Hall Transit Education

Posts Tagged ‘college loans’

When people think of a McDonald’s employee, they usually think of a person who either is using this type of job as entry to the work field or who is doomed to perpetual limbo asking if customers want fries with their burgers. Actually, the land of the Golden Arches also offers a program it calls the McDonald’s USA National Employee Scholarship Program. Employees who have worked for them for only four months can get anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 a year in college grants, online or on campus. The only other proviso is that the person continue working there 15 hours a week. While this type of scholarship is for those who work for that company, other types, such as Pell grants for college, are not that job-specific.

Many corporations see programs like these as a way to generate loyalty and a resource pool for future executives. $5,000 a year more than likely will not cover a full year’s tuition, yet it still goes a long way towards it. As such, all prospective students should see about federal grants and any other academic scholarships they are eligible for. If you need more information about college grants and scholarships, look on the internet.

Companies give employees an academic boost, which is something the web site College For Katie details. Those considering an online degree should talk with their company to see if they have any of the following:

Direct Pay Tuition Assistance: The most direct of the forms of financial assistance. The employer pays up front for the course, certificate or degree program. The employee has no out of pocket expense. One could say this is as pure a form of financial aid outside of government grants and academic scholarships as is possible.

Reimbursed Tuition Assistance: One could call it a sort of loan. The employer pays for the course, certificate or degree program after the employee has successfully completed the course or program. The employer may pay after each course or after the degree is completed. Again, reimbursement could be tied to grade point average. There is an abundance of information about grants for college on the web.

529 College Savings Program: The employer may offer a college savings program as a part of their benefits package. As a part of this program, the employer may match contributions made by the employee into the program. Parents in particular should think about this for their children.

On the Job Training: Literally the employee advances his/her education while working. Employers have developed comprehensive training programs that mix classroom and working. It’s a common method used by hospitals, particularly when they want to see a young nurse’s aid move up to a registered or licensed practical nurse. Many manufacturing operations also use this to turn their blue collar workers into white collar management.

If you are currently working, in addition to exploring Pell grants for college, you should see what your employer offers. Talking with your employer will let you know if financial aid is available or if you need to go outside the company for such assistance as student loans. Consulting with a college advisor can also provide more information sources.

With the ever-upward spiraling cost of higher education, a high school student with dreams of dreams of getting a Bachelor’s of Science degree – or a young technician looking to get Masters or more – seems to be getting grimmer and grimmer. Their academic/work records qualify for the top schools, but the costs leave a lot to be desired. Federal/state financing just isn’t enough, even when tapping into such sources as Pell grants.

The fact is the country is in the middle of a shortage of engineers of many, many stripes. As the measure of a nation to sustain itself is largely based on the number of technical people it can support, a number of agencies have come in to help the colleges, both online and on campus, produce more Bachelors of Science, engineers being a major part of the equation. If you need more information about pell grant application, look on the internet.

Financial aid candidates looking for grants and scholarships should start by sitting down with a college’s financial aid officer. Whether it’s an online college or on campus, every school has a small army of them. It’s part of his/her job is to stay abreast of all these new programs. Not that it doesn’t hurt to also do one’s own research. A quick scan of Google or any other search engine will show there are a number of sources they might never have heard of. These sources include:

(1) Pell Grant – Obvious, but not to be ignored. At the moment, this federal grant is capable of supplying up to $5,350 towards going to college. What’s required is obtaining either one’s own or parent’s financial records, filling out a FASFA form, and then wait for response. While you’re at it, don’t forget the state you reside in. The funds from most of their lotteries are supposed to go towards financing education. Make sure they do.

(2) S-STEM Scholarship – This program was created by the Federal government specifically to help students get their Associate’s, Bachelors and even their Masters of Science degree. As of 2009, it awards one hundred students anywhere from $100,000 to $600,000, based on both academics and need. To find out more about this program, one should contact the National Science Foundation or the web site Grants.gov. There is an abundance of information about online grants on the web.

(3) Corporate Scholarships: Many technological and similar corporations find it in their best interest, both for tax reasons and as a source for recruiting, to set up scholarship funds. This includes companies such as Mobil Oil, where there is a very high demand need for petroleum engineers to Microsoft, which has its own scholarship/work-study program for computer engineers.

(4) Professional Organizations – Every vocation has its society or professional organization. In turn, they almost always have some sort of scholarship program. It’s a good way of maintaining the ranks. Some of them include such august operations as the National Society of Professional Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

From the well known scholarshiops, to the lesser known private corporation sponsors, searching for free scholarships and grants online proves a little research can go a long way in this area.

The cost of going to college may be rapidly getting so high that it may be worth considering not going. Students now days are graduating with debt anywhere from $10,000 all the way past $100,000 and at those amounts, the debt may never be repaid.

University used to be the place you went to advance your education, figure out what you want to do with your life, and have some fun when you were doing it. In this day and age though, school might be more of a tedium than it is fun and most students want jobs just to get by. The economy is so awful right now that students hoping to attend college are in a bind trying to figure out how to pay for it.

The Obama student loan reform bill was just signed and the hope is that it will lower the interest rates that are charged and make the loans easier to repay. However, the bill won’t take effect until 2014 and what does the government do anyway that is ever successful?

With the government taking up student loans, it means banks and all the private institutions will now not be involved in the decision making process. Isn’t anyone apprehensive that Washington is just not the right entity to resolve who gets loans and who does not? Do we actually need more government control of our lives?

Younger adults currently are under tremendous strain to do well in school while at the same time holding down a job just to pay for it. Many mothers and fathers in the past might have been in a position to pay for at least a big chunk of their youngsters’s schooling but now that may not be the case anymore. Costs just add up too quick and more students than ever are graduating heavily in debt.

President Obama has done nothing to try to decrease the cost of college or at least hold it steady. State colleges at the moment are extraordinarily costly just like private ones are because the state governments want the money. There’s actually no viable choice for many students who cannot afford the excessive costs and may not be able to get a job either.

If you would like more information please go to my website Jobs For College Students.