So, you’re thinking about going to college for the first time but you are clueless because you never did go when you were fresh out of High School? Are you overwhelmed at all the information? And more to the point, are you reluctant to sign up because of costs?
I was in that same boat. I had a dear friend enroll a semester before I did and I absolutely drilled her about everything. She let me know about financial aid. The United States Federal Government gives every citizen a Pell Grant for college. This does NOT have to be paid back. And depending on your financial situation and family size you may be eligible to receive near $10k alone in grants for each year. Then you can qualify for Federal student loans as well. These do have to be paid back with interest but generally its lower than a credit card. And you don’t have to pay them back right away you can have up to 6 months to start making payments after you graduate.
“Where do I start?” You ask? First and foremost to learn about all your options and begin the application process you need to go to the FAFSA website. This is official. You will be giving them your SSN and also give them numbers from your tax returns. I know people are put off by this but its very secure and quick because its online. You will then need to apply to your college. I go to a Community College and they accept anyone there so you will probably not have any problems getting accepted into your Community College. After a couple weeks you will receive notices in the mail. One from your college for acceptance and then after that if you are approved for aid, they will tell you what you need to do to claim it. Most colleges let you log in to your student informational areas. I literally signed up for college, aid, classes and everything right from home. They make it EASY.
SO once you get notice that you have been approved you just login to your account at your college (your college might handle it differently) and accept award offers. Now if you just want the grant, you accept it and you are done. If you accept the loans, you could receive up to $9500 in additional funds. You HAVE to sign a promissory note to pay the money back. Also your funds will be split per semester. You get your funds right before classes start at my school. The college gets the funds first and they pay for your classes and fees first and if there is money left it gets refunded to you. We live 30 miles from school so you can imagine the gas we spent. This is why its good to leave yourself a cushion from your refund. Eating on campus and parking sneak up on you quickly!
So once you have your money and you want to enroll you have to check your academic status. If you are like me and its been 12 years since you were in High School, you will need to be tested. Even if you did take SAT’s in High School your scores for math will only count if they were tested in the last 5 years in most cases. Assesment tests are free. Its a pretty quick test. I couldn’t register for any classes until I took my assesment because there were prerequisite reading and writing levels for a couple of my classes. Right now I am getting my math and science classes taken so my pre-requisites are met for my Radiology program. They are so mundane and sometimes boring but because I didn’t take the core classes when I was younger I have to take them now. If you want any degree or event to transfer to a 4 year college you have to have the core classes (writing, math, language, science) to advance. If you are just wanting a certificate of completion you are lucky and probably won’t have any prerequisites!
My advice? Fill out the FAFSA and apply for your college now, for the fall semester. Your college site should have curriculum’s and also your college will have advisors if you are unsure which classes to take. Then enjoy your summer. I have to take math again this summer because I didn’t do well.
Next topic: Scholarships!
