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How are you going to pay for college? Start by talking about it -
students and parents together. Financial planning is not financial
aid. Financial planning means understanding all of the financial resources
that are available and then selecting some combination of options that will constitute the
financial plan that makes the most sense for you. In order to pay for
college you can:
Spend what you already have -
Personal savings: money in savings
accounts or investments that can be expended.
Personal income: funds from
employment. Student employment, part-time or full-time during summers, or
by taking a semester off for employment. Employment while
attending must be carefully balanced with semester credit loads. External
requirements to maintain full-time enrollment, such as health or auto insurance,
must be fully understood and priorities must be set regarding external
requirements versus academic performance.
Investigate deferred payment
plans, or partial payment plans as a means of short-term, low cost financing.
This allows you to pay your current bills with very soon to be earned money.
Spend someone else's money -
Grants: generally are an
outright gift of money with no repayment required. Access to grant funds
are primarily based on family income guidelines. http://www.uwc.edu/financial-aid/
Scholarships: are an award of
money based on a wide variety of specific criteria that the student must meet
and often maintain (such as grade point average). Failure to maintain the
required standards will result in funding being withdrawn. http://waukesha.uwc.edu/student/scholarship/scholarship.html
The above require the completion
of an application, frequently the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA). http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
Borrow -
Loans-
based on your promise to pay back more than you initially borrowed. This
includes loans for education at various interest rates based on the lender, and
credit cards. The use of a credit card is the last college funding option
to use unless the amount charged can be paid in less than one month.
Piling up huge credit card debit prior to graduation does not represent sound
financial planning.
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