FAFSA--Fill One Out!

The FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) is required by many scholarships to determine need.

The FAFSA can be found online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Information about filling out the FAFSA on the web: http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/fafsa.jsp

Information about completing the FAFSA can be found here, including the PDF versions of the Dept. of Education's Completing the FAFSA, 2008-2009 and Completing the FAFSA, 2009-2010: http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/completing_fafsa/index.html

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine web site has a great article entitled, "11 Student-Aid Traps to Avoid," which would make for timely reading: http://www.kiplinger.com/features/archives/2009/01/avoid-student-aid-traps.html

There is a comment in the reader's comments by Mark Kantrowitz, author of FastWeb College Gold: The Step-By-Step Guide to Paying for College and FinAid, The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid, one of the best free resources for college financial information on the Internet (http://www.finaid.org/). Pay attention to that comment.

Scholarship Gold: Finding Money Online

The University School of Nashville offers evening classes for the Nashville community, monies benefiting USN's endowment for need-based scholarships.

Here is the web address: http://eveningclasses.org

Here is the description of the class I will be teaching.

Class #201 Scholarship Gold: Finding Money Online
Thursday, 2/12/2009
Time: 7:00-8:30 pm USN

Description: Is it possible to graduate from college with little or no debt? How do you find legitimate scholarship opportunities on the Internet? For more than a decade, Tennessee State University instructor MICHAEL TURNER has coached students on how to find money to pay for college. This hands-on computer class will show you exactly how to search the Internet for scholarships and internships online and offline. Ages 16 and up.

Items needed to bring to class: Paper, pen

Class Fee: $35 per person

I call the classes offered at USN's evening classes as classes for living.

Some other classes featured are Make Your Music Marketable, Song Critique from a Pro, Essential Songwriting taught by Tom Kimmel, The Wisdom of Scrooge, and Got Search? Secrets of Online Marketing.

I view this as Nashville's own Learning Annex (located in New York City and also has an online presence: http://www.learningannex.com/ ).

Synergy: Vanderbilt Students Help K-12 students Prepare for College

Synergy is an organization of Vanderbilt Students that help prepare students K-12 for college.

Here is a description from the web site: “SYNERGY is an undergraduate organization that provides the skills and resources to empower K-12 students to successfully complete high school and advance to college by means of developing one-on-one relationships with consistent college mentors.”

Every Tuesday, Synergy is holding a college workshop (also college help and tutoring) from 6 pm—8 pm at Hadley Park Community Center.

Check out there web site for more details: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/synergy

Free College Tuition!

I found the following video searching for college tuition information on the Internet:

http://www.foxnews.com/video-search/m/21608025/free_college_tuition.htm

This details the School of the Ozarks, where students can work for tuition and go to college for free. Many of these schools, Berea College is a well-known example, have endowments, which allow them to assist students in paying tuition.

To explore these schools and see what programs are offered, check out this web site:
http://www.workcolleges.org/