Grant Your Self A Better Education For Less By Carl Hampton At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

“I'm not going to college because I just can't afford it.” How many times do we hear those words form worried high school juniors and seniors. It's no wonder they think like that when tuition fees have been rising anywhere between 2% to as much as 26%. Before we all get lost in the Doom and Gloom there is a lot of GOOD news out there, you just have to know where to find it.

There really is an endless amounts of grants, scholarships and loans (those should be your last avenue), there really is no way a student cannot afford to attend college. Most students will be able to meet the following qualifications for a Pell Grant, (financial need), you must be attending a 4-year university you cannot be an inmate at a federal prison. That may well sound crazy but if your child is in a local penal facilities, they can still receive a Pell Grant. Nonetheless, if you meet those requirements, you are also eligible for the Academic Competitiveness Grants and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grants.

You must as a high school student, actively participate in math, science, or a language. You can see the curriculum criteria by states at http://www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov. Margaret Spellings, the U.S. Department of Education Secretary, says that the purpose of this program is to involve students in what she calls the “global economy” of today's world. “Math, science and critical foreign language skills are the new currencies.”

More than 500,000 students will be receiving these grants throughout the nation which amounts to more than $790 million dollars. The grant payments can be an additional $750 during freshman year; $1,300 during sophomore year; and up to $4,000 during junior and senior year. So lets do some math on the subject, if a student attends a public California university (say UCLA), the tuition fees would be somewhere around $7,000 for an in state student. If that student is granted the $4,000 by their last year, just from the SMART Grant, that leaves $3,000. Now subtract another $1,000 from the Pell Grant itself, and we are left with $2,000 left outstanding to be paid, thats $38.46 per week, not too much for an education.

For those students who have yet to apply for financial aid, visit http://www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov or call for information on eligibility. And don't worry, these grants are not temporary. The grant amount is said to increase over the next five years.

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=85715&ca=Education

Important Notice DISCLAIMER: All information, content, and data in this article are sole opinions and/or findings of the individual user or organization that registered and submitted this article at Isnare.com without any fee. The article is strictly for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used in any way, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional. We at Isnare.com do not, in anyway, contribute or include our own findings, facts and opinions in any articles presented in this site. Publishing this article does not constitute Isnare.com's support or sponsorship for this article. Isnare.com is an article publishing service. Please read our Terms of Service for more information.