Tips for Getting a Grant to Go Back to School

Plenty of money is floating around out there just waiting to be found by men and women who want to go back to school. These grants are often designated for specific groups within the population, including students who fall below the poverty line, students with higher intelligence, students who have proven their altruism through volunteer work, students over the age of fifty, women, artists, and musicians, among others. However, most people who could qualify for these funds have no idea how to go about finding and applying for these grants. Some may even qualify to receive several grants if they are willing to put time and energy into the process that it takes to obtain them.

When beginning a search for grant money, people who wish to get more education or training should visit the financial aid office of the college or university that they plan to attend. The professional staff there can not only help with the search for money, but also these experienced counselors will often help answer any questions about documentation and filling out various applications. They often know about local grants and competitive scholarships that are not widely publicized elsewhere, such as those offered by area Rotary Clubs, Lion’s Clubs, and Garden Clubs They will also direct you to any government funding available although this information can be found online at www.fafsa.gov.

After meeting and working with a financial aids counselor, it may still be helpful to spend some time online searching the many websites that list grants. Be sure to check for grants that have special limiting criteria because if you meet these guidelines, it narrows the field and makes getting the grant more likely. Course specific grants are also easier to obtain than those that do not limit the study area.Those searching for money to go back to college might also benefit from using a search engine to look for grants not listed by the numerous scholarship websites. To do this, always make sure that the current year is in the search box with the term “college grant.”

Grants are also offered by many businesses and larger corporations to encourage workers to go back to school. The following companies have offered such grant money in the past and will probably do so in the future:

• Google
• Wal-Mart
• Coca-Cola
• Pepsi
• Dell
• McDonald’s
• Microsoft
• Target

State Agencies may also have some grant money available for students working in certain degree fields, but each state must be checked separately.

People who want to find enough grant money to pay for their entire college education have to be willing to work at finding opportunities and filling out applications as if it were their jobs. Their effort, however, could result in a bigger payday than they ever expected. Graduating without a college loan balance that must be repaid makes starting a new career path much easier.

Michelle Williams writes for www.CollegeGrant.net, a site that has lots of information on how to find and apply for educational grants.

 

Tags: Education, Grants, Pell Grant, Student

Category: College