Financial Aid

For the 2004–05 academic year, annual prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board were estimated to be almost $9,900 at public colleges and over $26,000 at private institutions. Over the past 10 years, after an adjustment for inflation, prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at public and private colleges rose by 30 and 26 percent, respectively.

These staggering figures beg the next question. How can people afford to go to school? The good news is that there are many federal, state, institutional, and private financial aid programs to assist both new students and returning students who need financial help with their educational expenses.

Even with all the different resources, both public and private, financial aid packages systematically fall into 4 main categories: grants, scholarships, loans and savings. Some of these categories base the amount of financial aid they'll provide based on your financial "need" while others, particularly in the private/commercial arena, rely more on personal credit circumstances to determine the amount of assistance you can expect. Generally speaking, as income and price increase, so does reliance on government subsidized or private (commercial) student loan packages.

Regardless of where you get the money, get the money. You're not taking a loan out for that new plasma t.v., you're investing in your future, and that investment cost money. Like any other investment, this one will pay dividends in the long-run as well.

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