Find Funding for College 3: Establish How Much Money

This continues our series on finding funding for college—let someone else pay for it
An irritated mother approached my staff after a scholarship workshop. She and her 17 year-old son attended the workshop 12 months earlier. Since then, he applied for 9 scholarships and received 7 for a total of $47,000. Her comment, when they asked why she was upset, defines a lot of people’s idea. “He qualified for 148 and stopped at 9. Now I have to pay the rest!” Parents should not pay for schooling if children  stop looking. Too many people only consider paying tuition. They forget the other costs of college.
College Costs Much More Than Tuition
You will need more money than just tuition. Some examples of college costs include:

• Tuition
• Text and other books
• Lab and other fees
• Computer (probably two: one at the beginning and an upgrade in three years)
• Housing (including if you get married while in college)
• Food
• Transportation to and from school (and home if you study out-of-state)
• Clothing
• Dating (One person wanted $6,000 just for dating—and got it)
• Other unforeseen expenses

Some funding sources define how you must use the money. Others merely stipulate that you must be a student. Get as much as you can of both. Many adult students believe they cannot use student funding to pay for housing, food, and other costs. While each funding source will have its own restrictions you will usually not find an age restriction on many sources.
Set a Goal for How Much Money You Want
We encourage you to evaluate how much money you will need to cover all costs listed above. The following tips will help simplify the process:

• Estimate costs in semester or trimester blocks rather than a whole degree or program
• Evaluate 4-5 schools adjusting costs for tuition, fees, housing, & transportation
• Use a spreadsheet to track cost estimates, create a column or row for each school
• Create some sort of chart to indicate money earned—keep it visible to motivate you

Monday we convince you that committees really want to give money to someone like you