There is an e-mail sitting in my inbox, threatening me with its unhappy message. “Your NCSU eBILL is now online.” Great. Time to fork out some more money toward my education. My greatest concern is where this money will come from. It seems like today we go to school to get a job and (hopefully) get a job to pay off our school debt. How are we to survive in a system such as this? With piles of student loans, we graduate and start life two steps behind any true independence.
As college students, we have to be resourceful when it comes to taking care of bills. Next year, with the recent tuition cost increase, we are going to be digging deeper into our pockets for our degrees.
According to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, 67 percent of all undergraduates enrolled in 2009-10 received some form of financial aid from some source (including federal, state, institutional and private sources of scholarships, grants, loans and campus employment). Over half of us are getting help from these institutions.
But not everyone has success. To Lizzie Casey, a freshman in elementary education, obtaining financial aid is a frustrating process. “I applied for over 30 scholarships and didn’t get any.”
Brendan Sheridan, a sophomore in electrical and computer engineering, was fortunate enough to received one of the N.C. Education Lottery scholarships this semester. “It was a good surprise that they are actually doing what they’re supposed to.”
The lottery scholarship was started in 2007 for N.C. students in need. Students are automatically qualified for the scholarship through the FAFSA application. The scholarship awards anywhere from $100 to $2,500 per year to students that qualify. Without any extra application, the lottery scholarship just magically appears in a student’s account.
Of course, the status of the economy has brought more students to seek out financial aid.
Krista Domnick, associate director of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, said, “Our services are definitely in higher demand this year, with the economy the way it is.” Her advice? “Plan ahead and apply early.”
All need-based scholarships are awarded according to students’ FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) applications. N.C. State’s priority filing deadline for the FAFSA is March 1. Apply before that day to increase your chances for getting financial aid.
The FAFSA can be a great measure for the government to decide whom to award money. However, not everyone receives all the aid they need.
“My father has been laid off for over a year and can no longer co-sign for student loans,” Alyson Anderson, a senior in animal science, said. “I feel trapped. The system doesn’t understand and take into account all the variables that go into a household’s income and expenses.”
If you are in one of the gray areas and do not receive enough aid from FAFSA, scholarships and grants are also a good option. The challenge is taking the time to search out and complete them. N.C. State’s Financial Aid Web site has a bulletin board with an extensive list of outside scholarships available to students. Other Web sites (such as Fastweb.com and Salliemae.com) have personal profiles that match scholarships to your career and educational goals.
The key to paying for college comes with creativity and persistence. “I work two jobs and donate plasma to pay for everything,” says a senior in engineering.
Take the time to fill out scholarship applications. If you normally skip over smaller scholarships, reconsider. A couple of $300 grants can add up and increase your chances of getting help. Get your FAFSA done by March 1. If all else fails, a loan is not the end of the world. With these options in mind, we can all face our eBILLs with a variety of solutions and perhaps, even confidence.