HOW TO ATTEND COLLEGE FOR FREE:

2016 GUIDE TO SCHOLARSHIPS

Insider’s Guide to College and University

Mission Statement

Top Universities in United States

Paying for College with Scholarships

Internships

Grad School

Mission Statement

My Mission Is To Help You Attend College for FREE:

• Whether you are a high school student, current college student, or seasoned professional looking to return to school, to attend college and university for free by learning about scholarships, internships, and the cost difference between Private and Public University.

How?■ Based upon my experience as an

undergraduate and a graduate student, I have

learned many strategies which you can

implement immediately which will help you

save money on tuition and find new sources of

scholarships to pay for your schooling.

■ By Learning from my experience, you will save

hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition

and years of education while ensuring yourself

a solid career after graduation.

You Will Learn How To Attend College For Free

How To Attend A Highly Ranked

School For 1/10th

the cost of Harvard or Yale.

How To Pay For College, including unknown sources of scholarships.

How To Succeed After Graduation:

Full-time employment or graduate school

Why Attend College?

Students with only high school

diploma [no college]:

$1.3 Million

Students with some college:

$1.55 Million

Students with Bachelor’s

Degree:

$2.27 Million

College is an expensive and

time consuming investment.

Students could potentially be

working full-time to gain

experience and earning

income, why should

someone attend college?

Total Lifetime Income

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/08/05/how-higher-

education-affects-lifetime-salary

What are you hoping to obtain from attending college?

Professional Opportunities

Personal Growth

Vocational Training

Increased Earnings

College Survey/Questionnaire

Before you choose your college or your major, it’s best to know why you want to go to college:

Are you more interested in

becoming employed in college or pursuing

your own personal interests?

If you had to choose, would you choose a major based upon

employment opportunities, or one based on personal

satisfaction?

Personal Satisfaction:

•Fine Arts

•Liberal Arts

•Classics

•Philosophy

Employment Opportunities:

•Science

•Engineering

•Math

•Science

•Accounting

Choosing A College – How To

Choosing a college is a very personal decision and will affect your life

for years to come. When considering a college, you must take into

consideration:

– Cost: What is the yearly cost of attendance? Tuition? Room and

Board?

– Academics: What type of degrees, majors and minors are

offered? Is the student body large or small, competitive or laid

back?

– Career: What type of Assistance is offered by Alumni Association

and Career Services Department?

– Extra Curricular/Social Life: Is the school located in a busy

metropolitan area or a small rural community?

Top Public Universities in United StatesUniversity of

California Berkeley

University of California Los

Angeles

University of Virginia

University of Michigan Ann

Arbor

University of North Carolina

Chapel Hill

The Ohio State University

Florida State University

The University of Alabama

Louisiana State

University

Texas Tech University

University of Houston

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public

Comparison of CollegesSchool Name City Number of

Students

Yearly Cost

[Resident]

Yearly Cost

[Non-Resident]

Harvard College Cambridge,

Massachusetts

21,000 $66,900 $66,900

Pennsylvania State

University

University Park,

Pennsylvania

97,494 $35,068 $48,900

University of

Colorado at Boulder

Boulder, Colorado 32,775 $26,267 $49,301

University of

California at Los

Angeles

Los Angeles,

California

43,301 $34,062 $60,744

How To Attend The College of Your Dreams •Research each university and

create a word document that describes why you want to attend each University. By understanding the specific strengths of each school, it shows your dedication to the admission officers.

List the Top 5 Colleges You Want To Attend

Differing Strategies For Attending the University of Your Dreams

Consider Attending a Junior/Community College. If your dream school does not accept your application on your first try, a good option is your local community college.

Community colleges are often lower-cost than a university and can help you graduate with lower amounts of debt. A strategy used often by students is to attend a community college for their freshman/sophomore years and then transfer to a 4-year university. Many times schools have this transition already pre-laid out for students.

How To Excel in the Admissions Interview

After you have chosen the school of your dreams, a major requirement in the

process of admissions is the interview. Particularly important for competitive

programs in finance/business/technology. To succeed in the interview:

– Sit Up Straight! Projecting a confident and poised demeanor is the best way

to develop trust with the interviewer.

– Research the interviewer as well, you two may have a shared interest which

makes for great conversation.

– Bring examples of your work, technical drawings, award winning essays, or

trophies are great to show the interviewer your track record of success.

– Prepare Questions in advance for the interviewer. This will show your

dedication to the process of admissions to the specific university.

– Remember to send a thank you note/email within 2 days of the interview!

Separating yourself from the Competition: Special Skills

■ Do you have any special talents, skills or

abilities that would help you gain an edge

over your competition when applying to

the college of your dreams? If not,

consider learning one of the following

hobbies:

One major area you can use to your advantage is extra curricular activities

Learn a musical instrument,

particularly a band or

orchestra instrument and

apply for the school band.

Are you athletically

inclined, and have you played a sport since you

were young? Consider listing

your Soccer skills on your resume and connecting

with the University

coaching staff.

By investing time in

yourself to learn a new skill, you are

more marketable as a student

and employee.

