interest. The loan amounts rely on the student's year in school, cost of attendance, and the amount of other aid received. There are five different federal loans available to students. The work-study part of the FAFSA program provides students to earn money while enrolled to help pay for expenses. Another financial aid opportunity is the Cal Grant system, it can provide up to $10,302 for the Cal Grant A, 1,551 for the Cal Grant B, and there are other opportunities with in the Competitive Awards of the Cal Grant system. (source) (source)

Attaining a bachelor’s degree at a four-year university has just been made possible with a little research. When dealing with college, this is something that will affect you forever and you should not choose the cheap route. Through looking at different opportunities you can attend almost any college, do not make money an issue. You can work hard earlier, look at specific school scholarships that may payoff in the future, and apply for financial aid that allows money for your education.