There are three sources where you can obtain money that can help you pay for college, and perhaps not ask you to pay any of it back:

1. Federal and State Government

The government gave out $54 billion last year to help families and students pay for their college education. Monies were awarded to students that successfully completed all required application forms and mailed them on time. There are no filing fees. Parents and their college bound children must complete the Free Application Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms together in order to see if they qualifies for this financial aid. Most persons that mail or complete the application online and before the deadline could receive all or some kind of aid. Parents must provide their income tax information on the FAFSA
application in order to complete them.

Completed FAFSA government forms must be mailed almost 9 months before the college year begins. The application for financial aid from the government will be available by fall 2001; it must be mailed in by the first day of January 2002 if you are seeking financial aid for the college year beginning in August/September 2002.

The application deadline depends on state of residency, but since monies might run out before the deadline, it's best to send it in as soon as January 2002 begins. It is highly recommended that one uses the income tax information of the IRS form for the 2001 year instead of waiting to do taxes in 2002, which the FAFSA application allows you to do. An applicant then uses the information of income and expenses for 2001, and estimates what income for 2002 will be. For the majority of people 2002 income and expenses will probably be a little higher than the year before.

2. From The College That You Will Attend

Almost all colleges have scholarship money to give out and award to students that have applied and been accepted to their college. Many companies and individuals, many of them often college alumni, want to help other students to go to the college, and they find it easier to reciprocate their scholarship money directly to the financial aid office of the college, and from there let the financial aid officials decide who should be awarded funds. Some funds are awarded because the student needs it (need-based) and others are given out by some form of competition (essay, grades, and their college major or other for example, called merit-based). Colleges receive monies from different sources all year, so check constantly with them.

3. National and Local Scholarship Organizations

These agencies can be found in your local neighborhood, city, state or even other states. Since a large majority of scholarship agencies receive more applications than they have money to award, each program creates different requirements to screen for who, and who does not, win these monies. Students are normally asked to complete an application and attach an official school transcript. Some agencies select the winners only based on their grades: those with the highest grades win. Other agencies may base competition on the student's background, which is described by the applicant, often in the essay requirement of the application. Currently, more and more scholarship agencies are using the applicant's personal statement essay to determine who wins. Preparing and writing an outstanding personal essay is critical. Thus, applicants that are serious about winning must schedule a good portion of time to plan and write a great personal essay. Some agencies may also want to meet the top candidates before making a final decision on who wins, so they schedule a face-to-face interview.

The majority of scholarships begin announcing their scholarships in the Fall, mail out their applications in the Winter, and start selecting winners in early Spring. It's crucial to know the exact deadlines of each application because they can each be very different dates throughout the year. For example, the Coca-Cola Scholarship Program, which offers 250 scholarships each year, has an early deadlines (information is available at www.Coca-Colascholars.org

In Summary

The federal government still gives out more money to students to pay for college than all others organizations put together.

Each agency and organization mentioned here has its own applications and deadlines, and very few will review any application once their deadline has passed. It is very important to set enough time aside to complete all the forms correctly, and always remember to keep photocopies of all the completed forms.

It is always preferable to be ready and the first in line with the completed application. Since most scholarship award agencies work on a "first-come, first-serve basis," don't focus on the deadline; ask for the earliest date that they will accept your completed application.