Cost of College Attendance: Public vs Private University

• Private Colleges: $32,405

• In-State at Public University: $9,410

• Out-Of-State at Public Uni: $23,893

According to the College board,

the average yearly cost of

tuition for 2015-2016 school

year is:

• Public Schools: $10,138

• Private Schools: $11,516

The Yearly cost of On Campus

Housing:

http://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10064

By attending a lower cost public university, the

cost of your education will decrease

significantly. Choosing a public university over

a private university does not mean a lower

quality education!

Public Vs Private Universities

Public Universities are supported primarily by property taxes paid by local home and business owners. That is the reason why public universities are much less expensive than private universities.

Many of the best Universities in the United States are public universities. These schools are called “Public Ivy’s”

Scholarships 101: Your Guide to Under-The-Radar Funding Sources

In the 2007-2008 school year, undergraduate students collected $2.91 Billion in scholarships, and

Graduate Students collected $736 Million.

Perform your research for scholarships offered by companies and organizations in

your state, college, or field of interest. Every Year, Billions of dollars in

scholarships go unclaimed by students who are unaware such scholarships exist.

Websites for Scholarship Search:

• www.scholly.com

• www.scholarships.com

• https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships/finding-scholarships

• http://www.fastweb.com/college-scholarships

http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/awardcount.phtml

How To Win Scholarship Money and Graduate Debt Free

■ Much of your choices for scholarships and internships

depend on your choice of a major. More practical majors

in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)

will have many more scholarship and internship

opportunities than programs such as Liberal Arts.

Majors with Highest Scholarship

Opportunities:

• Computer Science and Engineering

• Mathematics

• Petroleum Engineering

• Accounting

• Nursing/Medical Health Care

• Law

• Electrical Engineering

• Astrophysics

• Engineering

Join professional

organizations in your field,

and many of these will have

scholarship opportunities.

Not only is this great for

paying for college, these

scholarships look great on

your resume once you start

looking for jobs after

graduation!

Scholarships: Insider’s Guide

■ Scholarships require work: treat

applying for scholarships like a

part time job from high school until

graduation.

■ You won’t win every time:

Scholarships are very competitive

with thousands of high quality

candidates applying for certain

scholarships. Keep applying!

■ Start Locally: By focusing on your

specific geographic region, school

or specific industry, scholarships

are much less competitive and you

are more likely to land a relevant

scholarship.

■ Focus on your Strengths: If you

have a specific passion or interest,

focus on scholarships that cater

specifically to that area.

Internships

Internships are positions inside of companies specifically designed to introduce students to that industry.

Whether you are an engineering major, a graphic design major, or an architecture major, internships are your first step to working inside the industry you’ve chosen.

Internships can be either paid or unpaid, and usually offered during the summer break (although can be during winter break or during a school semester).

Internships offer practical experience, professional development and can unlock future opportunities. Most students land an internship the summer after their sophomore year.

Many times, a company will ONLY hire permanent and full-time employees from their current or previous internship students. Successfully completing an internship will often times set you up for a full-time career after graduation.

Using Social Networks for Internships

Social Networks are the primary way to source an internship with tech companies.

•www.Indeed.com

•www.LinkedIn.com

•www.GlassDoor.com

•Facebook Alumni Groups

Websites for Internship

Opportunities:

•Post Offensive Images or Videos

•SPAM your professional connections with annoying messages or requests.

DON’T:

•Connect with fellow classmates, teachers and TA’s through LinkedIn

•Give Visual Examples of your school work on your LinkedIn Profile

•Perform Research on companies you are interested in working with.

DO:

Graduate SchoolMany students decide to pursue their education beyond Bachelor’s degree. These students are graduate students.

Oftentimes Graduate students are paid to attend school and pursue their studies.

Motivations for Graduate School:

•Required for Career, e.g. Law School

•Personal/professional goals, e.g. Master of Fine Arts

•Increased Salary, e.g. Master’s of Business Administration (M.B.A.)

Additional Resources

■ CollegeData “Net Price Calculator”

http://www.collegedata.com/cs/pro

mo/promo_netcost_tmpl.jhtml

■ Finding and Applying for

Scholarships:

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types

/grants-scholarships/finding-

scholarships

Conclusion

In Conclusion, we learned:

•About Top Universities in the United States and how to get accepted into your dream college.

•Financial Aid opportunities, Scholarship Opportunities, and cost saving strategies for attending college.

•Internships, Graduate School, and succeeding after graduation.

Next Steps: Your next steps depend on where you are in your college search, for example, are you:

• Current College Student

• High School Student

• Working Professional

Depending on how much time you have to prepare for your journey, you can take certain steps to set yourself up for success.

Bibliography

■ Sources of all Image Files:

– College of Dupage: https://www.flickr.com/photos/codnewsroom/

[commencement photograph] [Recruiting Fair]

– Parker Knight: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rocketboom/ [Cheerleaders of

Cerritos College]

– Queen’s College: https://www.flickr.com/photos/queenscollege/ [Quad]

– John Morgan: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aidanmorgan/ [UC Berkeley]

– Pictures of Money: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictures-of-money/

– Phil Roeder: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tabor-roeder/ [University of

Virginia]

– UNE: https://www.flickr.com/photos/unephotos/ [scholarship photo]

– Piggy Bank: http://401kcalculator.org

– Flickr: Manny Hernandez - https://www.flickr.com/photos/askmanny/