Top 10 Tips for Planning and Paying for College from the Sallie Mae Fund

1. Make the most of high school academics and activities.
2. Find a college that fits you.
3. Take appropriate standardized tests.
4. Familiarize yourself with the college application process.
5. Investigate scholarship opportunities early.
6. Beware of scholarship scams.
7. Understand college costs.
8. Research your eligibility for federal and state financial aid.
9. Complete the FAFSA annually in January.
10. Explore student and parent loans.

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Top 10 Tips for Planning and Paying for College

When I grow up I want to be an ... Astronomer.

Name: Kevin

Age: 13

Kevin loves everything about space – the lack of gravity, the other planets, the stars. Although he likes astronomy, Kevin does not know much about the history of astronomy. His older brother told him to go to HomeworkSpot.com for help.

(1) First Kevin logged went HomeworkSpot.com.

(2) Since he is in middle school, Kevin scrolled down to “MIDDLE” in the left hand column and clicked Science.

(3) Next he clicked Astronomy in the Topics box. A page of links appeared. After reading the descriptions under each the site name, Kevin thought the “Astronomy throughout History” website was the best for him to visit.

(4) After he clicked the link to the Astronomy throughout History website, Kevin spotted a link that said Journey throughout Time and decided to check it out.

(5) Suddenly he was taken to a timeline chart that listed all the major events in astronomy. Kevin found what he was looking for.

When I grow up I want to be a ... Chef.

Name: Xiaomin

Age: 12

Xiaomin loves helping her family make dinner and wants to be a chef. Xiaomin wanted to find out more information about colleges that offered culinary degrees.

(1) First Xiaomin went to CollegeBoard.com and clicked For Students.

(2) Then she clicked the Find a College heading. In the College Search box that appeared, Xiaomin noticed that at the bottom of the search box, it said "Search by location, major, cost, more." Xiaomin clicked the Find Your Match button.

(3) Xiaomin now found herself on the College MatchMaker page. The page had a bunch of questions that she had to answer that would help her to narrow her college search. The only requirements Xiaomin had that would narrow her search included: the school had to be medium-sized, located in a suburban setting, located in the state of California, and offered a degree in Culinary Arts. On the first page of the "What's Important to You?" page, Xiaomin clicked the boxes for Medium under the Size heading and Suburban setting under the Setting heading. Then she clicked Submit and Continue.

(4) Now Xiaomin was on a page with a big map that said Location. She clicked the box next to the state of California and clicked Submit and Continue.

(5) Xiaomin was now on the Majors page. She typed "Culinary" in the Browse by keyword search box and clicked Go. A list of nine possible majors appeared. Xiaomin knew that she wanted to major in Culinary Arts so she clicked "Culinary Arts/Related Services" to highlight it. Then she clicked Add to List.

(6) Since Xiaomin knew that these three web pages covered all the criteria she wanted her school to have she clicked See Results instead of Save and Continue to view her list of schools. If she wanted to narrow her search more she could have clicked Save and Continue to further narrow her search.

(7) After clicking See Results, a list of four colleges that matched all the criteria Xiaomin input in the College MatchMaker appeared. Now Xiaomin could click on the names of the each school to view more information about each.

When I grow up I want to be a ... Lawyer.

Name: David

Age: 12

David loves to watch Law and Order and wants to become a lawyer when he gets older. David has always heard that Yale and Harvard have the best law schools and wanted to find out which school suited his interests better.

(1) Fist David went to CollegeBoard.com and clicked For Students.

(2) Then David went to the Find a College heading and clicked Compare Colleges.

(3) In the search box David typed Harvard and pressed the arrow next to the search box. Harvard was automatically entered in the School One slot.

(4) Next David typed Yale into the search box and pressed the arrow next to it. Yale was automatically entered in the School Two slot.

(5) Sine both of his schools were in the school slots, David clicked Compare Now at the bottom of the list. Two columns appeared on the web page: one for Harvard and the other for Yale.

(6) This list allowed David to compare each school based on location, the admission process, cost and more. Since David lived in Stamford, Connecticut, he decided that he would look at more information about Yale because it was closer to his home. He clicked Yale University and was taken to the school's information page.

(7) After reading more about the school David wanted to know even more about Yale. He clicked on the link to Yale's website (www.yale.edu) and was instantly sent to Yale's home page where he could find more specific information about the school and decide if it was right for him.

