Free $ For College For Dummies E-Book

David Rosen

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 569

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Demystifies the scholarship selection process

Write winning essays and get financial aid

Need money for college? This simple, straightforward guide shows you how to find scholarships, grants, and other "free money" to use toward your college expenses. You get expert advice on applying for federal grants, participating in state tuition plans, competing for scholarships from private organizations, and more - with tips on avoiding scams, completing your applications on time, and finding financial aid from unlikely sources.

The Dummies Way
* Explanations in plain English
* "Get in, get out" information
* Icons and other navigational aids
* Tear-out cheat sheet
* Top ten lists
* A dash of humor and fun

Leseprobe

Free $ For College For Dummies®

by David Rosen and Caryn Mladen

Free $ For College For Dummies®

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2003 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wiley Publishing, Inc., in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2003101998

ISBN: 978-0-7645-5467-4

IO/RQ/QW/QT/IN

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8

About the Authors

David Rosen and Caryn Mladen are business consultants, writers, and educators whose work focuses on the high-tech and financial industries. Individually, they have decades of teaching experience at the university, college, and corporate levels where they combine their years of formal training and technical experience with humor and enthusiasm.

David and Caryn served as editors-in-chief of America Online’s member magazine, Multimedia Online, and have written or co-written hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles dealing with technology, education, law, intellectual property, and travel. Their previous books have been used as course textbooks at universities and colleges, as well as expert resource material cited in legal actions within Silicon Valley. This is their seventh book together as a writing team — and their second For Dummies book.

David scored his first professional writing gig back in 1977, where he was a stringer for a local community newspaper. After managing various technical and education departments within several large corporations, he turned his skills to consulting and corporate writing. Today, David is an internationally known expert in high-technology marketing and frequently consults for corporations and government agencies. He also serves as an editor for ReporterWorld, an organization that works to educate and protect reporters, correspondents, journalists and others around the world from the vocational dangers they face when keeping the world safe and informed.

In December 2001, Caryn co-founded a non-profit initiative called Privaterra, devoted to providing privacy and security technology training and support to human rights workers worldwide. As a director of this international non-governmental organization, she educates the public about privacy and security issues by speaking to the media and at conferences, universities, and special events. Caryn has appeared on television and radio news programs, and her articles and interviews have been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, Russian, Japanese, and other languages. Before devoting her life to consulting, education, and writing, Caryn was a lawyer specializing in technology and intellectual property.

Dedication

William Shakespeare gave good advice to every student when he wrote, “Put money in thy purse,” but it was my parents, Mary and Ivor, who gave me a love of knowledge; Ron Baecker who imparted in me a love of teaching; Howard Roark, who conferred to me a love of work; and Marnie, who bestowed in me a love of life. — David

To the great teachers in my life, including Eunice Lawrence in grade school, Larry Rice and Jim Shearer in high school, Jean Smith in university, and Maureen Moloney and Andrew Petter in law school. They taught life lessons along with the required texts. And to Mark, Steve, my parents, and my pals, who teach me what’s important every day of my life. — Caryn

Authors’ Acknowledgments

It would have been impossible to write this book without the advice, information and insight we received from literally hundreds of educators, administrators and other professionals. We do, however, wish to single out dozens of people who went above and beyond the call of duty to help the millions of students headed off (or back) to college this year:

First and foremost, we’d like to thank the helpful editors and staff at Wiley Publishing, including Joyce Pepple, Norm Crampton, Pam Mourouzis, Tim Gallan, and Violet Gregory. Others include Dr. James Arnold, Director of Community College Articulation, Oregon University System; Brian Battle, Director of Compliance, Florida State University; Steve Bauer, Executive Director of the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund; Pat Bogart, Senior Director of Financial Aid, Duke University; Gavin Bradley, Assistant Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Columbia University; Kay Brothers, Coordinator of Scholarship Services, Washington State University; Roseanne Chandler, School of Music & Theatre Arts, Washington State University; Angela Deaver Campell, Director of Scholarship Resource Center, UCLA; Sally Donahue, Director of Financial Aid, Harvard University; Harden R. Eyring, Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority; Heather Gonzalez, Federal Student Aid Information Center; Steve Hill, Director of Scholarships, Brigham Young University; Gail Ishino, Assistant Director of Financial Aid Office, UCLA; Monica Lenderman, Public Relations, NCAA; Dennis Luke, Internal Revenue Service; Major Mandrick, Army ROTC, SUNY Brockport; Chris Pella, Men’s Athletic Department, Brigham Young University; Patricia Restan, Department Head, City of London School for Girls; Steve Robertello, Director of Compliance, Washington State University; Iris Rosen; Instructor, NAIT; Joe Russo, Director of Financial Aid, Notre Dame University; Michael Sondheimer, Associate Athletic Director, UCLA; Vickie Unferth, Assistant Director of Scholarships, Michigan State University; Mary Ann Welch, Director of Program Administration, Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority.

