Get a College Education Without the Debt

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Is that even possible? With the insatiable rising costs of higher education, the idea of college for many graduates is becoming a distant dream. Who wants to graduate with a pile of school loan debt that will take half a lifetime to pay off? What if there were ways to get through college and be debt free? Well, there’s good news! There ARE ways, and they aren’t as difficult as you may think!

1. While in high school, take as many dual-credit courses as you can. Make sure that those courses will be recognized by the college you plan to attend in the future.
2. Do test prep, and take the SAT or ACT as many times as you need to in order to attain your state scholarship level. You see, each time you take the ACT or SAT you get a little more relaxed and you test at your true levels. For example, in our home state of Georgia you need to graduate from an eligible high school with a 3.0 GPA OR obtain an 80th percentile on the SAT or ACT. In most cases, if the student attends a state college, the scholarship will cover 80% of the cost. Of course, if your student gets a higher score on the SAT or ACT, there are other state scholarships that will cover 100% of tuition costs for attending an in state school.
3. So, you might be wondering how you cover the other 20%. That’s where checking into the myriad of other scholarships is important. We’ve got you covered with our quarterly listings of availablecollege scholarships. Apply to as many as possible – there’s one for you!
4. Get a job. Research is clear: those students who work while in college perform better and end up with better time management skills. If you are worried about having enough time, start with a low hour part time job. You’re not only learning budgeting skills, you’re also learning how to budget your time.
5. Use CLEP! No, that isn’t a disease. It’s College Level Examination Program. These tests cost about $150-200 and can give you from 2-12 hours of college credit. It’s perfect to CLEP out of some of your general core classes to save money and time.

The average high school student can easily accomplish most of these “debt free” college options. Just remember, hard work and extra effort can take you far!

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• Financial Aid for College
• High School Information
• Life Skills and Work Experience
• SAT/ACT Prep

April 1, 2016