<p>I'm the first kid in my family to go to college and I have no idea how I am going to pay. I'm going to be a senior and the financial part of everything really scares me.
My family doesn't have much money, so they can't really do anything to help me. I have a summer job, but it is nowhere near enough for college. Unfortunately, my dad works for the state and makes a decent amount of money, so that will hurt my chances of need based scholarships. My grades aren't that great, either, so I'm not sure about merit based scholarships. I know nothing about applying for financial aid. How do people pay for college? Thanks.</p>
<p>Run the financial calculators at schools that interest you to get an idea of your EFC. Look at a schools with good merit aid if you think you will need it- if your grades and test scores are above the middle 50% range, you may have a better chance. Talk to your parents to see how much they can afford to pay. You may need to work while in college.</p>
<p>What state do you live in? Financial aid in different states is very different.</p>
<p>The OP’s location says Northern Vermont. Have you taken the SAT or ACT and what were the scores? What is your GPA? Is there a community college to which you could commute for two years or are you too rural? Have you asked your parent’s how much per year they can contribute? Try to get a dollar figure for that, not just a general statement. Do you know what your family’s annual income is? Do you have an intended major?</p>
<p>With this info people could give you more suggestions. How do people afford college? Depends, but most struggle and commute to local colleges and/or attend part-time while working.</p>
<p>Get a financial aid book from Princeton review. It will give you some tips and tricks on how to maximize your aid.</p>
<p>I live in Vermont</p>
<p>Are you commuting distance to a VT community college or smaller public four year college?</p>
<p>Here is a very helpful site for Vermont with information about local opportunities (grants and scholarships). Check if you are eligible for anything.
[Pay</a> for College](<a href=“http://services.vsac.org/wps/wcm/connect/vsac/vsac/pay+for+college]Pay”>http://services.vsac.org/wps/wcm/connect/vsac/vsac/pay+for+college)</p>
<p><a href=“http://services.vsac.org/wps/wcm/connect/vsac/VSAC/[/url]”>http://services.vsac.org/wps/wcm/connect/vsac/VSAC/</a></p>
<p>
You confuse me. You don’t think you can get need based scholarships, but your family can’t help you either?</p>
<p>Also, you can schedule an appointment with their resource center, it looks like Northern Vermont. Anyway, it is a small state, driving is not a problem.
[Contact</a> VSAC](<a href=“http://services.vsac.org/wps/wcm/connect/VSAC/VSAC/General/About+VSAC/Contact+Us/]Contact”>http://services.vsac.org/wps/wcm/connect/VSAC/VSAC/General/About+VSAC/Contact+Us/)</p>
<p>OP, are you saying that your dad made too much money for you to qualify any need-base financial aid; however, your dad won’t pay for your college despite he makes good money?
See <a href=“http://services.vsac.org/wps/wcm/connect/e3005e80460d6b55a26beb857745f48f/Paying_For_College_Guide.pdf?MOD=AJPERES[/url]”>http://services.vsac.org/wps/wcm/connect/e3005e80460d6b55a26beb857745f48f/Paying_For_College_Guide.pdf?MOD=AJPERES</a>
</p>
<p>My family doesn’t have any free money for anything, but when you look at the amount of money my dad makes, it doesn’t look like we would have money problems. For example, because of his salary, we can’t get things like reduced lunch, but we still have a hard time financially.</p>
<p>How do people pay for college?</p>
<p>1) their parents pay</p>
<p>2) merit scholarships from high stats</p>
<p>3) FA from schools that give lots of aid (usually need strong stats to get accepted)</p>
<p>4) They commute from home to a CC and then to a local state school. They work during the summer, and part time during the school year to pay for tuition.</p>
<p>Most students CAN NOT afford to go away to school. That is a luxury. Most kids commute to a local state college.</p>
<p>
You need to know your EFC and how much your family can really pay your school</p>
<p>If your family can at least pay for your EFC, you may have a lot more schools to choice from.</p>
<p>To be honest with you, students with high need are only slightly better off from a Grants perspective. They only get <$6K in Pell Grant on top of the option of borrowing $5.5K as a freshman, the same option you will have. For any of those needy students to attend a school that meets need they would need to be stellar students, which means they could qualify for merit at a different type of college. If you supply your stats the poster on here might be able to make some more informed recommendations.</p>
<p>You really need to sit down and talk with your parents about how much they are willing to spend on your college education. </p>
<p>A lot of families (mine included) have trouble meeting the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Luckily, there are some colleges that are very generous with financial aid but your family will still need to pay some money for you to attend. Our youngest daughter applied to some colleges that we couldn’t afford without financial aid but the aid that was offered was enough that she could attend those schools if she wanted to. She did choose one of the private universities because it was less out-of-pocket than our state flagship.</p>
<p>My husband is currently unemployed (he worked at Hostess which went out of business) and we will have both kids in college this coming school year. Both of our kids will have to take out $5,500 in loans this school years. That is the only loan my older daughter had to take out during college and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s the only loans (there are two) my younger daughter will have to take out by the time she graduates.</p>
<p>There is a thread on this site that will allow you to enter your GPA and test scores and it will give you a list of colleges where you might be able to receive a full ride or a full tuition scholarship. Give that a try–you might be surprised.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>You may qualify for financial aid, but your family still will usually be expected to pay something, called the EFC Expected Family Contribution. To find out how much school will cost you, have your parents go through a Net Price Calculator with you. Here is one, try it for a few more state schools, to see what kind of options you have.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://tcc.noellevitz.com/(S(ulfvpguhqkdp0z2hiyh11151))/University%20of%20Vermont/Freshman-Students]Introduction[/url”>http://tcc.noellevitz.com/(S(ulfvpguhqkdp0z2hiyh11151))/University%20of%20Vermont/Freshman-Students]Introduction[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Considering you are a first generation student, fill out FASFA and see if you qualify for Pell Grant which is free government money. Apply for the Bill Gates Foundation scholarship and Coca-Cola first generation scholarship as well. There is a lot of free money lying around, you just have to invest a majority of your time in finding it and be creative in searching. Reach out to community clubs like the Rotary Club (They often give out scholarships to high school students), talk to your counselor and see if your state has merit based scholarships. Georgia covers 80-100 percent of public school tuition based on grade and GPA. YOU have to do the work for theses opportunities. I applied to over 90 scholarships and only received 4! Those four scholarship were enough to cover the complete cost for the first year of college. I used ■■■■■■■■■■ religiously to apply for scholarships. Look into state schools because they are cheaper and you can be successful in any school you go to as long as you work hard. Do well on the SAT and take it early because many scholarships require SAT scores. See if the schools you applied to offer scholarships based on leadership, SAT, or specialized factors. </p>
<p>If all else fails… Take your core classes at a community college and then transfer to a 4 year degree. My friend did that and he is currently in medical school right now to become a surgeon and his student loan is 60x smaller than some of other med school students who paid over $100,000 for a 4 year degree.</p>