College Funding?!! Please, give ideas...?

Question

I am a senior at a CSU and will be done in December. I only have enough savings money left to see me through May, (if that). I am considering loans (because that is seemingly the most accessible option). I want to attend graduate school in Southern California at the beginning of next year and am applying now. I feel like I have so many goals and no way to get there. Any ideas for financing my way through college??? Please help.

Answer 1

The best option is to try for either a graduate or research assistant position with the college. It will provide both a small income dependent upon how many hours worked per week and help to attend college. The assistant positions can limit to an extent the need for student loans. However, I will provide some other free options to locate money to attend graduate school.

First, fill out the FASA form. It will tap into need based financial aid based on your income alone. However, graduate school students will only qualify for student loans from the government. In most cases, the individual school does have scholarship money to give to graduate school students.

Second, the college's financial aid office and website has a list of private scholarships offered from outside organizations and companies. Sometimes a college major's website will list scholarships, too.

Third, the public library has a book listing scholarships with some not even listed on the web.

Finally, I recommend joining several free membership scholarship search websites. There are scholarships for a variety of things including ethnicity, clubs, hobbies, and even wearing duct tape to the high school prom. Most are updated on a regular basis. Most offer a customized search based on information entered onto a form on the website.

Good luck!