I think you know what I am talking about. The grants for schools which will pay your entire tuition for a year. Or the school grant from Bill Gates or Oprah that will pay for all your tuition and solve world hunger. It is tough to find these grants. I go to a private college in Seattle and the tuition is insanely high! So I did some research on college grants that work for undergrads and are attainable. These are not the Newton scholarships rocket scientists get; they’re for the everyday Joe college student. Don’t quote me as having received any of these or saying there are any guarantees. The government supposedly gives away billions of dollars to students like you and me every year; the problem is there are a lot of scams on the internet. So be aware of that as you are looking on these sites and see ads for free grants.
Different Types of School Grants
The difference between a grant and scholarship is that a Scholarship is usually merit-based and a Grant is need based. Both are important to apply for. Here are the different types of grants:
• Subject-specific
• Degree Level
• Student-specific
• Minority
I will write a completely separate article on most of these categories. There are also some great information about grants for minorities and low-income students here.
Federal Grants
Federal Grants will give you the most bang for your buck. Partly because the no child left behind Act, students are getting the primary education they deserve and it has led to more people going to college. The first one I got! It helped a lot last year.
Pell Grant – Depending on whether you claim yourself as an independent or not, will help you get the Pell Grant. It is primarily for low income undergrad students and will allow you to buy more Top Ramen during the school year.
AC Grant – This one is for freshman and sophomores only and harder to get than the Pell Grant. AC stands for Academic competitiveness. This is a merit based grant for low-income students. So you have to have good grades to apply for this one.
SMART Grant – This grant is for Science and Math students and I have also heard of some engineering majors who got it. Unlike the AC, the SMART allows juniors and seniors to apply. You must be Pell Grant Eligible as well.
What are some other grants?
After looking extensively online, there are so many grants out there it is impossible to mention them all. There are tons regarding race and ethnicity and even religion. There are special grants for women, people with disabilities and the list goes on. These are mostly state and federal.
Private Grants – Now I’m Oprah rich!
There are many corporations out there that offer internships, scholarships and grants etc. intended to attract students to their corporate industry or fold. These are great grants to get because it also connects you with a company for future employment. Most of these grants are subject-specific because corporations look for particular fields of study. The fields that draw the most money are.
• Technology
• Engineering
• Math
• Nursing
• Teaching
• Arts
• Science
There are a few business, journalism and law grants as well. Go to www.collegescholarships.org that is where I found most of the info on private institutions funding your education. These are pretty competitive grants as well.
Grants and Pants
You have to go to the right place, click on promotions, and grants that are offered and apply, apply, apply. It helped me a lot when I applied for as many as I could. I got a lot of grants and scholarships this year and it kept my student loans a lot lower. Keep up the hunt and ill see you in class.
