This is for Americans, I don’t know how aid programs in other countries work.
Given the high payoff in additional lifetime income for college degrees (hundreds of thousands of dollars!), one of the best ways to get out of poverty is to go to college.
A lot of people think they can’t afford it because they don’t realize how much financial aid is available — but the reality is being poor can sometimes make college MORE affordable because you will get more aid than people from richer backgrounds. Other people think they can’t go because they didn’t finish high school, but you can go to community college, make up any deficiencies, get a transfer degree and transfer to a 4 year university. Or get a 2 year technical degree that leads directly to a career. The point is, if you are reading this, you can go to college.
NOW is the time to be filling out financial aid paperwork for the fall. The sooner you apply for aid, the more aid options will be available to you.
Start here: US Department of Education PIN Registration. Do this ASAP because it takes a few days for them to send you your PIN.
While you wait to receive your PIN gather up the documents you’ll need for the aid application. You’ll need your Social Security Number, driver’s license, income tax return, bank statements and investment records. If you are under 24 you need this information for your parents as well.
Also research colleges in your area while you wait. Look in the phone book and use Yahoo’s Education Directory for your state. If you haven’t graduated from high school or your high school grades were bad you can usually still get admitted to a community or technical college. They are also usually cheaper than four year universities too, making them a good money-saving option even for people with better academic backgrounds. You can then either stop at a 2 year associates degree that leads to a career, or transfer to a 4 year university. Request info packets from all the schools that you are interested in.
Once you get your PIN, fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Ask them to send information to all the schools you might be interested in, you can decide later which one to go to when you see where you get in and what kind of aid you are offered for each school. After your aid application is processed they will tell you what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is. This is how much you are expected to contribute to your total cost of attendance as calculated by the schools. Total cost of attendance includes tuition, fees, books, housing, food, transportation, and personal expenses and varies from school to school. Don’t freak out if the EFC is higher than you think you can afford, because aid officers at the schools can adjust this if your financial circumstances warrant it, and you can always borrow money through an unsubsidized Stafford loan.
Apply to the schools you are interested in. Most deadlines for fall for 4 year universities are in the spring, March or April, so start working on those applications now. Community and technical college deadlines are often later, but check.
You can learn more about college financial aid at this website: FinAid. There is lots of different types of aid available, and depending on your financial need and schools you will be offered some combination of grants (free money that you do not have to repay from the federal government, state government, and/or the school), work study (subsidized wages at various on and off campus jobs), subsidized loans (the federal government pays the interest while you are in school), and/or unsubsidized loans (you pay the interest, which is a variable rate up to a maximum 8.5%, while you are in school). You generally don’t have to start repaying loans until 6 months after you finish school. There are also private scholarships, but they require more time to apply for, are less likely to result in you getting money, and will cause the rest of your financial aid package to be reduced, so whether they are worth applying for is debatable. You will get the most financial aid for your effort by filling out the FAFSA, so always do that first before looking for any other sources of funding.
Once you’re in college, choose a major that leads to a good paying job.
Even if you have learning disabilities, physical or mental health problems, or a poor academic background, colleges (especially community and technical colleges) have programs and resources to support you. If you are smart enough to use LiveJournal you are smart enough to go to college, and all the financial aid resources available make it possible. So do it and get yourself out of poverty once and for all. :)