When I grow up I want to be a ... Fashion Designer.

Name: Estefania

Age: 14

Estefania has always liked clothes and wants to be a fashion designer. One day Estefania found herself with free time on her hands so she decided to find out more information about becoming a fashion designer.

(1) First Estefania visited MappingYourFuture.org.

(2) Then she clicked the explore careers link in the left column.

(3) Next she clicked the Research Careers link.

(4) Estefania was transported to the CareerShip web page. On the site she clicked the Career Search link. Then she typed Fashion Designer into the search box and clicked the arrow next to the box. Estefania was taken to a web page with her search results.

(5) Then she clicked Fashion Designers to get information. Estefania now found herself on a web page called Career Summary. On it she could read all about what fashion designers do. After reading everything, Estefania decided to find out which colleges had her major.

(6) Estefania visited CollegeBoard.com to begin her search. First she clicked For Students on the College Board home page.

(7) Then under the Find a College heading, she clicked Careers and Majors.

(8) Next Estefania clicked the plus (+) sign next to Arts, Visual, and Performing. Then she clicked on the plus (+) sign next to Design and Applied Arts.

(9) On the list, Estefania clicked on Fashion Design.

(10) On the webpage Estefania found more information about Fashion Design. To find out which schools offered Fashion Design as a major, Estefania clicked the Find out now link in the right hand column.

A list of 127 colleges came up for Estefania to explore. Using the boxes above the results list she could sort the result list alphabetically, by cost, by SAT score requirements, and more!

What is College Like?

Now that you’ve read about the different types of colleges and how to pay for it, you want to know what college is all about.

Although academics are extremely important in college, there is more to it than just sitting in a classroom. During your first year of college, you will find that you have more free time on your hands. Do not waste your spare time. Get involved on your campus — join a club, join a sports team, socialize with your classmates.

College is fun and your time there will fly by, so don’t waste a minute of it.

How to Pay for College

College tuition can be paid for in a variety of ways.

Some parents start saving money for their children’s education soon after they’re born. If your parents have not saved for your college education, don’t worry. There are other ways you can find money to pay college tuition.

A scholarship is a monetary award given to you based on merit, academics, financial aid or special talents. Sometimes there are special requirements you must meet in order to keep your scholarship. You do not have to pay back any scholarship money given to you.

Grants are monetary awards given to you based on financial need. Like scholarships, grants do not have to be paid back.

A loan is money you borrow to pay for college. This money can be borrowed from the bank, the government and other organizations. Unlike scholarships and grants, the money you receive from loans must be paid back.

Types of Colleges

Every college is the same right? Wrong.

Just like there are different types of people in the world, there are different types of colleges.

The three main types of colleges are: community colleges, private colleges and public colleges.

Community colleges are usually small schools that allow students to earn associate’s degrees within 2 years. In Westchester County the main community college is Westchester Community College (WCC).

Public and private colleges are 4 year schools. Both types vary in size. Public colleges generally cost less than private colleges, especially if you go to a school located in the state you live in. A public college in New York State is SUNY Albany. A private college in New Rochelle, New York is Iona College.

Make sure that whatever type of school you choose to attend is right for you.

What You Can Do Now

Have your teachers and parents ever told you that getting good grades is important?

Guess what? They’re right.

Not only do good grades make you a better student, they will enable you to get scholarships and grants for college in the future. If you are having trouble with schoolwork, don’t be scared to tell a teacher or parent. They want you to do well in school and will help you.

In addition to getting good grades, you should be a well-rounded student. That means you should participate in extracurricular activities such as clubs and sports programs offered by your school or local community.

CBA and Hit the Books Running

In 2007, the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) launched collegeboundaid.com as a way for college-bound students and their parents to get information about funding a college education. Recently, research from the President of the Educational Policy Institute showed that the four barriers that inhibit middle school students from attending college are college knowledge, academic preparation, college costs, and career counseling. As a result, the CBA launched the College Bound Aid Hit the Books Running program to address these issues by focusing on the necessary messages students need to excel.

These messages include the importance of a college degree in today’s world, how getting good grades now can pay off in the future, to start thinking about how to pay for college, and to raise awareness about the resources available to the students and their parents. Usually programs like this are geared towards older high school students and their parents, but the CBA recognizes that with today’s unpredictable economy, the younger generation should get an early start in thinking about higher education.

For more information on Hit the Books Running, click on the brochure below.