Effective ways to pay for college

1. Apply for a Scholarship is among ways to pay for college

Scholarships are merit-based. They consider your grades, talent or service. Best of all, you don’t have to pay them back. This is among the most effective ways to pay for college.

• University scholarships – Universities earmark scholarship dollars every year for undergraduates. At Saint Louis University, the most coveted award is the Presidential Scholarship – tuition paid in full for four years.
• Bright Flight – Missouri students with great ACT or SAT scores might qualify for the Bright Flight Scholarship.
• Private Scholarships – How else can you get a scholarship for college? Some trusted resources include Fast Web, College Board, Sallie Mae, or the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis. A private scholarship might affect the rest of your financial aid package, so notify the university’s office of financial services if you’re awarded one.

2. Apply for a College Grant

Like scholarships, college grants are need-based and don’t have to be repaid. So, what’s the difference between a grant and scholarship? College grants for undergraduates are provided by non-profit organizations – often the federal and state governments – and are often tax-exempt.
The Federal Pell Grant is the most common at Saint Louis University. It offers undergraduate students a maximum of $5,550 a year in financial aid. What other grants are available? The Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) is for undergraduate students with exceptional financial need. In Missouri, look into the Access Missouri Grant.  And at Saint Louis University, more than $22 million is awarded annually to full-time students with financial need through grant programs through the SLUGrant.

3. College Work Study

Work study is another form of federal financial aid that allows undergraduates to earn money for college through a part-time on campus. Students get a bi-weekly paycheck working an average of 15 hours a week. At SLU, students can start applying for work study jobs as soon as June 1. Find out more about work study.

4. Federal Student Loans

The bad news: federal student loans have to be repaid. But you don’t have to begin immediately after you graduate college and most student loans are low- or no-interest. The Perkins Loan  and the subsidized Direct Loan, offered by the federal government, are the best student loans for undergraduates, followed by the unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan.

5. Private Student Loans

Private student loans are not federally funded and often have variable interest rates that aren’t capped. Translation: Explore other college financial aid options first. If you do pursue this route, look into a ParentPLUS loan or an alternative loan in your own name. Remember to spend wisely. To determine how much you can afford borrow for college