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Future Teachers: College Advising
  
College Costs, Financial Aid & Scholarships

How much does college cost?
Are there scholarships available to future teachers?
What are grants?
What is "work study"?
Can students get loans?
How do you apply for financial aid?
Other On-line Resources
FREE On-line Scholarship Search Engines

College Costs

The basic costs of college are:

Tuition (amount of money that colleges charge for instruction and attendance)
 Fees (costs like athletic activities and special events) 
 Room and Board (cost of housing and food)
 Other Expenses (books, supplies and transportation to and from the school)

The actual costs of college vary greatly depending on whether it is a public or private school. The majority of students attend public or state colleges, which receive a portion of their budgets from state or local governments and can charge lower tuition to students who live in that state. Students from other states pay higher tuition.

Private schools tend to be more expensive than public colleges and charge the same tuition for in-state and out-of-state students.  

In Colorado, the current average cost of attending college for one year is $10,000 (includes tuition, fees, room, board, & other expenses.)  Although prices tend to go up each year, there are multiple resources to help students and parents pay for college.

The best advice anyone can give students and families is to start planning and saving EARLY.  To get an idea of how much you should save, visit the following web-site where you will find links to savings-plan & college-planning calculators: http://www.ed.gov/thinkcollege/early/parents/savings.htm

Scholarships

Scholarships are available based on academic merit, special talent, or specified criteria and are awarded to students who meet the merit, talent or specific criteria. We have listed  a few scholarships students pursuing education might be interested in.

Colorado State University - Pueblo General Scholarship Application- The Office of Admissions will send a scholarship booklet and application directly to students with at least a 2.5 GPA.  They are also available from high school counselors.  This serves as the general application for several scholarships offered through CSU-Pueblo including Foundation Scholarships, President's Scholarships, Diversity Grants, First Generation Awards, and the L.E.A.D Scholarship.  For more information visit the USC web-site at www.colostate-pueblo.edu or call 719.549.2967.

CSU-Pueblo President’s Leadership Program & Scholarship
The President’s Leadership Program (PLP) is a four-year college academic leadership program initiated at the Colorado State University - Pueblo to develop and train emerging leaders in Colorado.  This opportunity is available to high school seniors who are planning to attend the Colorado State University - Pueblo, have applied for admission, have a GPA of 3.2 or better, and complete an application form outlining their leadership potential.  Students are selected on the basis of academic excellence, commitment to community service, and demonstrated leadership potential.  Once applications are received, finalists are invited to the CSU-Pueblo campus for a personal interview.  Students accepted to the program receive a $1000 per semester scholarship to CSU-Pueblo, which is renewable for up to 8 semesters.  For more information, visit their web site at http://www.colostate-pueblo.edu/plp/ or call 719.549.2926.

Horizons Scholarship - Given to Hispanic residents who live primarily in and around Pueblo, Colorado and the southern Colorado region. The number of scholarships and their amounts will vary from year to year.

Contact:  Pueblo Hispanic Education Foundation
215 S. Victoria Avenue, Suite I
Pueblo, CO 81003
(719) 546-2548
Email: pphef@aol.com
Deadline: March 15

Latin American Educational Foundation (LAEF) Scholarships - Available to Hispanic Colorado residents who are attending or entering college.

Contact:  Scholarship Selection Committee
930 W. 7th Ave.
Denver, CO 80204
(303) 446-0541
Deadline: February 15
Amount: varies 

LULAC / League of United Latin American Citizens -
LULAC offers a variety of scholarships for high school seniors, undergraduate & graduate college students through the LULAC National Education Service Centers, Inc., (LNESC).

Contact:  National Educational Service Centers Inc. (LNESC) 
1133 Twentieth Street, NW, Suite 750
Washington, DC 20033
(202) 408-0060
fax: (202) 408-0064
Contact: Carlos Zapata, LNESC Scholarship Coordinator
Award amount: $2,500-$5,000

There are hundreds of other scholarships available in a variety of areas.  Students can use the following FREE "scholarship searches" on the internet to find out if there are any scholarships that they are eligible to apply for:

Grants

Grants are need-based financial assistance that are available to help students meet educational expenses and do not need to be paid back.  The following federal and state grants are available to Colorado students who meet financial need and other qualifications:

Federal PELL Grant
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
Colorado Student Grant
Colorado Student incentive Grant
Colorado Part-time Student Grant

  Work Study

Work-study is a program subsidized by the federal and state government in which the government helps a college pay students to work on campus.  Students who are awarded work-study find a job on campus.  They earn at least minimum wage and get paid monthly just like a regular job.  They continue working until they have earned as much money as they were "awarded" through the work-study program.  Whether or not students show "financial need", they can be in this program.

Loans

Loans are provided by the federal government to assist students with their educational expenses.  In general, loans are made to the student and repayment begins after the student graduates or chooses not to continue with his/her education.  There are various types of loans:

Federal Perkins Loan - this is a need-based loan made to students.  The interest and repayment are deferred until nine months after the student leaves college.

Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan - this is a need-based loan made to students.  The interest that accrues on the loan while the student goes to school is paid by the government.  Six  months after the student graduates or leaves college, responsibility for repaying the principal and future interest belongs to the student.

Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan - this is a NON-need-based loan available to students.  The interest rate and repayment terms of the loan principal are the same as the subsidized loan, but the interest that accrues on the loan while the student goes to school is NOT paid by the government.  It can be paid by the student month by month or deferred until six months after the student graduates or leaves college when responsibility for repaying the principal and future interest belongs to the student.

Federal PLUS Loan - this loan program allows parents of dependent students to borrow annually the amount equal to the cost of attendance less any other financial aid received.  Repayment begins 60 days after loan disbursement.

Remember, loans must be repaid whether the student graduates from college or not.  Be careful not to borrow more money than can be realistically repaid.

Applying for Financial Aid

To apply for all financial aid (loans, grants, and work study), a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed.  The FAFSA is available from your high school counselor or it can be filled out on-line at www.fafsa.ed.gov.  The FAFSA should be filed as soon as possible after January 1 and preferably before the March 1 priority-mailing date.  The earlier it is completed, the earlier the student will be considered for financial aid moneys.  In order to complete the FAFSA, information from student and parent federal tax returns is needed.

Online Resources to help Answer Questions

Funding Your Education Information is a MUST SEE on-line resource for more information about paying for college: http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/FYE/FYE01/index.html!    This resource is also in Spanish and can be downloaded from the web.

Also, try www.finaid.org.


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Teacher Education Program
Colorado State University-Pueblo
2200 Bonforte Blvd.
Pueblo, Colorado 81001-4901
(719) 549-2681

This page last updated: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - 9:35:44 AM
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