Aug 21, 2008 12:19 am US/Eastern
Costs Of College Can Be Eased With A Little Work
(CBS4)
The global economic downturn has many people scrambling to buy things like gasoline. But, a big ticket item is now becoming nearly impossible to afford for many middle and lower class students struggling to find the money to pay for college. "It's kind of gonna take a miracle to get to go (to college), but it's a really good education," said 17-year-old Taylor Cameron. Her father shuddered at the cost of education today. "The expense of sending a kid to school right now is so astronomical," said Craig Cameron.
For many, finding financial aid has proven just as difficult as finding cheap gasoline. But one man said parents and students just need to look in the right place.
"This is possible, but you have to be proactive, and you have to take action today," Ben Kaplan, author of "How to Go to College Almost for Free," said.
Kaplan secured more than $90,000 in scholarships that nearly paid for his entire four years at Harvard. "I applied for 3 dozen scholarships. I won 2 dozen of them," Kaplan said.
His book is said to dispel many of the common myths that keep people from applying, like scholarships are only for low-income families.
"These merit-based scholarships, the two dozen I won, they never asked about your income and assets. That's important for families caught in what I call the middle income financial aid gap," advised Kaplan
Myth number two: You need a sky high grade point average to win scholarships. "Sometimes actually students who focus too much on grades, they assume that's going to get them a scholarship, and it's not," Kaplan said.
He says community service, and extracurricular activities can open more scholarship doors. And don't overlook the smaller local contests. Those can add up to big wins.
"It's only a couple hundred dollars, and people say why bother. I love those awards because hardly anyone applied, and there's a snowball effect. You win the smaller ones, and they're a credential that can help you win the larger ones," said Kaplan.
For students like Taylor who need to raise a sizable amount of cash, Kaplans gives this advice, "Winning scholarships is a game. And the best way to master the scholarship game is to learn from those who play it well."
To learn more about these scholarships go to
City of College Dreams.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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