Can you really go to college for free?

Catherine,

I was in your same circumstance before I went to college. I'll give you some ideas I have then I'll share what I did.

How student loans work:

When you take out federal student loans you don't start to pay on the loans until AFTER you have either quit school or graduated. You will get a 6 month grace period from the last day of classes before having to pay loans back. All of this info can be found on fafsa.gov. Everyone, regardless of financial circumstances, is eligible to receive federal loans up to a certain amount per year. Talk to a counselor at any school about these concerns, they will be able to give you specific advice for your situation.

Ideas:

You can attend a local community college for a much lower price tag than a university to get your associate's degree (the first two years of school). If you do well enough, you may qualify for scholarships when you transfer to a 4 year college. This way you are only paying for 2 years of the expensive university tuition instead of 4.

My Journey:

I attended a really inexpensive 4 year university and worked as hard as I possibly could to get an academic scholarship there. Then I got some work experience, saved money, and went to a more well recognized university for a master's degree.

There are ways to get an education if you really want to do it. Getting it for free would depend on what types of scholarships a school is willing to give you. This will require talking with counselors at the schools. You can simply call the school, tell them you are interested and they will send you information. You can also take tours of schools and get these exact questions answered.

Good luck!

-Mike

To add to Mike's answer, if the particular school you'd like to attend doesn't happen to offer too many scholarships, there are tons of organizations that give out scholarships and grants and you can easily find them online! Of course, some scholarships are needs-based but there are PLENTY of others that are based on things like merit, community involvement, major, location, race, religion, interests, participation in the military, having been affected by a natural disaster and many more!

Here are some resources to help you in your search:

https://yescollege.com/post/scholarship-databases

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search

https://www.scholarships.com/

https://www.fastweb.com/

Good luck!

Just because your middle class does not disqualify you from applying for Financial Aid. Pell Grant is based off of income you would need to apply to see if you qualify. Loans are available for all students. You have the subsidized and unsubsidized loans that can pay for most of your college expenses. Remember college is not free you will have to contribute to get the education you need.