Scholarship/Loans/Grants

Hootie · #1 11-14-2002, 03:05 AM

Who has them and what do you think?
I am currently scholarship/loan/grant free but am interested in financial aid since I am independant of my family.

My question is what ones do I look for? Like I've heard that some are paid back after you complete college while others start payment immediately. And is a grant something you don't have to pay back? If so, how do they determine who gets them?

Sorry for so many questions! I had origionally wanted to attend another college (4 years ago) and never got financial aid then...so now's my chance!

Kevin · #2 11-14-2002, 10:26 AM

I get a partial tuition waiver for playing in the school's orchestra.

PsychTau · #3 11-14-2002, 10:55 AM

Hootie--

I have all three!!! First the "easy" one: GRANTS
You need to fill out a "Free Application for Federal Student Aid" (FAFSA). This can be obtained from a University Financial Aid office, or you might be able to find it on the Web (not sure where--if you go thru Univ. Financial Aid websites you may find it). This application is FREE, don't fall prey to these websites that say they'll do it for you for $49.99. (If you can do your taxes, you can do this. If not, someone can help you.) If you are independent from your family, then they only use your income to determine if you qualify. THE BONUS: this also is the application for federal student loans, so it will tell you what you qualify for in loans, but you don't HAVE to accept the loan if you don't need it. HOWEVER, do this as early as you can to make sure everything gets done in time. Grants are free and you don't have to pay them back (they're the best!!).

LOANS: My knowledge is a little rusty on this one, so you may need to talk to a FinAid counselor for more info. Basically there are two types of federal loans: PLUS loans (that your parents apply for) and STAFFORD loans (that are in your name, not your parents). Then there are two ways the interest is handled. One way is that you start paying the interest on the loan as soon as you get the loan, and the other way is that they save up all the interest and you don't pay ANYTHING until 6 months after you leave school. It depends on your financial situation as to what you want to do for that. Just do the FAFSA to apply for a loan. (I'm currently in repayment with my loans, so I know lots more about repayment, but we can go into that later!!)

SCHOLARSHIPS: Free money, based on need and grades/academics/talent. There are tons of them out there (including some from Chi Omega!). Some have no restrictions (as long as you have the GPA, etc.), while some are for certain majors or ask that you do something to "pay it back" (i.e. a teaching scholarship that asks you to teach in a needy, rural school for 2-3 years). There are TONS of places to search for scholarships. . .but there is no need to pay someone to do the searching for you (I've seen that advertised also). The FinAid office should have lots of resources for scholarship info. You can also check out Kaplan.com, Petersons.com, Monster.com, etc. for additional info. I know Chi Omega gives scholarships, I believe NPC does, and I know that Balfour gives a scholarship to Greeks each year (Chi O should have their contact info).

The best thing to do is to sit down with a FinAid officer and tell them your situation in order to get the most current info out there. Good Luck to you!!! Hope this helps!!

paulaKKG · #4 11-14-2002, 11:17 AM

I worked my way through college as an independent student, so I understand your confusion well. Financial Aid is confusing!

A few things that I learned in the process:

- Become friends with the Financial Aid officer. They understand the ins and outs of the system well, and are good resources for you. They often deal with lots of faceless (and often rude) students. Be kind and personal to them, and they will help.

- When you are an independent student, the rules change. For example, as a dependant student, only 2% of your savings count towards your ability to pay. As an independent student, 35% count. e.g. You have $1000 in savings as of Dec. 29, that's $350 more you'll have to pay/borrow a year. A good way not to get hurt by this is to pay for things in advance - I used to be sure to pay room and board, utility bills, and books early if I could.

- Look to your GLO's national headquarters for help with scholarships. I thought my financial situation was going to force me to drop my membership; in fact, it helped me pay part of tuition, which in turn let me afford dues.

- Be realistic about the ROI (Return on Investment) of your degree. If you're going to go $40,000 in debt for a degree, and the starting salary for your profession is $20,000 that's not very practical. But going $10,000 in debt so you're can stop being a fry cook and McDonalds might be. I have a very well paying job now, and I think the debt I undertook to get my degree is worth it - but I know many people buried in debt who should have known better to begin with.

Best of Luck!

