It's the time of year to start planning for fall by applying for financial aid. Your first stop should be applying for a Pell Grant through FAFSA. Pell Grants are given on a first come first served basis, plus early applicants are often given an additional $800 supplemental grant. After that, go to the Access and Diversity scholarship application. This application is open until March 31, 2014, and non-traditional students are eligible as long as you meet all of the requirements. Additional information about other scholarships through other departments is available through the USU Financial Aid website.
For help with the scholarship application process, there is a really good book on the subject titled "How To Go To College Almost For Free," by Ben Kaplan. It is available at the Hyrum Library, and probably the Logan Library (which I do not have access to).
You never know where scholarships are likely to turn up. I found a scholarship through a foundation established by some distant relatives while searching for information about my paternal grandfather, whom I never met. My daughters and I qualified for this scholarship by being descendants of David Ruckman. We also had fun meeting new relatives at the reunion where the scholarships were awarded.
Local high schools are a great resource for lists of available scholarships. Some are for high school students only, but not all of them.
There are also a lot of useful tips, searches, and links at the "FinAid, The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid" website.
Apply for anything and everything that you can find and qualify for. Taking away the financial burden of college will take away some of the stress.
Good Luck!
(written by Pam June, Editor-In-Chief)
