Cheap College Degrees

Hit up the Feds!

You know me. I'm that cheap guy who would rather someone else pay for the schooling. I mentioned downstream that I am working on a second master's degree and my goal is to pay for as little of it as possible. My problem is that the way that I am taking it - one class at a time - make that difficult. But...so far, so good.

As for you, where should you go to find money. My advice is to go where the big money is located. Please don't tell me you are wasting valuable time writing large applications for $200 scholarships.* The first place you should always start is the federal government.

One site that I like for federal government grant money is FedMoney.org. No, this is absolutely not about how much money K-Fed is getting from Brittney (but thanks for asking!). This is about all of the many ways that the federal government offers money for college complete with a reasonably good search engine. Some of these I have not even heard of (which is a very good thing).

See: Federal Government Money for College

Apply for college grants

There are basically two types of grants; the kind provided by the government and the kind provided by everyone else.

I mentioned earlier in the week that I am yet again a graduate student. Seems to be something that I do. One way that I am paying for this next master's degree is through a graduate grant from the university.

Here is some advice that will sound strange to you, but that often works. Choose the grant with the most difficult, time-consuming application process and apply for that one. Why? Students, whether undergraduate or graduates, are busy folks. Things that look like they take a lot of time get pushed to the side. Smaller applicant pool = higher chance for success.

With this grant that I applied for, I needed to submit an application, a personal statement, and two letters of recommendation. That's quite a bit for a grant that only pays for the equivalent of one class. However, since I only take one class at a time, that works for me. Am I anything special? My mother's opinion to the contrary, not really. I applied, went through their process, and received the grant.

By the way, in conversations with others in this not inexpensive program, I had fellow students say that they were also going to apply. How many of them actually did? Zero. Zip. Nada. Zilch.

I mentioned that it only pays for one class. I am, however, eligible to apply again. And I will.

Homework assignment: Visit the financial aide office or their website and discover university grant possibilities. They are often posted on the walls.

Grants are a better option

In my last post, I talked about how scholarships are not always your best friend. This is often true. And, yet, you know that there is a growth industry in finding scholarships for students. I am most definitely not saying that you should not apply for scholarships, but understand that the final math may look very different than you think it ought to look.

So where should you put your time?

Look for state and federal grants. These are often based on fairly simple things like GPA or income. Either you qualify or you don't. While often scholarships require additional paperwork, grants usually require the FAFSA and a minimum application.

An example are the Cal Grants. The State of California offers two types of Cal Grants. One type is offered based on some entitlement (i.e. need). However, what some people do not know is that there is a second type of Cal Grant that is competitive. So, even if you your family makes too much to qualify for the first kind, you can possibly earn one based on GPA or other qualifications.

While these grants are typically for traditional college-aged students, if you are in a California community college and under the age of 28, you may qualify as well.

So put in the time on the scholarships. However, make sure that you check with your state department of education and with the federal government about possible grants.