How to Go to College Free

Rising prices of everything make that college education look less like an attainable goal. Here you will learn some tips to have your college education paid for.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Time
• Notebook
• Computer with Internet
• Previous year's taxes

1. After you have decided which colleges to apply for, start getting together some essential items. The first place to go is to www.fafsa.ed.gov to get a pin so that you can fill out the FAFSA form. The FAFSA is an essential document to getting any kind of financial assistance. All instructions for the FAFSA are located on their website.
2. The next thing to do is to search for some scholarships that are available. There are countless search engines that compile scholarship opportunities, but remember that you should never pay for such services. A popular scholarship engine, www.fastweb.com is a great place to start. If you are thinking of applying to a certain major, think about private organizations and companies within the field.
3. Another way to find money is to visit the school that you wish to attend. The schools will sometimes have money set aside just for their students and individuals from a certain background.
4. Keep a notebook filled with every opportunity that you can find. Search for some special programs that help students reach their goal. Some of these are the TRIO scholars (for low-income and first generation college students), and the SMART scholarships (for science and math majors).
5. It is important to remember that there is no goal that is too high to reach if you want it. I currently get about $10,000 in grant and scholarship money each year that I do not have to pay back. My cost of attendance is about $5,000 a year, do the math.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are determined to get a college education, there are people out there that want you to reach that goal.