Will always bring you back here, looking for money and where to go next. You’ll have to forgive my Beatles reference, but the song fit. However the road to college seems to take forever for both child and parent. For the child, they can’t wait to be on their own making their own decisions. The parent, the thoughts are endless, how to pay for college, how to get them there, which college, are they ready. I’m here to tell you, all the thoughts on both sides are normal. To make this transition a bit easier, here are a few website to ease the fears and concerns. These sites will also show you what to do next for both parent and student.
What do you do first? Well, it’ s February, and if you’re are a parent of a Senior in High School, your child may have been accepted into his or her school of choice already or at least knows what they are doing. If you are a parent of a junior, your journey is just starting. College.gov is geared towards high schools students and their parents and prepares both parents and student on what to expect from college. From the student’s perspective: what tests to take to get into college, and how to get the most from the experience. Parents, this site will help you if you have doubts of why or if your child should go to college. It will also show you how to make the dream of college, a reality for your child
One step for any student should be to fill out a FAFSA form. Why? You say, well this is the government’s way of giving you money. FAFSA stands for “Free Application For Student Aid” and you can access the online version straight off the college.gov website. This is a step you shouldn’t miss. Here are a few of the required criteria.
- You’re a Citizen or eligible non-citizen
- You’re a High School Grad or GED holder
- You’re working towards a degree or certification in a eligible program
- You’re not in default on a Federal Student loan and don’t own money to the government related to other grants or loans.
Most students qualify for this, so look at it as a few less dollars out of your pocket. The best part is, you can fill it out online. Students, just remember you may want to have your parents with you when you fill this out.
Another useful site is, students.gov. This is has a targeted audience of “the student gateway to US government” They are a government website developed to help college students and their families. Their mission is to provide you with easy access to information and resources from the U.S. government. This website is great, especially if you’re a student. There is everything from finding a school to financial aid, even finding to illusive internship within and outside the government. This website also help after graduation. They list jobs available within governmental departments and beyond. If you have already chosen a career path, they can help you find an accredited institution that is right for you.
The last step before going to college, is finding money! This is probably the most stressful part, for parents and students alike. After searching for scholarships online, which wasn’t easy, I found two sites I liked.
Both sites have you fill out a form, which helps narrow down which scholarships would be right for you. From there it’s up to you. Yes students, that means endless nights writing essays and filling out applications. Look at it this way, no one is going to just give you money, they want to be sure you are going to use their money wisely. Besides, this is your way of working for it, and remember, this is money you don’t have to pay back. If I may speak from experience and one who is still paying back school loans, do it, apply for as many scholarships as you can, because you don’t want to be paying for your education 10 years down the road.
College should be a memorable experience, not one that should be dreaded and avoided, because it costs too much. There are resources out there; you just have to find them. I hope that I found a few that would help you along your journey, and your long and winding road to college.
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