Let College Be a Money-Maker Not a Money-Taker

*This will be the most important post on this blog*

In my will-be four years of college I'll have made $5,500 cash; no taxes taken out, no weekly schedule, no work involved except an initial application process. I bet I made this amount of money in less than an hour, total.

You hear it all the time, thousands of scholarships don't ever get applied for, and thousands of scholarship dollars never go to students.

That is quickly followed by high school and college students saying "Where? How do I find these?"

Everyone wants the financial means to further their education. No one wants to be paying student loans for 10 years after college. Let's face it. College is an investment. You don't want to throw away your money if you're not going to see a gain in the long run. That's why we go to college. It's not for the social responsibility, it's rarely to gain a better understanding of the world, it's always so you can live the American dream and make a decent living.

Let's be basic. The less money you put into college, the better off you are. We're not even going to talk about the prestige of a really great school's title or the amount of money your profession is going to make you. In the end, the less money YOU have to spend in college the better.

I read an article in my early years of high school about a girl who was basically your average super-genius. She was 16 starting college, and had it figured out that when she graduated college, she would have enough money from scholarships and grants that the college would actually be PAYING her to come to school. It sounded so far fetched. I wanted to be that girl.

I am not a super-genius.  I did not graduate high school early. Yet somehow, I have become that girl. I go to an in-state school where I lived on campus with a meal plan for 3 semesters. I never paid for any of my oh-so-expensive books, and in the end when I graduate in May of 2011 the school will pay me $5,500. Yes, I will take a few thousand dollars with my diploma, thank you, have a great day.

I only had a total of 5 scholarships. No loans, no grants, just those 5 scholarships. Two of them were only applicable for my freshman year. I promise you that it isn't hard, it isn't time consuming and it is 100% possible.

Let's talk scholarships:

• SCREW FASTWEB - First and foremost. A waste of your overall time. I never received a scholarship that I found through a FastWeb search and I had a 4.0 GPA. The scholarships are real, but so many people apply for them that you have very little chance of winning. Sorry, it's been the reality for me too. This also goes for any large scholarship search. Most aren't worth the effort.
• Do the Hard Ones - Scholarships that are easy to apply for, again, have way to many applicants. Of course, it doesn't take much time to apply for them, so taking the chance may be worth it, but don't rely on them. Write a few good essays even if they have to be long, and let the motivation set you apart. Motivation counts for so much in the real world.
• Get a Second Opinion - For your essays, maybe you should have an English teacher read over it. Give your teacher the requirements of the essay. He/she is a great resource and they are almost always excited to assist students who care about their future.
• Hit up the Guidance Counselor - Okay, above I said your English teacher is your greatest resource, but really it's a tie between them and your Guidance Counselor. Your guidance counselor knows the insides and outsides of local scholarships. Typically they have applications in their office, or at least a website where you can find one. And those are the scholarships worth applying for. So skip lunch one day and go see what you can do to get that money!
• Interest Groups - Let's say you are on the ball. I like to believe you are. Let's say you know what you want to major in, and perhaps what kind of a career you want to go into. Nearly every field has interest groups. For Hotel Restaurant Management we have the National Restaurant Association, The American Hotel and Lodging Association and The International Ecotourism Society just to name a few. A lot of these interest groups offer students scholarships. Some will even let students join free and that's a great resume booster!
• Go for Honors - When you've decided on a school, apply for their Honors Program. Some may not accept freshman, but it's different for each school. Nine times out of ten they offer heafty scholarships. My Honors scholarship pays for my entire tuition. I know some who's Honors scholarships pay for tuition, room & board and books. Honors can be a beautiful thing.
• Get Scholarships for All Areas - The best scholarship is one that you can use for tuition, room & board and books & supplies. Trust me. Read the details.
• My Newest Secret - Story Time! I was sitting in the computer lab the other day listening to some people talking about scholarships. In college, the best way to stay informed is by talking to other people. He said that he (note: he) had been getting a scholarship from Women of Engineering (can I drop names?) . Now you see it all the time. Scholarships inteneded for only minorities or women or people of such-and-such decent. APPLY EVEN IF YOU AREN'T IN THAT CATEGORY OF PEOPLE. It's perfectly fine to do so. And here's the best of it: they can't discriminate against you because you aren't of that category. So if you need a little "Why America is Great" reminder, there it is. If you're still a little apprehensive, many times on applications for Race and Gender there will be an option "Do Not Wish to Specify" or something of that nature. Check it. Get out there and fight against reverse discrimination.
  