- Paula P

Kappa Kappa Gamma
Delta Xi - Carnegie Mellon

AlphaFrog · #5 08-06-2011, 03:52 PM

10 Year Old Thread Bump!

Somehow, unless I'm not using the right search terms, there's not a whole lot of college funding talk on here.

At the event I was at last week, I met a professor from the NY Film Academy that told me that he would recommend me for admission - and being that he also gives out their scholarships, etc, he is authorized to do so...

Anyway, I'm looking at attending either a one or two year musical theatre program (depending on what I can afford), starting Fall 2012. My family would be making the move to NYC, and I'm going to need all the grant/scholarship help I can get to be able to afford NYC. I'll go ahead and fill out my FAFSA when I do my taxes in February, but I would like to go ahead and start researching scholarships. I've started looking online, but I feel like I've spend half the day taking surveys and about to be had at any moment. Can anyone recommend REPUTABLE places to look for scholarships? Also, is it too early to start to apply for scholarships for Fall '12? It's been a good 10 years since I did this the first time around!

AlwaysSAI · #6 08-10-2011, 09:35 PM

^^^^Have you looked on CFNC dot org? I don't know when it originated, so you might not be familiar with it.

It markets itself as the place where you can "Plan, apply, and pay for college".

There may be some scholarships/grants on cfnc that are NC specific, but I don't think all of them would be.

Have you looked into what ASA offers at all? I know all three of my orgs have scholarships that a graduate student can apply for. Speaking of--I know SAI has some scholarships. I know some of them can be awarded to non-members. Lemme go look at that.

DubaiSis · #7 09-24-2011, 12:31 AM

According to my sister, www.fastweb.com is the holy grail of everything college money.

knight_shadow · #8 09-24-2011, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

According to my sister, www.fastweb.com is the holy grail of everything undergraduate college money.

FYP

It's not helping me now nearly as much as it did when I was 17 lol

AGDee · #9 10-23-2011, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

FYP

It's not helping me now nearly as much as it did when I was 17 lol

I agree. I have had a really hard time finding any opportunities for someone in grad school part time. When I was looking at the FAFSA, I even realized that the tuition I am paying for ME to be in school doesn't even count on that. They only count the siblings of the applicant, not the parents, and both of her parents are in grad school right now. So not fair!

NinjaPoodle · #10 10-23-2011, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

According to my sister, www.fastweb.com is the holy grail of everything college money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

FYP

It's not helping me now nearly as much as it did when I was 17 lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGDee

I agree. I have had a really hard time finding any opportunities for someone in grad school part time. When I was looking at the FAFSA, I even realized that the tuition I am paying for ME to be in school doesn't even count on that. They only count the siblings of the applicant, not the parents, and both of her parents are in grad school right now. So not fair!

I agree on all parts especially since I'm a nontraditional student. I've found some on fastweb, but mostly I'm looking for photo specific companies I would consider working for, but also churches, non profit groups greek community, just anywhere any company. I tell people my story because networking can go a long way. You really need to be creative when looking because you really never know where the $$ could come from.

NinjaPoodle · #11 07-08-2012, 02:19 AM

Scholarship website update:
I still use Fastweb but some new ones have popped up since then.
Cappex seems to be pretty good. I found that if you've been on these sites for some time, you need to update your profile to reflect your current situation.

HQWest · #12 07-08-2012, 01:36 PM

A couple of the NPC groups also have graduate fellowships - some are regional or profession specific so there are some for women who maybe dont have the highest GPA but represent a specific area or have continued to participate after the college years.

NinjaPoodle · #13 07-08-2012, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HQWest

A couple of the NPC groups also have graduate fellowships - some are regional or profession specific so there are some for women who maybe dont have the highest GPA but represent a specific area or have continued to participate after the college years.

Do you know if they are only graduate fellowships? I'm an undergrad looking for anything art (photography) related, older students, and for women.

Should I just check the individual NPC members sites or do they have a special site, etc..?

thanks

DeltaBetaBaby · #14 07-08-2012, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NinjaPoodle

Do you know if they are only graduate fellowships? I'm an undergrad looking for anything art (photography) related, older students, and for women.

Should I just check the individual NPC members sites or do they have a special site, etc..?

thanks

I've never seen an NPC offer them to non-members.

NinjaPoodle · #15 07-09-2012, 10:10 PM

That's what I was thinking but it's worth looking into.