What you’ve
heard is true:
No
My parents probably make
too much money for me to
get financial aid.
Yes
Family income isn’t the
only factor that’s considered
on your application. Other
factors include the size of
your family, the number of
family members in college,
and the age of your oldest
parent. These things may
make you eligible for more
financial aid than you think.
Plus, filling out the FAFSA
qualifies families for federal
education loans, no matter
what your family income.
College is expensive.
What you may not know is that
2 out of every 3 students
attending four-year colleges in the United States receive some form
of financial aid to help meet college expenses. This might include:
grants (free money) from the federal government, the State of Vermont, or the college
you’re attending — and perhaps all three, depending on your family’s financial situation
scholarships for things you can hardly believe
work-study government money that pays you wages for a part-time job at school
federal education loans
And all of these types of aid start with the
No
My parents can’t help me pay
for college, so they don’t want
to fill out it.
Yes
If you’re from a low-income
family, completing the FAFSA
will make you eligible for
grants (free money!) from
your college, the state of
Vermont, and/or the federal
government.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (the FAFSA).
What this means is that you’re applying for money from the government to go to college. And
you’re applying for FREE. So put it on your radar for senior year.
u
Your goal is to be an
Early in your sophomore year,
information security
you investigate ways you can
maven, so you go to
https://www.sfs.opm.gov.
u graduate from high school
with free college credits
That’s the Web page for
u Because you have a
parent in the active
military — and your
current grade point
You commit to the notion
already under your belt. With
average is above 3.0
of working while you’re in
You’re thinking about
Scholarships for
Service program,
help from your school counselor,
(a solid B) — you
college. If you get a good
going into nursing, so
you work the info into your high
can use the Military
which provides money
school plan to save yourself
Officers Association of
your financial aid package,
nefcu.org/scholarships.cfm
to obtain an application
the
u work–study job as part of
for up to two years of
hundreds of dollars in college
America Scholarship
terrific! If not, you’re willing
college study (covering
tuition. Learn more at:
Fund’s interest-free
to put in 10 or 15 hours a
www.vsc.edu/colleges-andprograms/Pages/DualEnrollment-Program.aspx
loans of up to $5,500,
week at a local restaurant or
and apply for their
business. Anything under 20
scholarships and
hours a week has been shown
www.vtc.edu/academics/
vermont-academy-sciencetechnology-vast
grants.
to improve grades anyway,
tuition, books, room
and board) and an
$8,000 annual
stipend to
eligible
students.
www.moaa.org/main_
secondary.aspx?id=8783
you visit https://www.my
for the New England
u Federal Credit
Union nursing
scholarship.
since it teaches you better
time management skills.
http://ccvwin-fastfwd.ccv.edu
college — the way to pay
1
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
I’m not going for a four-year degree.
I’ll probably get a two-year degree or
look for a short training course so I
can work after high school.
Yes
Vermont grants can also be used for
two-year degrees, and its nondegree
grants can be used to pay for shortterm programs or courses designed to
give you more employment skills.
These are just a couple of the hundreds of “merit”
scholarships out there for students with leadership
qualities, community involvement, certain religious
affiliations, or other qualities; for children of active
military members; for students who are in the Scouts;
and for students who want to study certain subjects.
Look through VSAC’s scholarships booklet and start
searching sites like www.fastweb.com, www.merit aid.com,
and https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college.
They’re called Vermont grants
because they’re for Vermont
residents. If you receive a grant,
you can use it no matter where you
go to college. It’s the same with
scholarships!
u buying used
textbooks and
then selling
them back at
u As one of the first
generation in your family
Everybody knows about scholarships for tennis phenoms
and straight-A students. But what about a scholarship
for the best duct-tape prom outfits? (Which, for some
reason Vermont students can’t apply for; so who do we
talk to about that?)
Or what about scholarships for first-year, male college
students over 6’2”? (Check out the Tall Clubs
International Student scholarships.)
I’m going to school in Maine, so I
can’t use a Vermont grant.
You know that by
I’m not an A student or athlete There’s nothing out there
for me.
We’re pretty certain you’ll be surprised at the variety and
number of scholarships for which you might be eligible.
At college,
you agree
You put in a few hours on a Mud
Season Saturday (or a few study hall
You decide to
u cut your
housing costs.
the Web site for the Center for
u to share a
room with
visit the Loans &
u
Education Debt section at
Student Opportunity. You book-
two other
vsacroadmaps.org/pay/loans to:
“co-op” (from the
to go to college, you sign up at
periods) and
Your college has a
mark their “Ask the experts”
students
• learn the basics of education loans
word “cooperate”),
semester (instead
section, where you can get
instead of
• find out how interest works and
so you sign up for
of buying and
the end of the
answers to your specific
one, which
keeping new
questions about paying for
will save you
books), you’re
college, follow the student blog,
$1,000 to
and attend Google+ Hangouts.
$2,000
www.imfirst.org/sign-up
each year.
likely to save
about $500 each
year of college.
accumulates on your loans
• get tips for keeping your education
debt as low as possible
• learn how to research careers
that instead of the
regular dorm. It’ll
require a few hours
of chores a week,
but it’ll save you
• take our reality check as a way to
approximately
keep your education debt at a
$3,500 a year.
manageable level
college — the way to pay
2