Whether you’re a senior who’s just fully grasped exactly how much college is going to cost you, or you’re an underclassman who realized that you’re going to be in their shoes in just a matter of years, saving for college is one of the best things you can do for yourself now.
It is important to start saving money early to give you a head-start on those student loans. Photo taken from Pixabay
However, just “saving up” might not be enough. Maybe you plan on going to a large university, or an out-of-state school, a private school, or maybe even Harvard or Yale. Not only do they have a hefty tuition, but you have to worry about housing, food, and books. Don’t panic just yet. Fortunately, there are thousands of opportunities to make it through college with as little debt as possible.
Here are some of the best websites for scholarships:
Fastweb as a “target system” for scholarships where you can narrow down the thousands of scholarships based on your favorite topics, degree, and strengths. Besides giving you scholarships, Fastweb also offers a College Search, Part-time job listings, and unlimited resources to help you make your most difficult financial decisions. Another added bonus is that it is completely free to sign up!
Besides showing you your test scores and allowing you to compare colleges, College Board also offers $5 million in scholarships. They’ve created a new program that gives you opportunities to make money by just putting in effort. Just building a college list could make you $500! They have six options, and if you complete all of them you could win up to $40,000 in their monthly drawings. The options and awards are:
- Building your college list: $500
- Practice for the SAT: $1,000
- Improve your score: $2,000
- Complete the FAFSA: $1,000
- Apply to colleges: $1,000
- Complete the Journey: $40,000
This scholarship is only available to students in the graduating class of 2020 this year. However, they have lists of other scholarships you can apply for if you are not eligible for their main drawing.
Scholarships.com boasts over 3.7 million scholarships and grants totalling up to a whopping $19 Billion! You can find scholarships available to everyone, scholarships just from your college, and they will even help you find the college you’ve been dreaming of. Whether you’re in high school, college, or even an adult-learner you can find an endless amount of scholarships from colleges, universities, foundations, organizations, and the government. Just because you’re out of high school, doesn’t mean you can’t win scholarships for college.
To round off our list is Scholarship Monkey. This site not only provides a regular keyword search, but you can limit your searches by major, religion, gender, race, and even find nursing scholarships just to name a few. It is totally free to sign up and they will keep you up to date on the latest scholarships and contests.
Student debt is a serious topic that grows long after graduation. 69% of college students that graduated in 2018 took out student loans and have accumulated the average debt of $29,800 according to Student Loan Hero. The students aren’t the only ones effect by student loans, with 14% of parents taking out an average loan of $35,600 for their child’s college. In total, Americans owe $1.56 trillion in students loans alone.
After college you’re going to want to buy an apartment, a car, or maybe a house. Don’t let student debt get in the way of your future goals and ambitions. Talk to your counselor about the Gull Lake Foundation Grants and Scholarships and use the websites above to make the most out of your education, money, and time.
This content was originally published here.