Paying For College

This question will be rearing its ugly head more and more often if your children are getting close to college-going age

. The good news is that there are several options available to prospective students and their parents to help you pay for college. Tuition plus room and board at a private college in the US is on average around $35 000, and this amount is increasing by between 4 and 7% annually.

You may have to work through those years to pay the fees as your child attends college, if you haven't saved enough over the years to cover college expenses. Not only can this add to your normal living expenses, it would also be a very heavy financial burden. However,there are a number of financial aid options available.

Need-based Aid is offered to students based on the total cost of their education and the family?s ability to pay. Need-based aid can take the form of low-interest student or parent loans, federal or institutional grants, as well as work-study programs subsidized by the Federal Government.

Providing student loans with lower interest rates that are accrued only after repayments start are the Federal Student loans, the Perkins and Stafford loans. There are private student loans for other students as well.

Giving parents low-interest loans are the PLUS loan (Parent Loan to Undergraduate Students) but the repayments start 60 days after the loan has been disbursed.

The main advantage with grants is that they don't need to be repaid. Awarded by federal and state governments, grants are also awarded by individual colleges. The criteria for awarding grants are the financial need,but they can help fund the gap between what parents can pay, and the tuition fees

Work-study programs provide students with hourly or salaried work, paid by the school, but reimbursed by the government. Jobs could be inside the campus, like being a library assistant, dining hall worker and so on, or they can be outside the campus working for nonprofit organizations or other government agencies. This is scheduled around the student's classes, and usually requires 10 to 15 hours a week.

Merit-based scholarships are awarded based on academic, artistic, musical or athletic abilities, but are not available at all colleges. Providing the student with full tuition and room and board, these scholarships are highly sought after.

Working is another option for students to go through college. Summer internships and co-op programs provide students with the opportunity to supplement their income while gaining useful work experience and insight into their possible career paths.

These are all alternatives that can help parents pay for their child's college education. It may mean repaying loans for a while, but with statistics showing that college graduates earn up to 60% more than people with no college education, your child will reap the benefits later in life.

by: Joseph Chappell

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