Paying for College
There are many ways to pay for college! From grants to loans to work study, from scholarships to co-op...options to fund your college education are out there!
Visit the resources here, and talk to your counselor or career coach if you need more advice!
FAFSA: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid
Fill out your FAFSA to find out if you qualify for Pell grants, student loans, work study, and more! College-bound seniors can fill out the FAFSA as soon October 1, when the application for federal student aid opens.
Scholarship Sources
"I need a scholarship!" As students begin planning for college, the question of how to pay usually comes up. The preferred kind of aid is gift aid, which, unlike a loan, is money that doesn't have to be paid back. So the scholarship search begins!
Where can you find scholarships? The first place to look is always the college or university you plan to attend. Most offer institutional scholarships, and you can often find information about scholarship requirements, award amounts, and application deadlines on the college's webpage. Start here--institutional awards are frequently the biggest single scholarship a student will get.
For local scholarships, visit your high school counselor's office. All of the Madison County Schools senior counselors have scholarship info and applications. Follow them on social media, too, as they frequently post scholarship opportunities online.
Other places to look for scholarships:
- Student workplace/student's parents' workplace(s)
- Alumni associations
- Any affiliations the student has: clubs, extracurricular activities, religious institution, volunteer organizations, professional organizations for chosen major...
And of course, you can search for scholarships online.
Achieve Alabama: Powered by Cappex, this is the ALSDE-sponsored site where Alabama students can search for state-specific scholarships.
Kuder: The Alabama Career Planning System has a scholarship seach engine! It's free to use, and there are opportunities for students as early as 7th grade.
Going Merry: A free scholarship search that allows you to save your application information, streamlining the application process.
JLV College Counseling: Subscribe to Jessica Velasco's blog posts and you'll get "Scholarship Saturdays" in your inbox. These emails list upcoming scholarships, with new opportunities each week.
Scholly: A paid scholarship search app. While you can sign up for a free account, a paid account is the only way to access a meaningful scholarship search through Scholly.
Avoid scholarship scams online! Be mindful of sharing your personal information and never, ever pay to be considered for a scholarship. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Searching for scholarships is a lot of work, but the payoff can be huge when it comes to funding your college education!
Co-op in College: Invest in Your Future While Getting Paid
Going to college? While you're there, how would you feel about building your resume, networking, getting paid, and potentially earning college credit all at the same time? If that sounds good, your college's co-op program may be for you!
Being a co-op student in college means working in a paid position in your field of study. This is a great way to gain experience, explore your chosen career, and pay for college. Highly recommended!
To learn more about co-op in college, talk to your career coach, school counselor, or college advisor. You can also check out your chosen college's website.
Want to explore Huntsville-Madison County area schools' co-op programs? Start here:
Alabama A&M Career Development Services
Calhoun Community College Cooperative Learning
UAH Internships and Co-ops