If you're comparing colleges and universities based on price, don't rely only on their published tuition rates or "sticker prices." Many institutions offer students scholarships and grants that reduce these tuition rates. On average, students might expect to pay anywhere from 10 to 33 percent less than published rates with help from college and university scholarships, grants and waivers alone, according to a report from the non-profit College Board that was released in September.
Colleges and universities, in fact, are the largest provider of scholarships and grants, the College Board's "Tuition Discounting" report notes. For the 2008-2009 academic year, colleges and universities awarded some $24 billion in scholarship and grant money to students at the undergraduate level, the report shows. The proportion of scholarships and grants that institutions provide to students also has been increasing.
Students seeking to reduce tuition rates through scholarships and grants might look at the effort as a business transaction. A recent US News & World Report article suggested that students apply to several schools that compete with each other and, after comparing scholarships offers from them, "negotiate." Colleges and universities that are priced similarly but offer less in scholarships and grants than their "competitors" might find ways to reduce their prices to meet or "beat" lower rates.
The average discounts that colleges and universities provide depend upon the type of institution. Two-year public institutions, such as community colleges, are generally the least expensive published tuition rates and average 10 percent in discounts through scholarships and grants and the like, the "Tuition Discounting" report suggests. Private, non-profit colleges and universities that tend to be among the priciest when it comes to published tuition rates, average 33 percent in discounts through scholarships, grants and more, according to the report. It's important to keep in mind too that, while colleges and universities extend scholarships and grants to most of their students, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators notes that they might not have enough assistance to go around to make their studies as affordable as every student might need them to be.
There are, however, private scholarships and grants for which students can apply. In its "Cash for College" brochure, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators notes that students can find out about private scholarship opportunities at libraries on the Internet. Scholarships and grants are offered to students based on financial needs, academic and athletic achievements and talents and skills. Scholarships and grants are also awarded based on level of college and university studies and major subject area of study. There are scholarships these days for women, students of specific racial and ethnic backgrounds, adult students, and to populations who are underrepresented in certain fields.
Students can access scholarship opportunities through free scholarship search engines from the College Board and the US Department of Education and well as those on websites such as scholarships.com and fastweb.com. Relying on a variety of search engines like these is likely to open up a greater number of scholarship opportunities, since some scholarship search engines might produce different results. In general, students might expect search engines to produce scholarships and grants that are available from large corporations, non-profit foundations and professional associations.
Students can also look for scholarships within the communities where they reside, since more local opportunities might not be listed online. Community and civic groups and churches often offer scholarships to students who reside within specific geographic regions. In some instances, students - or their parents - might have to be members of certain organizations in order to be eligible for scholarships and grants.
The Department of Education, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and others recommend also that students complete an online Free Application for Federal Student Aid to determine their eligibility for government assistance in the form of grants and scholarships. The results provided are often required by the financial aid offices of colleges and universities and by some scholarship programs anyway. What these types of funds to is give the student free college courses through their application to tuition and book costs. It literally pays to see what you qualify for.
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