Many students dream of college their entire middle school and high school education, viewing the opportunity as a gateway to their career goals. But there are a number of hurdles you must jump through to achieve this dream. With the right preparations, you can make your college dream a reality. In this blog, you will know How to Make Your College Dream a Reality.
Build Up Your Resume
Before you even apply to school, you should be thinking about what extracurricular activities are going to help you stand out. Play to your strengths and invest in activities that you find interesting but also try to vary yourself and achieve titles within the organizations you join. If you love reading, volunteer with the local library and join the book club at your school. If you enjoy basketball, join the team at your school and take the time to volunteer to teach younger students in your off time. Positions like President and vice president of clubs and organizations will help bulk up your resume. Creating a resume that accurately represents who you are and is viewed as impressive will help you gain admittance to your preferred institution.
Apply for Student Loans
The financial aspect of attending school can be daunting, but you do have options. One of the easiest options is applying for student loans. Student loans are a way for you to make ends meet while you are investing in your future. Remember, you can have a parent, guardian, or trusted adult cosign on your student loans if you do not get approved by yourself and this can actually help you get a lower interest rate. While you are in school, you are not required to make any payments, but you can, and once you graduate, you have a grace period until payments start.
Choose Cost-Effective Options
Making a few smart choices when deciding some specific details concerning college can help you save money in the long run, which means you will not need to come up with as much money for school. Consider going to an in-state college that is close to where you already live. Doing this helps in a number of ways. By going to an in-state public university, you will save money by only paying in-state tuition. This is usually less because the public institution assumes you will live and pay taxes near the university. Staying close to home also saves money on packing and moving to school and allows you to even potentially save on dorm fees.
Submit Your FAFSA
FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is an application offered by the federal government that helps identify if you may qualify for student aid. The student aid includes different types of loans and grants based on your personal information, specifically yearly income. Many scholarships and schools also require the FAFSA as a piece of their applications. Since FAFSA is both free and easy, make sure to add this to your college to-do list.
Research Scholarships
Scholarships are free money so it makes sense to dedicate some time to researching and applying. There are so many different types of scholarships out there. You can start by researching what scholarships are offered by your university and specific school of intended study. A lot of times, simply applying to the school will put you in the running for these financial opportunities but reach out to your school to make sure. Outside of your school, there are many different organizations that offer scholarships. For-profit companies will offer scholarships as well as funded internships as part of their philanthropy department. Non-profits also offer you money for school and provide databases of scholarships you qualify for. Consider your resume and search for scholarships that fit your interests. There are scholarships for everything! If you have a certain hobby, cultural background, or skill, there is probably a scholarship for it.
Applying and paying for school can be intimidating, but taking it one step at a time and preparing can make the difference between an acceptance and rejection letter.
