Online School Grants for Online Studies
Grants Dept.
Many students looking to pursue an education online don't realize that there are many grants and scholarships available to them. An online education is not much cheaper than an offline education in a brick and mortar school. The only real money to be saved is that associated with living and transportation expenses. Since the tuition costs for an online degree are much the same as an offline degree, it makes sense that most of the same grants are available as well.
Typically, students attending online colleges are mainly adults. They're not really interested in the "college experience" as much as they are interested in getting a higher education degree as quickly and easily as possible. A degree they can apply toward their current job or use to get a better position with a higher salary. Basically, there are three avenues to look into: The first is to have a current or future employer fund your online tuition fees, the second is to apply for Federal Grants for online education from the government, such as a Pell Grant, Minority Grant etc., and finally the third is to look into any private funding available through organizations that might have specific online grants available in your field of study or even as local as in your community.
There are a few basic things to keep in mind when pursuing an online degree. In order to have the best response and chance of being awarded a free money grant, you should choose an accredited college or online university, you need to make sure you can actually put aside the time needed to attend and complete assignments, and you must have a good computer capable of running the programs required, finally, you must have a decent and reliable internet connection. Since you probably won't be working directly with a financial aid advisor or student loan counselor, you have to figure out what your student costs are going to be over the projected time it will take to earn your online degree. The cost of the first year will not be the same as the last, historically the cost of tuition rises by about 5-6% per year, so figure by the fourth year your tuition will be 20-24% higher than the first.
If you are currently employed and have a full time job that you enjoy, or work for a company you like, you should definitely look into having your employer pay for a portion of your online tuition. You can ask the human resources department if the company has any money set aside for tuition assistance and if so what areas of education are they willing to pay for. Chances are they are only going to offer to cover online tuition fees that will qualify you for a position they are in need of filling, or in a branch they are interested in expanding. For this same reason, they may require you to agree to stay on with the company for a certain period of time after you receive your online degree, this is why I mentioned earlier whether or not you like your job or company :)
There are a few other questions you may ask as well, for example, what if you are unable to attain the online degree, do you have to pay back any money granted? How do they make the payment, does it go directly to the school or are you required to pay it from your paycheck and then they reimburse you later on? Do you have to maintain a certain GPA or attendance schedule in order for them to pay?
If you are applying for a Federal or Government online grant, the process is pretty much the same as if you were applying for an offline degree. You must first fill out the FAFSA application and wait for the results. This automatically checks to see if you are eligible for a Pell grant and any other student loans widely offered. With the results you get back from the government FAFSA application you can apply for any other smaller more niche grants that may apply to your specific situation, such as minority grants, disabled grants or women only grants.
There are three other lesser known government grants available to online
students, all of which you apply for through the FAFSA application as well,
the Federal Supplemental Ed Opportunity Grant which is a need based grant for
undergrads, these are administered through your particular schools finance
office.
The Smart Grant which provides an extra $4,000 to students already getting a
Pell Grant. You must maintain a grade average of more than 3.0, and study in
certain areas like engineering, math or a foreign language.
And the Perkins Loan which is a need based loan that provides private and
government money mixed together. You must attend school at least 50% of
the time to qualify. On Perkins Loans, the government will pay the interest on
your loan while you are in school.
Some online school grants are geared specifically towards minority students or women. Other grants, known as merit awards or merit scholarships, are awarded on the basis of academic achievement or from a department based on an individual's field of study. Some online merit awards are reserved for students whose families demonstrate financial need; others are awarded regardless of your financial need for them. You'll want to investigate the types of grants offered by each online college or university you are applying to.
The important thing to keep in mind is that an online degree is just as valuable as an offline degree, and in this day and age an online degree shows enthusiasm, a go getter attitude and the ability to self discipline and work on a computer. All of which are skills you can add to your online résumé.
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