Scholarship services see demand rise as students jobless rate soars.
That is the headline that caught my eye the other day when reading through a local newspaper. Since I run a personal finance blog I decided to clip this article and read it over a few times while I thought of a way to present this financial aid information to you guys.
What affect has the recession had on college scholarships/financial aid?
The recession has reduced the amount of high paying jobs available for college students.
The recession has caused students to either not work or to work jobs that provide a very low income.
Those 2 factors mixed in with the rising cost of college tuition= many college students are having a hard time paying for college this year.
As a result of this more college students are relying on financial aid (scholarships, bursaries) to survive through the semester. Not only will the bars be emptier but so will be the fast food shops on campus.
What the impact of the recession means for your financial aid
You may not receive that college scholarship that you were applying for due to the spike in competition.
The academic scholarship requirements may increase dramatically. You worked hard all year for a 3.5 GPA and now all of a sudden that may become considered not high enough for certain scholarships. Let’s be realistic here for a second- as important as grades are we all have other activities outside of school which keep us sane but at the same time prevent us from reaching a 4.0. Nothing wrong with that.
You will have to apply for as many forms of financial aid as possible. The same article also noted that my school has increased the amount of funding for bursaries for students. This means I’m definitely going to apply for a bursary this year. If your college does not offer bursaries then you still have a few other options. You can find financial aid by applying for grants with your college loan provider. You can also apply with as many external scholarships as you desire.
Concluding thoughts… Financial aid for college students is a hot topic as the new semester gets closer. At the end of the day all you can do to financially prepare yourself for the upcoming fall semester is to apply for as many scholarships as possible and to search for student loans with the lowest interest rate possible. This may sound extremely basic but with only a few weeks left, what else can do you to deal with the financial aid situation?