In addition, the following organizations were also particularly helpful: Daughters of the American Revolution; Gates Millennium Scholars; Hispanic Scholarship Fund; Miss America Scholarship Department; NAACP Education Department; and Rotary International.

And, last but certainly not least, we wish to thank you, the reader. Whether you’re a student heading off to college or the parent, grandparent, guardian, spouse, partner, friend, son, or daughter of someone who is, we thank you.

David and Caryn

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Senior Project Editor: Tim Gallan

Acquisitions Editor: Pam Mourouzis, Norm Crampton

Copy Editor: Christina Guthrie

Acquisitions Coordinator: Holly Grimes

Technical Editor: Ellen Frishberg

Editorial Manager: Christine Meloy Beck

Editorial Assistants: Melissa Bennett, Elizabeth Rea

Cover Photos: © Garry Gay/Stock Connection/ PictureQuest

Cartoons: Rich Tennant, www.the5thwave.com

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees

Layout and Graphics: Jennifer Click, Kelly Emkow, Michael Kruzil, Jackie Nicholas, Mary Gillot Virgin

Proofreaders: John Greenough, Charles Spencer, Brian Walls, Aptara

Indexer: Aptara

Special Help: E. Neil Johnson

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies

Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies

Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies

Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel

Brice Gosnell, Publishing Director, Travel

Suzanne Jannetta, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents

Title

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

Foolish Assumptions

How This Book Is Organized

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I : The Process, the Players, and the Possibilities

Chapter 1: Finding Free Money: How Can I Make It Happen?

Getting Paid to Go to School

Assembling Your Materials in One Place

Taking Action

Looking at the Documents

Understanding Application Timelines

Chapter 2: The Nitty-Gritty of Receiving Free Money

Waddaya Mean I Don’t Get the Money?

Working for Your Free Money

Did You Mention a Free Lunch?

Chapter 3: Recognizing the Realities: What Can You Truly Expect?

Who Gets Free Money?

The Need to Be Needy

Chapter 4: Avoiding College Aid Scams

Scam Busters of America

Spotting Scholarship Scams

How and Why Scams Work

Protecting Yourself from Scams

Taking Action If You Get Taken for a Ride

Part II : Getting Your Due from Uncle Sam

Chapter 5: Getting Help from Your Federal Friends

A Crash Course in Federal Financial Aid

Federal Pell Grants

Completing the FAFSA

The Next Steps after Completing the FAFSA

The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

Chapter 6: Getting Help from Federal Loans

Loans and Lending 101

Qualifying for Federal Loans

Footing the Bill with Stafford Loans

Letting Your Parents Borrow with PLUS Loans

Finding That Last Bit in Perkins Loans

Simplifying Your Life with Consolidation Loans

Chapter 7: Signing Up for Other Federal Benefits

Giving Tuition Payers a Little Hope

Lifetime Learning Credits

Chapter 8: Taxing Issues: You and the IRS

Tax Implications of Student Loans

Tuition and Fees Deduction

The Lowdown on Coverdell ESAs

Early Withdrawals from IRAs

About Education Savings Bond Programs

Part III : Looking Closer to Home: Free Money From Your State and Hometown

Chapter 9: Getting Free $ from Your State

Understanding State Residency

Becoming Eligible for State-Based Aid

State-by-State Contacts

Chapter 10: Trying Harder with Your State

Going for State Aid Even If the Feds Have Turned You Down

State-Sponsored Tuition Plans: Money for Those with Foresight

Chapter 11: Going Local

Starting with the Basics

Expanding the Search

Local Search Tools

Part IV : Scoping Out Free Money from Prospective Colleges

Chapter 12: Getting a Better Deal on Tuition

Getting Accepted Is Just the Beginning

Tuition Discounts: Cha-Ching!

