College is getting more expensive than ever as time passes and students can never have “too much money” to use for college or career schools. Students have several avenues to help them pay for college, whether it is by applying for financial aid or searching for scholarship opportunities. 

Financial aid is money granted to help pay for colleges or career schools from federal or state grants that make college more affordable. The most common form of financial aid is FAFSA, which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  The application opens in the beginning of October.

The application requires your parents’ tax forms such as a W2 and 1040. Make sure to have your parents gather the documents before the application opens to make it easier to fill the applications out. 

Another well-known program is Excelsior, which is a New York based scholarship that covers only the tuition for SUNY and CUNY schools.  

CSS stands for College Scholarship Service, which is used for ivy league colleges. It requires the same forms that fast that is, and it is better to apply and file them along with FAFSA If it applies to your situation. 

Another scholarship service used for ivy league schools is Quest Bridge, which covers the needs of tuition, room, meal plan, textbooks, travel, and personal expenses which is uncommon for other aid programs. It is a gift scholarship, which means an association gives you the money freely to use, unlike a loan scholarship which you eventually pay off. Quest Bridge applications must be submitted in September. 

Once you have filled out the applications for federal and state grant programs, make sure to apply to other scholarships within the school and online through websites such as Fastweb.com.  

Make sure to utilize all the financial resources and apply to multiple programs and scholarships because the more time you invest now, the less you will have to pay later.