You are probably already aware of the very high costs of sending your son or daughter to college, whether you have been researching it in preparation for them going, or whether you already have a child in college. And it is probably no news to you that despite your extensive and detailed planning and budgeting, your best guess is likely going to fall far short of the real costs. This is an exercise that students and parents have been going through for a number of years and the total figure that you arrive at is always much less than the actual cost, and this is virtually guaranteed. But there are two fundamental problems with this. First, you may have encouraged your son or daughter to go to a cheaper college or maybe a community college to keep costs lower. If this suggestion is being made simply from a cost perspective, I would encourage you to re-examine the situation. Todays world is a tough place to be, and having the best college education possible is going to give your son or daughter the best chances of rising to the top after they graduate. But even more importantly, the total costs of sending your son or daughter to college does not need to be as astronomically high as the figures would indicate. This is because there are literally tons of scholarships available that your son or daughter CAN qualify for. While some scholarships only provide a few hundred dollars, other scholarships and grants can provide a full ride, including tuition, books, and housing. And there is no limit, legal or otherwise, on the number of scholarships or grants that your son or daughter can apply for AND be awarded. Note that while a student loan needs to be repaid after graduation, grants and scholarships do NOT need to be repaid, and that is a huge difference. You should avoid any organizations or web sites that require you to pay money in order to see if you qualify for a specific scholarship. While some of these may be legitimate, many are scams and will never qualify you for anything. In the vast majority of cases, applying for a scholarship is free, and qualifications depend on what the provider of the scholarship requires. Contrary to popular belief, scholarships are not necessarily based on financial need anymore. Of course that plays a factor, but financial need is a much lesser factor than it was only a few short years ago. The truth is that there are millions of dollars worth of scholarships that are not awarded each year simply because nobody applied for them! No, you do not need to be the top football jock or the outstanding musician of the year in order to get a scholarship. In the majority of cases, you simply need to apply. Remember, these scholarships are tax deductions for corporations, and if the scholarship is not awarded, then the corporation does not get to take that tax deduction. Therefore, the requirements for being eligible for that scholarship are less and less, including a financial need basis, but the single requirement that exists for all of them is that you need to fill out the application! Jon is a computer engineer who maintains web sites on a variety of topics based on his knowledge and experience. You can read more about College Scholarships and College Grants at his web site Finding College Scholarships.
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