Believe it or not, free money for college isn’t only awarded to Einsteins and star athletes ‘ or those of you poor people who qualify for financial aid. There are plenty of opportunities for the ‘average’ college-bound student to take advantage of scholarship money. The biggest mistake to make, is to sit and wait, and not do anything about it in the hopes that someone will knock on your door and say, “Need some money?”

I just graduated in May, and now I am starting to pay back student loans. Let me tell you, it sucks. Having received my degree in Journalism from UCLA, I thought I would be in a good position to pay back my loans. Yeeeaaahhh…not so much. So now, after 4 years of tuition, room and board, I owe just over $115,000.

People say it all the time, but I will say it again…if I had it to do all over again…I would try to avoid the $1000 a month loan payment.

Here’s some common sense advice:

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In a controversial move Stanford University announced that families earning less then $100,000 no longer have to pay tuition. Also, families earning less then $60,000 a year no longer have to pay tuition, the costs of room and board, or any other expenses. The program was designed to eliminate student loans and will begin in the 2008-2009 academic year.

Stanford enrolls approximately 1,650 freshmen students per year, and around 35% of this year’s freshman class have an income of less then $100,000 while 20% have less than $60,000 per year. The cost of tuition, room, and board for students is $45,606 per year, which is a huge chunk of low-income families’ annual income. (more…)