Where do I even begin? The more information the better.?

Question

I graduated hish school two years ago. I slacked off the last two years of school, and graduated with a 3.25. I got a 29 on my ACT. I know getting into college isn't going to be a problem, but I was raised with three younger brothers. One is graduating this year. The next one will graduate in two years. The next in four. My family isn't struggling financially or anything, but I know scholarships are not feasible for two of my brothers. I have worked full time the past two years. I don't want to have to rely on my family solely, but I want to go to school. I currently work for my dad's company and it's a very good opportunity, but it's definitely not something I am passionate about or want to do for the rest of my life. What kind of scholarship opportunities are there, and where do i start? I'm still going to have to work, but I want to eventually get my masters... I just need to know where to begin

Answer 1

First, apply and get accepted. Talk to the schools you're interested in about scholarship opportunities and/or financial aid. Depending on your family's financial situation (with more than one child in college) you may qualify for grants. You should definitely qualify for loans.

Answer 2

You will want to narrow your search down to schools you want to apply to.  Once you know this go through the admissions process at each to become accepted.  

At the same time you should be applying for financial aid.  The first step in this is to complete the FAFSA online www.fafsa.ed.gov.  All schools will at the minimum require you to do this, and when completing the form include any of the schools you are appying for admission to the schools section so that they receive a copy of the form electronically from the Dept of Ed.  

Each school will likely have different financial aid application requirements so after filing the FAFSA you will want to start speaking to them about it.  

If you are only just starting to look at schools now it is a bit late in the enrollment process if you expect to be in school for Aug/Sept 2008.  I only say this because by May, most private scholarship/grant programs have closed their deadlines for awarding the upcoming academic year.  You can do private scholarship searches online through www.fastweb.com and also use finaid.org as a resource for financial aid purposes.

Good luck!