During the recent economic recession many individuals found solace in securing their future by attending college or returning to school for an advance degree. Americans are obviously still feeling the effects of the recession. Although more people are looking at college as not an option but as a necessity it is challenging for them to financially support their education. Families are looking to financial aid such as the Pell grant, scholarships, and loans to pay for tuition. Of course, loans must be paid back with interest. So the first choice for students is usually scholarships and grants. There was a time when grants were enough. According to the Huffington Post, “on average in- state tuition has risen 35% at public colleges in the past five years.” With tuition costs rising, many students are realizing that grants and even loans are not always sufficient to cover costs. What is troubling is that while tuition has increased federal grants has decreased. This factor forces students who cannot afford to pay the remaining balance to take out additional loans, find other resources, not attend college at all or eventually drop out. It forces families with more than one student hoping to attend college to make very tough decisions. So how can parents or those wanting to attend college prepare for paying for college?
There is no easy solution to this problem. But there are ways that students can cut the costs of attending a four-year college. Students should consider attending a two – year college to take some of their classes. Two year colleges are generally significantly less than four year colleges. Georgia has several two -year colleges that students can attend first before transferring to a four year college. A couple of two- year colleges in the metro area are Georgia Perimeter College and Atlanta Metropolitan College. Although most two-year colleges do not offer dorms for students to stay on campus there are some that do. Georgia military College and South Georgia College are two colleges that offer on-campus dormitory facilities. Students that do decide to attend a two year college first, with the intent on pursuing a four-year degree, should speak with a school advisor before deciding which school to attend and which classes to take. If attending a two-year college is not the best choice for you consider working part-time or going to school part-time. However, going to school part-time reduces the amount of financial aid if you are an undergraduate.
The other option is to keep the grades up and apply for scholarships. Scholarships can be very competitive but worth applying for to minimize college costs. Although there were several changes made to the Hope scholarship there is still an opportunity for you to be awarded this grant if you maintain the required 3.5 grade point average. Below is a link to scholarships that students can apply for.