Other Ways Your College Can Help You Pay Less

The Ivy League: It’s All about Need

Negotiating a Better Deal

How Do Colleges Decide How Much to Offer?

Chapter 13: Qualifying for Merit Scholarships

Getting Free Money without SAT Scores of 1600 and a GPA of 4.0

What Scholarships Are Available?

Going Artsy: Scholarships Are Available for Fine Arts Students, Too!

Chapter 14: Playing the Game: Understanding Athletic Scholarships

Introducing the NCAA

Athletic Scholarship Basics

Getting Started: Researching Your Sport

Thinking Like a Coach

The Scouting and Recruiting Process

Other Sources of Athletic Scholarships

Chapter 15: Free Money for International Study . . . and for International Students

Before You Go

Going Away? Get Free Money!

Coming to America? Get Free Money!

Part V : I Didn’t Think of That! Lots More Sources of Free Money

Chapter 16: Getting Free Money from Organizations

Meet the Groups that Give Away Money

Why Would They Give Me Free Money?

Receiving Graciously (Will I Owe Anything if I Take Their Gift?)

Chapter 17: Asking the Boss for Free Money

Free Money from a College?

I (or My Parents) Work for Uncle Sam. How Can I Get a Free Ride at College?

Will My Boss Send Me to College?

Chapter 18: Joining Up: You’re in the Army (or Navy or Air Force or Marines) Now

If You’re In High School . . .

Free Money for Dependents of Veterans

The Montgomery GI Bill

Chapter 19: Staring into the Educational Crystal Ball

Costs Will Increase

Demand for Higher Education Will Rise

Some Colleges Will Merge or Close

Books, Computers, and Other Supplies Will Become Cheaper

The Traditional Classroom May Disappear

Scholarships Will Become More Privatized — and Personalized

Paperwork Will Get More Complicated

Paperwork Will Involve Less Paper

Chapter 20: Resource Guide

Federal Resources

All Things Military

State Resources

College Organizations

Resources about Specific Topics

Private and Corporate Resources

Part VI : The Part of Tens

Chapter 21: The Ten Best Ways to Get Free Money for College

Do Well in School

Take the Tests

Take the Right Courses

Arrange Your Finances Strategically

Get Involved

Get to Know Important People

Prepare

Apply for Winnable Scholarships

Then, Apply For The Rest

Follow Up

Chapter 22: Ten Places You May Not Think to Look for Free Money

Your School Guidance Counselor

National Honor Society

Miss America Pageant

Daughters of the American Revolution

Gates Millennium Scholars Program

Hispanic Scholarship Fund

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

National Urban League

Organization of Chinese Americans

American Indian Graduate Center

Chapter 23: Ten College Payment Plans That Just Don’t Work

Assuming Your Parents Will Take Care of College for You

Planning to Take Out Student Loans and Then Declare Bankruptcy after You Graduate

Depending On Getting an Athletic Scholarship

Figuring You’re Soooooo Smart, Colleges Will Be Begging for You

Planning to Work for a Year before College to Save Up

Working During College to Pay Your Expenses

Applying for Only the Scholarships You Need to Cover Expenses

Trying to Apply for Every Scholarship forWhich You Qualify

Paying Someone Else to Do Your Work

Plan? What Plan?

Chapter 24: Ten Things Colleges Don’t Tell You

Colleges Are Businesses

First-Year Discounts May Disappear

Tuition Fees Will Rise

Scholarship Funding May Fall

Some Loan Interest Charges Start Accumulating Immediately

You Have to Reapply for Scholarships Every Year

Missing Financial Aid Deadlines Can Be Expensive

Some Scholarship Money Is Taxable

If Your Sibling Leaves College, Your Aid Will Likely Drop

It Costs to Transfer Between Colleges

Appendix: Glossary

Introduction

W hy in the world would anyone give you free money? Sure, if you’re at the top of your class or a star athlete, you probably expect to receive some generous offers from colleges. But what if you aren’t?

