Five Scholarship Tools to Help Pay For Your Degree
There is no question that student loan debt is out of control in America today. The number stands at about $1.7 trillion of debt, and that number is just growing every day. This has to stop. We have to do something about this to prevent more students from going into financial bondage. In conversations with my clients, one thing I’ve found to be tremendously helpful is scholarship tools for college.
I know people, clients of mine and fellow financial coaches, who have used certain scholarship tools with tremendous success. They’ve been able to pay for most or all of their tuition and expenses with the scholarship money they earned, as well as money from part-time jobs.
Without further ado (because I know you’re here for the resources), let’s list them out and take a brief look at each of them.
Find Scholarships With These Tools
These five resources are excellent ways for you or your child to pay for college without student loan debt. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but a multi-pronged approach can help you find the opportunities you are most likely to win.
Each tool has different functionality and types of scholarships listed. Let’s look at each to see which ones can help you out the most.
An Overview of These Scholarship Tools
Niche and Nitro have a monthly no essay scholarship drawing. All you have to do is click “apply” once you’ve signed up and you’re entered. It’s a great little boost to your application pile and takes just a few seconds to do!
Niche also will list state-level grants that may be available depending on your location. For example, Niche lists the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant for qualifying students attending college in Virginia.
Cappex is a fairly general list of scholarships, but one unique feature it has is showing the relative competition you’ll be up against. Some will have a lot of applicants and be very competitive, but others have fewer qualified applicants. If you qualify for one of the latter, be sure to apply because your odds of winning are much higher.
Unigo has a lot of very unique scholarships. Sometimes they’re just downright funny! One scholarship I’ve seen on there is the Make Me Laugh scholarship. You write a short essay about a funny life experience you’ve had, and the winner would be awarded $1,500! Unigo does sometimes link to other scholarship sites as well, so you have a lot of options here.
What Else You Can Do
In addition to all these tools, there are also other things you can do. In most undergrad programs and a lot of master’s programs, you can work part-time to make some extra money.
For those who are in programs where working any substantial hours is highly inadvisable or impractical (like law), there may be paid internship opportunities that you can also do for academic credit during the summers and fall/spring semesters. Check with your university to see if you can work out some sort of arrangement if applicable.
For those who are still years away from going to college for themselves or for children, starting a 529 plan is an excellent way to get tax-free growth on your money that can be used for tuition. College expenses have increased at a rate much higher than inflation. A 529 account enables your money to grow so that those costs can be more easily covered without student loans.
If you live in New York State, you can get started with a 529 plan by going to nysaves.org.
Final Thoughts
There are tons of scholarships out there. For American students, there plenty listed for Universities within the 50 states for both undergraduate and graduate students. Even if you attend a university in another country, say Canada, special scholarships are available to help you pay for school without student loans.
What I want to emphasize is this: student loan debt is only inevitable if you believe it is inevitable. Getting that degree does not have to mean sacrificing years of your future earnings. It’s harder in the now to apply for scholarships and work while in school, but the sacrifice is worth it in the long-term.
With these scholarship tools, you can find the money to pay for your degree with little or no student loan debt.
Need some help guiding yourself or your child through the process of college or graduate school? Let’s connect so I can assist you on your journey! Set up your free consultation today so that I can help you pay for your degree without student loan debt.
This article was originally published by Financial Coach Seth Connell in March 2021. It has been modified and republished with permission.