8 alternative ways to pay for college --
Page 3
By Lucy
Lazarony • Bankrate.com 7.
Never give up on scholarships
You don't have to be a stellar student
to land a big scholarship. Unless it's strictly an academic scholarship, your
grades don't really matter. As long as your grades make the cutoff, often a 2.5
GPA or higher, you have as good a chance as any applicant of bagging a scholarship. And
there's no reason your scholarship search can't continue through four years of
college. "It's really just beating the bushes," Cooper
says. The Web is a great way to get started. Check out individual
college Web sites, and search for scholarship sources on sites such as FastWeb,
College Board, Wiredscholar.com
and ScholarshipCoach.com.
Avoid sites that charge you to search for scholarships. Don't
overlook local sources of scholarships. Community-based awards may be smaller,
but they're also easier to win. "There's millions of dollars
of scholarships at the local, community level," Cooper says. "Students
should look to organizations such as the Kiwanis Club, YMCA, parents' employers
and area businesses." You can learn about local competitions
at the public library and at the guidance office at your local high school. 8.
Work off debt with community service
Got your degree? Why not do some
good and wipe out a big chunk of education debt at the same time? Recent
college grads can cancel part or all of their federal-education debt by working
in public-service jobs -- lower-paying professional jobs that serve low-income
communities -- or by volunteering. Loan-forgiveness programs
are available to everyone from teachers to nurses to young doctors and lawyers
to Peace Corps volunteers. Teachers who work in low-income
elementary or secondary schools may be able to cancel as much as $5,000 of their
federal Stafford loan debt.
The National
Health Service Corps offers loan-forgiveness programs to physicians,
nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives, dentists, dental
hygienists, psychologists and therapists who work for two years
in communities in great need of health professionals.
Similar
programs are available to attorneys who pursue public interest careers. About
50 law schools offer loan-forgiveness or loan-repayment assistance programs. The
National Association of Public
Interest Law has a list of the schools on its Web site. The site also lists
state and employer loan-repayment-assistance programs. Several
volunteer organizations also provide assistance with student loan debt. Peace
Corps volunteers who complete a two-year term can wipe out 30 percent of their
Perkins loans' balance. Student loan payments may also be deferred while serving
in the Peace Corps.
Members of Americorps
and Volunteers
in Service to America receive educational awards of $4,725 for
each year of service. These awards can be applied to student loans
or future education expenses.
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