We realize that the lure of money for college offered by the armed forces can be an attractive proposition for many. But there are other alternatives! Here are some suggestions:

 

First and foremost, if you haven’t done so yet, be sure to visit with your school counselor about your plans for the future. They can be a very useful resource!

With that said, you should plan to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid(FAFSA). This can be done on-line at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. This should be done during your senior year (see your counselor for more information). Do it!

In general, it is much better to complete the FAFSA earlier rather than later because tuition aid may be available on a first-come-first-served basis. A FAFSA FAQ can be found here:http://www.fafsa.com/understanding-fafsa/fafsa-questions

 

Check out Collegebound Nebraska (http://collegeboundnebraska.com) to see if you qualify for their tuition assistance. If you are eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, Collegebound Nebraska will cover all your remaining tuition costs at UNK, UNK, UNO, or UNMC, up to 30 credit hours per academic year, after Pell funds and any other grants and/or scholarships are taken into account.  You must take at least 12 credit hours per semester, but may take more.

If you file the FAFSA and are told you are not eligible for a Pell Grant, the university will automatically review your FAFSA to determine whether you qualify for Collegebound Nebraska. If your expected family contribution is $5,000 or less, you will qualify.

They have several useful brochures, some of which can be found here:

• http://nebraska.edu/docs/students/EnglishBrochure2.pdf
• http://www.nebraska.edu/docs/students/English%20brochure.pdf
• http://www.nebraska.edu/docs/students/Spanish%20brochure.pdf

 

Did you know that 75% of the University of Nebraska‘s new freshmen receive scholarships and/or gift aid toward payment of their tuition? In fact, 34% of full-time UNL students receive financial gift aid equal to or greater than the cost of tuition. Most students are eligible for student loans with no required payments until after graduation. Contact UNL admissions (http://admissions.unl.edu/value/index.aspx) for more information.

 

At Southeast Community College (SCC), more than 80% of the student body receives some form of financial aid. Awards are based on both need and scholastic achievement.  Check out http://southeast.edu/admissions/costs_and_financialaid for more information.

 

AmeriCorps (http://americorps.gov) offers some adventure as well as rewarding, meaningful work, and can provide over $5000/yr to spend towards a college education for each year of service. Check them out!

 

In addition to the above, the following list can get you going with ideas regarding scholarships, financial aid, and more:

• Affordable Schools Online appears to be a very useful resource for ideas on saving for college, finding scholarships, financial planning, and so on. It is worth checking out: http://www.affordableschoolsonline.com/
• More specifically, a list of scholarship ideas, etc., is provided here:http://www.affordableschoolsonline.com/scholarships/
• Did you know that some types of student loan debt can be forgiven?http://www.affordableschoolsonline.com/these-programs-forgive-student-loan-debt/
• There are quite a few tools and services available on the web that aid with searching for scholarships. Some are free and some require a fee. Most require you to fill out a profile so they can match scholarships to your background, current situation, and educational goals. The following is a useful review and comparison of several of the more reputable ones. It is definitely worth reading:http://www.collegescholarships.org/search/helpful-reviews.htm. Here is a list of the main tools that were reviewed…
  • http://www.fastweb.com/
  • http://www.scholarships.com/
  • http://www.findtuition.com/tp2/ft/go.do?theme=default
  • http://www.scholarshipexperts.com/

 

There are many ways outside of the military to find adventure and to serve your neighbor. Here is an example list of such programs:

• http://www.americorps.gov/
• http://www.peacecorps.gov/
• http://www.cpt.org/
• http://www.pbiusa.org/
• http://www.sciint.org/

If you have any questions or concerns that you think we might be able to help with, feel free to ask us! We’ll do our best to get you steered in the right direction.