Parents want the best for their children. At the very least, they want their child to have all the opportunities that they had growing up. With the changing landscape and the cost of universities nowadays, however, this is becoming increasingly harder. Gone are the days when a summer job would pay for the year. Now children have to take a lifetime of debt on to go to school.
As a parent, it is a hard thing to watch, but with this guide, you can help them out by exploring and taking advantage of all of your funding options:
Academic Scholarships
Academic scholarships can be both incredibly difficult and easy to achieve. Some colleges offer scholarships simply to applicants who have a high enough GPA. They won’t be the top schools, however. Instead, they will offer these scholarships so that they can bring up their average and reputation.
Difficult scholarships are highly competitive. They will likely require some task to be completed as well, like an essay.
Art Scholarships
If your child is a natural-born artist, then there are art scholarships available. Again they will likely be given a task that shows off their skills. This could be a portfolio of work either curated from their collection so far or specially made for the scholarship in question.
Sports Scholarships
If your child is athletic and shines in the sport they love, then there is a good chance that they can secure themselves a sports scholarship later on. They don’t need to be the best of the best or the best player in a generation to earn scholarship money, either. You simply need to be smart about it. Sport scholarship coaching is available to help you and your child get noticed by scouts, secure a place at a top school, and help you receive an average of $30,000 a year. It is an ongoing process that is best started from when they are 12, to improve the chances of earning a scholarship and actually taking their skills on as a career.
Grants
Grants are another option and are often available in small amounts. They might be enough to cover the cost of textbooks, for example. You will need to apply to them.
Financial Aid
Colleges want students to attend, and though financial aid is not often available if the parents make above a certain income threshold, they are available, especially if hardship has fallen the parents during your child’s enrollment.
Financial aid isn’t there to cover the tuition cost in most cases, but living costs.
Prize Money
Colleges always aim to improve their reputation and international standing. This applies even to the Ivy Leagues. One way they do this is by hosting competitions and encouraging their students to apply. Most of these competitions will have prize money, so if your child has the talent, there is no reason not to encourage them to apply. If they win, they will have boosted their resume and earned some more money to help them through life.
Loans
Loans, of course, are going to be how most students pay for their school. Just because they are often inevitable does not mean you should not exhaust all your other options first to help lower the loan amount.
