Financing Your Education

Its the start of a new year, and time to get serious about financing your education past high school. Whether you are planning to attend a junior college, university, or technical school, you should start applying for scholarships from several sources. First, start with your high school's guidance office. Many schools compile a list of community scholarships for seniors. This saves you the time and energy of hunting down local funding sources. Get a head start on the competition by talking to teachers and mentors about their willingness to write a recommendation letter for you. Too many students wait until the last week to ask a teacher, counselor, or other adult to write a recommendation letter. Second, check out the institutional scholarships from the school you plan to attend. Apply for as many of those that you qualify for. Third, search out private scholarships. Use your school's guidance center or the public library to find scholarship sources. Finally, be sure to fill out the FAFSA form early. More families will be filing a FAFSA this year, so don't delay completing this important task. You should have your PIN all ready so you can electronically file the form. Visit the last post to find out more about a PIN. Many bright, competent students miss out on scholarships and grants simply because they do not apply on time or have incomplete applications. Keeping track of scholarship deadlines is essential. Stay on track to meet your college and career goals.

POST your tips for finding and securing scholarships and grants.

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