Why does getting an education have to be so expensive? Will the price of college ever go down?  I swear, the price of going to a college rises every year. My sister is in her junior year of college, and my parents still have to put me and my younger sister through college too! Luckily, there are so many scholarships that I can apply for.  

The other day, I got a big packet from my counselor with information on 25 or more locally funded scholarships. Even though it is going to take a lot of time, I know that when I receive some scholarship money, my parents will be really proud.

I know that some of the locally funded scholarships in your town are only worth a couple hundred dollars, but every penny counts. I know that I don’t want to give my parents the burden of paying for my whole college education with no financial aid.

If you are having trouble finding scholarships, there is an incredible website called TasselTime.com. There, you can find a list of available scholarships throughout the United States. 

It’s a lot like the Arkansas Department of Higher Education’s scholarship-finding tool YOUniversal. It’s a one-stop-shop where you fill out just one form and it tells you which of more than 21 different government-funded scholarships you’re eligible for. YOUniversal also lets you apply for those matches online right then and there.

You most definitely cannot forget about the Arkansas Lottery scholarship.  Last year every person that signed up for this scholarship received it. How awesome is that? The Lottery scholarship helped a lot of students afford to enroll for their freshman year of college that wouldn’t have been able to pay their expenses otherwise.

Here are more ways to get $$$ for college from the editors of Arkansas Next:

• First, learn the financial aid lingo.
• Then, heed the advice of college experts who know how you can better your chances of getting scholarship money.
• Use YOUniversal to apply for 21 scholarships at once.
• And, don’t forget to fill out the FAFSA.

It’s very important to sign up for as many scholarships as possible – it will only hurt you if you don’t.  Remember, that when paying for a college, every penny counts!