College Grants....Someone Please Help!!!!!!!!?

Question

I am 16 years old. I am homeschooled through Penn Foster. I am getting ready to graduate in about a month. I have a college i want to go to but i done have any money and nobody to help me. can someone please explain the whole grant process to me and give me some websites to go to please!!

Answer 1

Sirenity:

The process of applying for financial aid begins with a form called the FAFSA - which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. You can fill out this form directly online - I've linked to the website below, so be sure to check that out.

The primary (and best) source of money for college in the US is the federal government. All of this money is administered by the US Department of Education - they're the ones who collect information using the FAFSA form.

As you'll see when you begin looking at the FAFSA, the application asks a lot of questions about your financial circumstances and the financial circumstances of your parents. You'll see questions about your and your parents' annual income, your savings, your investments, and so on and so forth. The point of all of these questions is to determine how much money your family can be expected to contribute to the cost of your education this coming year.

Another thing you'll do when you fill out the FAFSA is that you'll alert the Department of Education that you would like to attend Northern Kentucky University. The Department will analyze your data and send the information that you submitted directly to the university, along with a number called the EFC. The EFC is your "expected family contribution" - again, that's the government's estimate of how much they believe your parents should be contributing to your educational expenses next year.

Once Northern Kentucky receives that information, the financial aid department at the university will begin to assemble an aid package. They will review all of the different types of financial aid that are available, determine your eligibility for each type, and then send you a letter that explains what you are eligible for.

The most common forms of financial aid include scholarships, grants and loans. Scholarships are often based on your academic potential - you may qualify for scholarship money if your grades or SAT scores are particularly strong. Grants are not based on academics - they're most often based entirely on "need". If your family's finances fall below a certain level, you will qualify for different types of grants. The nice thing about grants and scholarships is that these are both "gifts" to help you pay for school - you won't ever be expected to pay them back (unless you drop out of school in the middle of a term).

Student loans do have to be paid back, but unlike most loans, you won't need to begin repayment until several months after you have graduated. The idea is that the several months after school will allow you time to find a new job with your great new degree - earning you the money to begin paying your loans back. There are a lot of good things about government-backed student loans, but rather than bore you with all of the details, I'll attach another page that will give you lots of information.

Also note that there are educational funds available from sources other than the federal government - there are private lenders who will often lend money to help pay for school. These should not be your first choice, because borrowing from private lenders is significantly more expensive, and less flexible than borrowing from a government program. You may find some answers here from people asking you to go and look at their websites - I'd hold off on any of those until you've applied for your federal aid and you've found out if you will be able to cover all of your financial need without having to resort to non-government lenders.

You and your parents should definitely take the time to read the document that I'm attaching - it explains the federal aid program very simply, but in great detail. I bet it answers just about any question you and your parents could possibly have.

Good luck to you! I hope this helped!

Answer 2

I would also suggest going to the college and talking with someone there. They should have a department that assists students with academic planning and would have many local resources that you can apply to for grants and scholarships. Those are very important because you won't have to pay them back. Apply for as many scholarships and grants as you can, as often as you can.

Answer 3

Here are the steps to enroll in this school.  You have about a years worth of stuff to do in just three months.  As others have suggested, you should apply for financial aid immediately.  I would also recommend you contact this school's "Student Support Services/ TRiO" department.  If you are low income and first generation they will be able to help you and help you graduate.

From their website:

To gain admission into NKU we consider several aspects of your academic profile, including:

Your GPA

Your standardized test scores

Your high school coursework

Our 2008 Admission File Review  

For regular admission at NKU we look for the successful completion of  Kentucky's Pre-College Curriculum (credit must be earned):

Four years of English

Three years of math including Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry or three integrative math courses

Three years of science

Three years of social studies

Two years of the same foreign language

On the ACT, we look for scores of 18 in the subject sections of English, math and reading, and a 20 composite.  On the SAT we require a math score of at least 430, a critical reading score of at least 480, and a 940 composite.  The ACT and SAT writing score is optional.  Currently, we do not require a writing score for any selective academic majors..

Answer 4

You can go to

http://www.all-about-scholarship.com

it's about student loans scholarships information.

Good luck

Answer 5

The #1 best thing you can do is fill out your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). You can find out if you're eligible for grants or federal loans. If they determine that your financial need is great enough, you may have most of your costs covered. Even the federal loans are nothing to scoff at. I was able to get subsidized loans for some of the years I went to college, which meant that the government paid my interest instead of it accruing on my balance (you don't have to pay while in school, but you do eventually have to pay the interest on unsubsidized loans). My biggest piece of advice from someone who's been there, done that, is AVOID PRIVATE LOANS AT ALL COSTS. I have a great credit score (and thus a great interest rate on my private loans) and yet I'm still drowning because of all the interest that I have to pay. Federal loan interest rates are much better.

I'm pretty sure there are a few scholarships out there for homeschoolers as well. Check out FastWeb.com, one of the better scholarship search engines. CollegeBoard.com and Petersons.com also have good scholarship searches and info. Also try Googling for your favorite hobbies combined with the word "grant" or "scholarship."

Whatever scholarship search you use, don't ever pay to apply for a scholarship. At worst, it's a scam, at best you'll probably wind up paying money only to have the scholarship awarded to someone else.

Be prepared to write a lot of essays if you want to have a better chance of winning a scholarship. Have someone proofread your essays too, to make sure they sound okay and are grammatically sound.