Each year the cost of college keeps rising and students have to figure out ways to pay for their secondary education. Most career paths today require a college degree so a student needs look at all the funding options that are available to them to pay for their higher education. Since tuition is so costly there needs to be a combination of sources in which the student can pay for their education which would typically be a mix of financial aid that includes scholarships, grants and loans.
The wisest thing for a student to do is max out all their options for scholarships and tuition grants then look to borrowing as a last resort. Scholarships and educational grant programs do not have to be repaid unlike loans that take years to pay off and may have high interest rates. Educational grants come from a variety of places from the federal government, universities, private corporations and private foundations.
A student should also look at their ethnic background since there are many scholarships and education grants for minorities geared exclusively to minority students. If you are African American, Hispanic, Native American or Asian you have a wealth of opportunities in the form of educational grant programs and scholarships. Colleges like to have a diverse student body so they use minority grants and scholarships to attract students that would not normally apply to their school. Most of these educational funding programs are accessible as long as the student has 25% of a required minority heritage.
A student can search the college website that they are applying to and search their database of educational grants and scholarships they offer for attending minority students. Various ethnic foundations and private organizations issue grants to students with minority heritage. The following foundations and organizations offer education grants for minorities and scholarships :
– Gates Millennium Scholars Program (All minorities)
– Thurgood Marshall College Fund (African American)
– Hispanic Scholarship Fund
– Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund
– American Indian College Fund
– Dell Scholars Program
– UNCF African American scholarship
This information should give the minority student a good start in finding funding options that can be of great help when trying to figure out how to pay for a college education. Keep in mind the work you do now to find these Education Grants will lessen your financial burden after graduation by reducing the amount of student loans the need to be repaid.