how will I pay for college Essays - Student Financial Aid

How will I pay for College? Benjamin Franklin once said, ?By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.? In my preparations for transferring to San Diego State University I need to develop an organized plan on how to pay for college. In Fall 2012 when I transfer to San Diego State University I calculated my tuition for two and a half years as an Undergraduate to be approximately $24,710. After graduation, Graduate school for one and a half years will be $36,850. Overall, the total amount that I will need for my education and living expenses over the next four years will be $61,560. The problem that plagues me is how will I pay for college? By using a variety of financial aid programs I will be able to invest in my college education. First I looked at Scholarships, then Pell grants and how I can better qualify for them, also how I can obtain more money by incorporating work-study programs and paid internships, and finally I looked at using Private loans as a last alternative. Though detail oriented and time consuming, scholarships provide the most benefit and ?bang for my buck.? Stated by Fastweb.com scholarships like Xerox offer $1,000-$10,000 and require U.S. citizenship, a minimum 3.0 GPA, and enrollment in a technical science or engineering discipline at the bachelor level or higher. The benefits to me are that this scholarship is only available to minorities of Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Alaskan, Pacific Islander or Black/African American descent. Also the Xerox application process is quite simple and requires the submission of a resume rather than an essay. Although the Xerox scholarship is purely competitive and my extensive research does not show any underlying negatives, the fact that the scholarship resume has a section for work experience relating to your major can be a negative if you have none. Maximizing this scholar has the potential to provide me with $10,000 towards funding my education. That would make a huge dent in $24,710 requi red for my bachelor?s degree, leaving me with a remaining $14,710 to find in funding. Even if I am awarded the minimal amount of $1,000, that will sustain my cost of living for months. The abundance of scholarships and ?free money? awarded are some of the benefits to using scholarships to fund my college education. By using a variety of scholarships and exploring each one that I am qualified for, I can obtain more money for school. Many schools and websites recommend using a ?scholarship search engine,? which is a fast and convenient way of narrowing my search for scholarships that fit my criteria. Not limiting myself to scholarships and exploring other options like Pell grants I can increase my success in paying for college. Through understanding Pell Grants and how to qualify and apply for them I can prevent myself from wasting valuable time. Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first step in finding out what type of Pell grant I can qualify for. In this meticulous part of the process the government ?weeds out? the undeserving, and determines the recipients. Author Michael Bennet states on the website pellgranteligibility.net, ?Once you have satisfied the list of Pell Grant requirements in accordance with demonstrating the appropriate level of financial need, the final Pell Grant amount you may be able to receive, will then be calculated with regard to your EFC, cost of attendance, and enrollment status.? So your financial need is ultimately the product of the following equation: Financial Need = Cost of Attendance (CoA) ? Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Some of the pros and cons when applying for the Pell Grant are the $5,000 maximum amount offered is substantial, but there are many variables that can disqualify me from obtaining the full amount or any amount for that matter. According to the website Singlemomhelp.com, ?Although the Pell Grant has been around for a long time, there is still a lot of misinformation about it.? The FAFSA is continually changing, and each year has known to be vague and in some ways misleading. ?Becoming eligible for the Pell Grant relies primarily on your ability to demonstrate an exceptional financial need for aid, although you must still be