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| Introduction | |
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| About This Book | |
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| Conventions Used in This Book | |
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| Foolish Assumptions | |
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| How This Book Is Organized | |
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| Icons Used in This Book | |
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| Where to Go from Here | |
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| The Process, the Players, and the Possibilities | |
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| Finding Free Money: How Can I Make It Happen? | |
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| Getting Paid to Go to School | |
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| Assembling Your Materials in One Place | |
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| Taking Action | |
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| Looking at the Documents | |
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| Understanding Application Timelines | |
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| The Nitty-Gritty of Receiving Free Money | |
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| Waddaya Mean I Don't Get the Money? | |
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| Working for Your Free Money | |
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| Did You Mention a Free Lunch? | |
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| Recognizing the Realities: What Can You Truly Expect? | |
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| Who Gets Free Money? | |
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| The Need to Be Needy | |
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| Avoiding College Aid Scams | |
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| Scam Busters of America | |
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| Spotting Scholarship Scams | |
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| How and Why Scams Work | |
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| Protecting Yourself from Scams | |
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| Taking Action If You Get Taken for a Ride | |
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| Getting Your Due from Uncle Sam | |
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| Getting Help From Your Federal Friends | |
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| A Crash Course in Federal Financial Aid | |
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| Federal Pell Grants | |
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| Completing the FAFSA | |
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| The Next Steps after Completing the FAFSA | |
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| The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) | |
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| Getting Help from Federal Loans | |
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| Loans and Lending 101 | |
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| Qualifying for Federal Loans | |
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| Footing the Bill with Stafford Loans | |
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| Letting Your Parents Borrow with PLUS Loans | |
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| Finding That Last Bit in Perkins Loans | |
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| Simplifying Your Life with Consolidation Loans | |
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| Signing Up for Other Federal Benefits | |
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| Giving Tuition Payers a Little Hope | |
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| Lifetime Learning Credits | |
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| Taxing Issues: You and the IRS | |
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| Tax Implications of Student Loans | |
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| Tuition and Fees Deduction | |
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| The Lowdown on Coverdell ESAs | |
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| Early Withdrawals from IRAs | |
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| About Education Savings Bond Programs | |
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| Looking Closer to Home: Free Money From Your State and Hometown | |
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| Getting Free $ from Your State | |
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| Understanding State Residency | |
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| Becoming Eligible for State-Based Aid | |
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| State-by-State Contacts | |
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| Trying Harder with Your State | |
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| Going for State Aid Even If the Feds Have Turned You Down | |
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| State-Sponsored Tuition Plans: Money for Those with Foresight | |
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| Going Local | |
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| Starting with the Basics | |
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| Expanding the Search | |
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| Local Search Tools | |
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| Scoping Out Free Money from Prospective Colleges | |
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| Getting a Better Deal on Tuition | |
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| Getting Accepted Is Just the Beginning | |
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| Tuition Discounts: Cha-Ching! | |
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| Other Ways Your College Can Help You Pay Less | |
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| The Ivy League: It's All about Need | |
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| Negotiating a Better Deal | |
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| How Do Colleges Decide How Much to Offer? | |
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| Qualifying for Merit Scholarships | |
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| Getting Free Money without SAT Scores of 1600 and a GPA of 4.0 | |
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| What Scholarships Are Available? | |
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| Going Artsy: Scholarships Are Available for Fine Arts Students, Too! | |
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| Playing the Game: Understanding Athletic Scholarships | |
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| Introducing the NCAA | |
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| Athletic Scholarship Basics | |
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| Getting Started: Researching Your Sport | |
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| Thinking Like a Coach | |
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| The Scouting and Recruiting Process | |
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| Other Sources of Athletic Scholarships | |
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| Free Money for International Study ... and for International Students | |
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| Before You Go | |
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| Going Away? Get Free Money! | |
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| Coming to America? Get Free Money! | |
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| 1 Didn't Think of That! Lots More Sources of Free Money | |
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| Getting Free Money from Organizations | |
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| Meet the Groups that Give Away Money | |
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| Why Would They Give Me Free Money? | |
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| Receiving Graciously (Will I Owe Anything if I Take Their Gift?) | |
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| Asking the Boss for Free Money | |
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| Free Money from a College? | |
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| I (or My Parents) Work for Uncle Sam. How Can I Get a Free Ride at College? | |
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| Will My Boss Send Me to College? | |
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| Joining Up: You're in the Army (or Navy or Air Force or Marines) Now | |
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| If You're In High School | |
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| Free Money for Dependents of Veterans | |
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| The Montgomery GI Bill | |
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| Staring into the Educational Crystal Ball | |
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| Costs Will Increase | |
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| Demand for Higher Education Will Rise | |
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| Some Colleges Will Merge or Close | |
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| Books, Computers, and Other Supplies Will Become Cheaper | |
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| The Traditional Classroom May Disappear | |
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| Scholarships Will Become More Privatized--and Personalized | |
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| Paperwork Will Get More Complicated | |
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| Paperwork Will Involve Less Paper | |
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| Resource Guide | |
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| Federal Resources | |
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| All Things Military | |
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| State Resources | |
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| College Organizations | |
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| Resources about Specific Topics | |
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| Private and Corporate Resources | |
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| The Part of Tens | |
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| The Ten Best Ways to Get Free Money for College | |
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| Do Well in School | |
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| Take the Tests | |
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| Take the Right Courses | |
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| Arrange Your Finances Strategically | |
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| Get Involved | |
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| Get to Know Important People | |
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| Prepare | |
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| Apply for Winnable Scholarships | |
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| Then, Apply For The Rest | |
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| Follow Up | |
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| Ten Places You May Not Think to Look for Free Money | |
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| Your School Guidance Counselor | |
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| National Honor Society | |
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| Miss America Pageant | |
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| Daughters of the American Revolution | |
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| Gates Millennium Scholars Program | |
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| Hispanic Scholarship Fund | |
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| National Association for the Advancement of Colored People | |
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| National Urban League | |
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| Organization of Chinese Americans | |
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| American Indian Graduate Center | |
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| Ten College Payment Plans That Just Don't Work | |
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| Assuming Your Parents Will Take Care of College for You | |
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| Planning to Take Out Student Loans and Then Declare Bankruptcy after You Graduate | |
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| Depending On Getting an Athletic Scholarship | |
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| Figuring You're Soooooo Smart, Colleges Will Be Begging for You | |
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| Planning to Work for a Year before College to Save Up | |
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| Working During College to Pay Your Expenses | |
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| Applying for Only the Scholarships You Need to Cover Expenses | |
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| Trying to Apply for Every Scholarship for which You Qualify | |
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| Paying Someone Else to Do Your Work | |
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| Plan? What Plan? | |
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| Ten Things Colleges Don't Tell You | |
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| Colleges Are Businesses | |
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| First-Year Discounts May Disappear | |
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| Tuition Fees Will Rise | |
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| Scholarship Funding May Fall | |
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| Some Loan Interest Charges Start Accumulating Immediately | |
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| You Have to Reapply for Scholarships Every Year | |
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| Missing Financial Aid Deadlines Can Be Expensive | |
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| Some Scholarship Money Is Taxable | |
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| If Your Sibling Leaves College, Your Aid Will Likely Drop | |
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| It Costs to Transfer Between Colleges | |
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| Glossary | |
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| Index | |