Comment Financial Aid Office (Score 1) 348
The best place to find financial aid is the financial aid office of your favorite university. (Their website is a good place to start, but they are usually nice about answering individual questions, too.) The university themselves will cover a great deal of the cost (usually with easy-to-pay-back low-interest loans that you have 30 years on, the rest with grants).
If there is a gap between what the university says your parents can pay and what your parents say they can pay (and there usually is), the office can direct you to a list of private scholarships based on merit. If that list doesn't include anything you can earn, visit the website of your favorite company and search for college scholarships, many large companies do have them, even for liberal arts majors.
Earning free money is a very difficult, time-consuming task that requires a lot of good essay-writing, but, if it gets you into a good school, it is definitely worth it. I just graduated with a Bachelor's in CS from University of Michigan. I got a good job (after a lot of interview help from my school's career center -- it should be easier for you because you already have experience), moved across the country, and am living off my own dime. I'm poised to pay off my student loans by the end of next year. As for grad school, I think it is a good idea. The people I started with who have Master's degrees are earning $15 to $20K more than I am.
If there is a gap between what the university says your parents can pay and what your parents say they can pay (and there usually is), the office can direct you to a list of private scholarships based on merit. If that list doesn't include anything you can earn, visit the website of your favorite company and search for college scholarships, many large companies do have them, even for liberal arts majors.
Earning free money is a very difficult, time-consuming task that requires a lot of good essay-writing, but, if it gets you into a good school, it is definitely worth it. I just graduated with a Bachelor's in CS from University of Michigan. I got a good job (after a lot of interview help from my school's career center -- it should be easier for you because you already have experience), moved across the country, and am living off my own dime. I'm poised to pay off my student loans by the end of next year. As for grad school, I think it is a good idea. The people I started with who have Master's degrees are earning $15 to $20K more than I am.
