These days college funding is not simply a matter of looking to a single source of finance for most students but is a matter of building a portfolio of funds from various different sources.
The first action for every student must be to look for grants and scholarships. Far too many students simply overlook this source of effectively free money completely and yet you would be surprised at just how many grants and scholarships are available today. In most cases of course the amounts of money available are relatively small but nonetheless can be very useful as a part of your total funding plan.
The next source of funding ought to be federal loans through schemes like Perkins and Stafford loans which are granted as both unsubsidized and subsidized loans. Perkins loans especially attractive because of their relatively low rate of interest but are also the most difficult loans to get and need a student to show financial need.
Alas at this point in spite of the fact that you will have started to build your portfolio it is unlikely that this will provide you with enough money and you will now have to begin casting your net wider and will have two roads to follow. Read the rest of this entry »