Relax. You can get some wonderfully lucrative offers even if you’re not getting straight As or catching the touchdown passes. People, companies, and organizations give away money to all kinds of different students, and chances are, a bunch of awards out there have your name written all over them.

All you have to do is get organized, research, and apply. That’s it! And in this book, we show you how.

About This Book

You don’t need to read this book from start to finish, taking copious notes as if you were doing your homework. You can if you want, but we’ve designed the book so that you can choose to go directly to whichever section interests you most.

For example, if you’re not working and your parents don’t work for the government, a college, or a relatively big company, you really can’t ask your boss or your parents’ boss to send you to school, so you may choose to just skim (or skip) Chapter 17 where we discuss this option. If you need to apply for a Federal Pell Grant in the next few hours, on the other hand, you should probably head directly to Chapter 5.

However, if you’ve picked up this book with plenty of time before you need to apply for scholarships, grants, and the rest of your free money options, your best bet is to read all the chapters, taking notes and using a highlighter and sticky notes to help you remember points of interest to you. We make it easier on you by emphasizing the most important items, but because literally thousands of scholarships and grants are available, you’ll be better off focusing on the types that are most significant to you.

Conventions Used in This Book

We’ve used a few conventions in this book, and to make your life easier, let us explain to you what they are:

Every time we introduce a new term or concept, we italicize it.

This book is full of abbreviations and acronyms, which can get confusing. However, we try to help you out by spelling out the abbreviation upon its first mention in every chapter, and then putting the abbreviation in parentheses.

Web sites and email addresses appear in monofont to help them stand out.

Foolish Assumptions

No, we’re not calling you foolish. The thing is, far too many people have this ridiculous idea that they can’t get scholarships and grants. Because you’ve picked up this book, we’d like to think that you’re one of the enlightened few who understands our basic point:

EVERYONE IS ELIGIBLE FOR FREE MONEY FOR COLLEGE!

And anyone who wants to go to college can benefit from reading this book, whether you’re in elementary school, high school, already in college, or a mature student just considering attending college. So can parents, grandparents, and anyone else who may have to contribute toward a college education, either financially or emotionally or both. This book is also great for you if you’re one of the many people who never considered college because you always thought it was too expensive. We’re here to tell you that you can afford it, and we show you how.

Okay, now that we’ve dealt with that matter, we can move on.

How This Book Is Organized

This book has six parts, with three to five chapters in each, divided into a bunch of subsections. We’ve tried to focus on specific topics for each chapter and each subsection, but subjects do overlap at times. When that happens, we tell you where to find more information in another part of this book.

Pretty much everyone can get a lot out of Part I and the first chapters each of Parts II, III, IV, and V. Then you can pick and choose whatever topics you like. Be warned, however, that skipping entire chapters is generally not a good idea. You may think that you have no chance to get an athletic scholarship, but Chapter 14 shows that athletic scholarships are available for non-traditional sports, such as archery, in addition to football and basketball. You may think that you could never join the military to go to college, but you may find yourself interested in the Reserves, especially after September 11. If you don’t breeze through Chapter 18, you’ll never know what opportunities there are to defend your country and get financial help for college.

Part I: The Process, the Players, and the Possibilities

This part describes the basics of scholarships, grants, and awards of all sorts, along with loans that offer money that’s free for now. These chapters demonstrate why every student can apply for free money if they’re applying to or attending college. This part also outlines the differences between need-based funds and merit-based funds, and it shows how they sometimes work together. Part I also explains the concept of free money — distinguishing between money that’s totally free and money that’s free for now. Finally, Part I helps you avoid the scams that are, unfortunately, part of the scholarship horizon.

Part II: Getting Your Due from Uncle Sam

The federal government helps more students pay for college than any other source. This part explores all the different programs available, and it shows you how to make the most of them. If you ignore the key financial aid application in this part, you’ll be cutting yourself off from the largest source of free and low-cost money available to all students — not to mention most state, local, and college aid as well.

