Blog Series on Money for College

Why should you pay for college/university, when you can go for free?

[As promised, please see our section called "College Money", at the top of our blog under the blog name and description.

This section will allow you to search for scholarships, grants and fellowships (SGFS)  in your chosen fields of study and for colleges/universities you may be interested in].

Scholarships, grants and fellowships (SGFs) are free money for college/university that you qualify for, based on your grades, year in school, extracurricular activities, athletic ability, your ethnicity, your family income, etc.

(While scholarships are usually given to those entering college/university for the first time, fellowships are usually given to students already in, or just starting Graduate School).

 

I often wonder why students and their parents insist on getting student loans (which is money you have to pay back to the lender + interest), when for a little bit more effort and planning, they would have otherwise gotten money for college/university, free!

 

There is a cardinal rule when seeking to obtain SGFs - start early!

 

Start at least three (3) years in advance, to give yourself enough time to decide what you want to do in college/university, which college/university you want to attend and to find the best SGFs for you!

 

You want to also ensure that you're doing well enough (at least a B+ average) in school and doing the right kinds of extra-curricular activities, to qualify for SGFs available.

 

 

1) You should begin your SGF search at your high-school guidance counsellor/ counselling office or your college counselling office.

 

2) You should also have your parents contact the Human Resources Department in the companies they work for, to see if SGFs are available for employees' children.

 

3) Certain service clubs (e.g. the 4H club) and religious organizations that you or your family may be associated with, may have SGFs available too, so don't hesitate to ask.

 

4) Your government may have bilateral arrangements with other countries (that you're interested in studying in) which involve SGFs, so please do contact the relevant government agencies and the embassies and consulates of the countries you're interested in studying in, to find out if SGFs are available and the criteria for same.

 

5) Alumni and past SGFs holders can also help greatly in identifying great SGFs available.

 

6) The Internet has hundreds of scholarship search engines and sites - this should be utilized as well!

 

The Internet search engine, Google, is a great place to start.  You may use the Google search box below, should you choose:

 

We have, however, made the search process a lot easier for you, via our  College Money section, as mentioned above.

 

Please visit this section to start your scholarship search, now!

 

(All the above is pertinent to both US and international students wishing to study in the US and other countries).

 

 

1) Try to find SGFs which match your strengths.

 

2) Try to find SGFs at the colleges/universities you wish to attend.

 

3) Find SGFs that pay for air travel (if necessary),tuition, living expenses and books and that won't prevent you from getting other concurrent SGFs.  (You may need concurrent/simultaneous SGFs if your major SGF doesn't cover all of the above).

 

4) Examine carefully the eligibility criteria for each SGF to see if you qualify.

 

5) Ensure that the payback is not burdensome. Some SGFs bond you to a country or an organization for a few years in exchange for the SGF. Please bear this is mind when evaluating SGFs...being bonded for 2-3 years in exchange for tuition, books and living expenses, for your 2-4 year college/university life is no big deal!

 

6) Some SGFs have other conditions, e.g. maintaining a B+ average or annual renewals for the SGF to be continued, so please be sure to understand these requirements, when evaluating SGFs.

 

Avoid scholarship search scams. These are people who charge you for scholarship searches and provide less than stellar results!

 

Good luck in your SGF search!