• Do Your FAFSA - It's a pain. They pry. They ask too much personal information. They aren't going to give me any money anyway. I know. Do it though. Many scholarships require that you do.

There's your dose of Erica love for the day. Please, get out there and get some money to go to college.

If you're from Maryland a great scholarship website is http://www.mhec.state.md.us/financialAid/descriptions.asp

If you're from the Eastern Shore, Bennett High School has a great scholarship database for local ones. http://jmbscholarships.wikispaces.com/

Choosing the Right College: Part II

Although I recommend applying to both four year schools and a local (or not-so-local!) community college, you should have a general idea of which is right for you. Most people don't really have that great of an idea what the difference is. Community college is just a college without dorms, that typically offers only enough classes in each major to provide an Associates Degree (a "two year" degree). Of course there are exceptions, but for the sake of of being simplistic, that is the general difference. In general, most people looking towards a degree from a community college are looking at ones in their area, within driving distance, but I do know a few who have sought living arrangements, and moved to the area of their ideal community college. It's not typical, but it's definitely an option.

So let's look at the difference between a community college and a college or university.

Community college:

• Centered around commuters - Community colleges are designed to convenience people who drive to school each day. They will typically have adequate parking, a small area that offers limited food services and classes that are closely grouped together.
  
• Kind to Full or Part Time Workers - Most people in community college are also working while they're taking classes. Flexible class hours and less time in the classroom are typical.
• Scheduling Can be More Gas Friendly - Because everyone in community college is commuting and many are working, most students are able to schedule their classes on only two or three days a week. This is rare at a full time college or university.
• Price - Community colleges are typically thought to be cheaper than a full time college. Usually you pay for a community college per credit hour, AKA the more classes you take the more you pay.
  

College or University:

• A Place to Stay if You Pay - Colleges and universities typically have dorms, apartments or some form of student living. They're not always clean and pristine, but they can be cheaper than renting from an external landlord.
• Speaking of Paying - The tuition cost is based on taking 12 credits per semester. Taking 12 credits means that you are a "full time" student. Each class is typically 3 credits (although they all are different) so 12 credits is basically four classes. The number of credits traditionally equals the amount of hours you will be spending in each class per week. So tuition is the same, whether you take 12 credits or whether you take 18 credits. If you take less than 12 credits, you do not pay the tuition; instead you pay per credit hour, much like a community college.
• Parking Can Lead to Stress - Parking at universities is notoriously horrible. There are always too many cars for the lot. Scheduling classes that start early in the morning or later in the evening can help with this problem.
• More Facilities - A university or college will typically offer more of the "full college experience". There will be things like sports fields, full dining halls and more campus activities.  Community colleges also try to give their students the full college experience, but it's tough when people aren't staying around campus all day.

One popular decision is to spend the first year or two of college in a community college and then transfer to a 4 year school for the remaining 2 years. This is a great way to save money and a great way to give yourself time to figure out what you want to do with your life. Here's some tips when making that decision.

• Look at Your Desired 4 Year School's Course Catalog - Course catalogs are available on the campus website. It outlines every class that every major at the university needs to graduate. It's basically just the classes you need to get up and get out of there. Sometimes exceptions will be made, but you want to follow your 4 year school's catalog as much as possible. No one wants to be wasting time.
• Careful with Advanced Classes - Advanced classes are those that would be in the 300 and 400 levels at a four year university. These are classes that are typically taken in your junior and senior year of college. For example, ACCT 301 is Introduction to Accounting 301. The 301 tells me that I shouldn't generally take this class until my junior year of college. In most four year colleges, classes that you've taken at community college that correspond to 300 or above level courses at your four year school WILL NOT BE TRANSFERABLE!

Let me state that again. Classes taken at community college that correspond to 300 or above level classes at your four year university will not be transferable... will be a waste of your time and money... will be a source of immediate frustration.

So, whether you choose a community college or a university is really up to your desires after college and your financial situation. Both are very positive steps in the development of yourself as a professional, and that's what college is all about!