Part III: Looking Closer to Home: Free Money from Your State and Hometown

Whether in the form of state-sponsored savings plans, resident tax incentives, or outright cash giveaways, states want their native sons and daughters to go to college. This part explains the programs that states offer to help get students to school and keep them learning.

Part IV: Scoping Out Free Money from Prospective Colleges

You may be grateful just to get accepted to the college of your choice, but most students pay less than the sticker price. Don’t wait for the money offer — ask for a tuition discount, or try to negotiate a better deal and while you’re at it, apply for as much free scholarship money as you can get.

Part V: I Didn’t Think of That! Lots More Sources of Free Money

A little research, some well-written application letters, and a few essays can save you a bundle on your college costs. You may be surprised by how many organizations and companies that you already know are offering free money — and how few students actually apply to get this money. Part V shows you where to look for all this money, and how to apply. This part also features a Resource Guide showcasing detailed contact information with special sections on major funding resources.

Part VI: The Part of Tens

What would a For Dummies book be without a Part of Tens? Acting as an overview and set of pointers, these lists help you focus on the most important things to do to get free money for college — and the most important things not to do.

Icons Used in This Book

To help you recognize when we’re saying something particularly important, we use a bunch of icons to draw your attention to key ideas and pointers. That’s not to say that the rest of the book can be ignored — just pay special attention when you see any of the following:

Most people think of a tip as a payment for service, but we’re not handing out free money every time we use this icon. We are, however, offering up something really valuable: good advice to use in your search for free money. Grab your highlighter, make a note in the margin, or just dog-ear the page.

Sure, you should remember everything in this book. After all, we slaved over every word to make sure that you can get as much free money as possible. However, text passages with this icon beside them represent important themes or trends that tend to happen over and over in the free money search. Whenever you see this icon, take a moment to think about it and commit the point to memory. Most importantly, try to use it when you’re applying for aid, filling out forms, or thinking about how to save money.

Ignore this icon at your peril. It points out something that can hurt your chances of getting free money, and that may end up costing you money, time, and hassle. Heed these warnings at all costs.

As you probably have guessed, this icon highlights information relating to all things financial. Yes, the entire book is about free money, but points illustrated with this icon relate especially to accounting, money amounts, scholarships, grants, and low-cost loans.

This icon points to reference materials, books, Web sites, and other stuff you can use as you apply for free money.

Where to Go from Here

Where to go? Why anywhere you want, of course. Just remember that this book is a guide, and reading it won’t automatically win you any scholarships or grants. Instead, you need to take our advice and do the work, or at least think about what we’re saying and decide if it applies to your specific financial plan for college.

This book is like a book on exercise. Knowing how to workout won’t make you fit. You have to hit the gym and sweat a bit. Reading this book is a great first step toward getting free money for college, but after you know where and how to apply, you’ve got to actually do it. So get out your markers and pens, and get to work finding free money for college!

Part I

The Process, the Players, and the Possibilities

In this part . . .

If you don’t have a clue where to start looking for free money for college, start here. This part is where we explain the basics, from who gives out free money (and why) to who gets it. In between, we explain various terminology, such as need-based and merit-based, the kind of money that you have to pay back versus the kind that is totally free, how to apply for free money, and when you need to start applying. We help you choose the options that are best for you, and avoid the scams and time-wasters.

Chapter 1

Finding Free Money: How Can I Make It Happen?

In This Chapter

Discovering the free money options

Figuring out the terminology

Getting yourself organized

Starting on time

O kay, first of all, let us put to rest the myth that billions upon billions of dollars in scholarship money aren’t awarded every year because no one bothers to apply for them. People do apply, and the money gets awarded. Sure, some awards might not get disbursed, but usually, the people in charge of the particular awards make sure that their money goes to somebody.

Does that mean that you might as well give up because nothing will be left for you? No way! This book helps take you through the steps to make sure you get the free money that is available to you. There’s no trick to it, but the research, activities, application process, and follow-up does take some concerted effort. The good news is that anyone who is willing to put in the effort can reap the rewards.