Scholarships
Beginning in fall 2024, the North Star Promise Scholarship program, which is just one element of the Minnesota State Promise, will provide a pathway to FREE tuition and fees for eligible Minnesota residents at any of the 26 state colleges and seven state universities of Minnesota State. This is Minnesota’s new free college program.
Then make sure you register your information on scholarship search engines. They will automatically find scholarships that you qualify for. Make sure to put all your extra curricular activities, hobbies, and heritage. Here are a few, but take a look there may be more...
Negotiate:
Call the financial aid offices, you can ask to negotiate the tuition cost, they expect it, they might not always have more to give you, but worth a try.
Your school, city, and community is the best place to start looking for scholarships!
Being a first generation college student absolutely plays a role in college admissions and scholarships. The Department of Education, clearly defines a first generation college student as a student both of whose parents did not complete a bachelor’s degree, or in the case of students who live with and are supported by only one parent, a student whose only such parent did not complete a bachelor’s degree. Students who are first generation often face unique challenges that make their accomplishments even more impressive.
First Generation College
Apply for as MANY scholarships as you qualify for. Many of the ones you can apply for in your senior year are renewable for multiple years of college. Some are only available your senior year of high school. Don't Miss Out on Free Money $.
You would be Amazed, there are scholarships for knitting, welding skateboarding, and for just being you!
Scholarships do take a fair amount of time. However... Once you have your transcript, resume, letters of reference, and a few essays about you and your career path, you have everything already gathered together to do almost ANY of them. So go ahead and do a Lot!
From personal experience, it is worth the time, it takes a long time working to get the money that you may qualify for in scholarships.
It is best to make a calendar in order of due dates on scholarships to make sure you don't miss the deadline of Free Thousands!
Lower your estimated family contribution amount. The FAFSA goes off your taxes for the last two years (not current one). Also for those of you with pensions, consider putting money into a IRA to save for later and, it lowers your adjusted gross income which in turn may get you qualified for more aid.