Employers Help Pay College Tuition!
Thursday, May 6th, 2010College tuition has risen almost geometrically over the last decade. MSNBC, a cable news network, stated the average tuition was slightly over $7,000 for the 2009-10 academic year. CNN has come up with a similar number; a four-year Bachelor’s will cost approximately $27,000. Both news services say these cost increases didn’t include room, board or other living expenses. They also expect tuition to rise 15% by 2010-11. In other words, financing a degree is getting harder than ever. Extra expense can be added when obtaining an on campus or online graduate school degree.
This is forcing young college students to change their financial strategies. More students than ever are holding down jobs while going to online colleges so they can work the daylight hours then take their classes at home at night. Many corporations are even helping them. McDonald’s and Blockbuster will help pay for their employee’s education (even to covering the entire tuition) as long as the student works for them. The only kink in this strategy is finding such a job during the current recession.
It is true that many universities offer grants and scholarships based on financial need or academic performance. The federal government also offers student loans at longer terms and lower interest rates than banks, especially now under President Obama’s new health and education initiative. Even with Obama getting the federal Pell grant up to nearly $6,000 next year, this often leaves huge gaps between what a student gets and what school costs. If you need more information about government grants, look on the internet.
Yet there’s still one resource many students (and their parents) have left fairly untapped. There are quite a number of other public corporations besides McDonald’s and Blockbuster out there that have financial aid available to the future workforce. There are a number of professional and social societies who will be glad to help out with scholarships and grants, too. Here are four very different examples of this academic generosity:
(1) For engineers, the National Aeronautic and Space Agency (yep, that’s NASA, you future rocket scientists!) offers a scholarship competition to students who submit the best approach to space exploration. NASA wants to engage more students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) disciplines.
(2) For veterinarians, the American Veterinary Medical Association initiated a debt relief program for those who work on food animals such as sheep, cows and pigs. The group has announced it’s out to combat the spiraling amount of debt many vets incur before they ever graduate.
(3) For journalists, the Scripps Howard Foundation awards a number of different scholarships to students for their achievements in the classroom, on the job, or for their community. The Foundation says these grants are intended as investments to help bring out a young writers’ potential and ensure they stay in the communications profession.
(4) There are even programs for pharmacists. The gigantic retail pharmacy corporation, CVS Caremark, has teamed with some colleges for scholarships and internship programs. They want to increase diversity in their profession and help high school students gain interest in the area. There is an abundance of information about grant for online school on the web.
Remember, this is only four examples. There are a number of other companies who are looking to help students get online degrees. With the cost of education skyrocketing, every cent helps.
Once you’ve invested in a four year degree, progressing further via traditional on campus oronline university programs to an advanced degree also requires additional funding. Finding out what free scholarships and grants is available is going to help get that degree.
