Scholarships+Grants. Any advice

[Meresgi]

Looking into as many Scholarships and Grants I can apply for. Going to Art Institute of Pittsburgh for Media Arts and Animation. Been combing over quite a few websites from SallieMae and others and getting annoyed. Seems being a white male excludes me from 90% of all grants and scholarships, being a non traditional student excludes me from another 6% and only having a 3.2 GPA from my A.A.S degree excludes me from another 3%.

Anyone have advice on some obscure grants most people don't apply for that they used when going to college?

[Senji]

On your schools website should be a huge list of available grants and stuff. Can always get some for GPA improvement for next semester.

[Ohemgee]

pretend you're black or asian

[Julian]

Do your parents make decent money?

If not, your school will probably cover most of it with normal grants everyone gets, pell grant, etc.

Also, FAFSA, fill it out.

[Iku]

FAFSA and if you did at least 2 AP classes during high school, you can apply ACG grant that will award around 800 to 1300. Then apply for more AP scholarship if you have passes the AP exams. For scholarship, check on your department, they post all their shits outside their offices.

[Sepukku]

Going to Art Institute of Pittsburgh

. . . .

Anyways, in regards to non-FAFSA federal loans, my GF has several members of her family incarcerated and her single mother is unemployed living on government assistance so she's home for all the still-homebound kids and she's kind of... lax... at doing anything that could help her family and as a result, my GF's FAFSA submission wasn't turned in til June-ish and even then it was determined to be incomplete due to lack of records provided by her mother. She automatically gets a grant but she needs more money and she's tried places like Sallie Mae but they require a cosigner and have denied all her reachable family members due to eviscerated credit. Does anyone have any advice for what she can do to get a loan in time for the upcoming semester?

[richardd]

FAFSA is ftw

bell grant is no joke, and its quite easy to qualify for it on the minimum level of reimbursement.

edit: if you're under 24, make sure you get your parent's w-2 form

[Ivaden]

All I have to contribute to this discussion is, as a student of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, choose another school. Please. I'd feel guilty if I didn't say this, just please reconsider this school, because it is a piece of shit.

[OWS_Tonx]

fastweb.com
check the out, was recommended by one of the colleges I toured last year

[Ae Cha]

All I have to contribute to this discussion is, as a student of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, choose another school. Please. I'd feel guilty if I didn't say this, just please reconsider this school, because it is a piece of shit.

This. I know dozens of people who have attended several different Art Institutes and all of them have universally concluded that the schools are absolute garbage. I've never heard a single good word said about any Art Institute. Even if the only other options in your area are shitty community colleges you'll probably get a better education than from an AI.

[Meresgi]

FAFSA and if you did at least 2 AP classes during high school, you can apply ACG grant that will award around 800 to 1300. Then apply for more AP scholarship if you have passes the AP exams. For scholarship, check on your department, they post all their shits outside their offices.

Done my FAFSA, never had AP classes in highschool because I was shipped off to some shit Christian Academy till 11th grade when they closed down and I just went to college to earn my HS Diploma and start early on a degree.


@ Others about AI, yeah i've read a lot of the reviews but they are really one of only a few colleges I can do while working full time. There are no decent or even semi decent colleges in the area of Upstate NY that I can travel to while maintaining my job, so online is the only option. I havnt had issues so far with the college, then again i'm used to online courses and go out of my way to improve my skills for an assignment beyond what they want. The school is an easy as hell A but im using it for the degree and for creating my portfolio at the same time.

[Skyylya]

. . . .

Anyways, in regards to non-FAFSA federal loans, my GF has several members of her family incarcerated and her single mother is unemployed living on government assistance so she's home for all the still-homebound kids and she's kind of... lax... at doing anything that could help her family and as a result, my GF's FAFSA submission wasn't turned in til June-ish and even then it was determined to be incomplete due to lack of records provided by her mother. She automatically gets a grant but she needs more money and she's tried places like Sallie Mae but they require a cosigner and have denied all her reachable family members due to eviscerated credit. Does anyone have any advice for what she can do to get a loan in time for the upcoming semester?

There is no time limit on when you can or can't apply for financial aid. That is a school restriction not a FAFSA thing, you can apply at any time and it only takes about 48 hours to process.

It doesn't matter what your GFs moms status is, if she's not in prison she can help her with her FAFSA. She'll have to sign it, since your GF isn't legally a dependant, and she'll have to fill out what's called a Plus Parent Data form which essentially gives the college the right to run her moms credit to see if she is approved for Parent Plus loans. If she is approved, then she can get those and the mom will have to sign a Parent Plus Master Promisorry note. If the mom is declined (which is likely if the credit is bad) then it essentially allows your girlfriend to use the FAFSA as though she were a dependant and she'll get the full 9500 sub/unsub and 5550 pell for the year.

If she's already done her fafsa go to www.fafsa.ed.gov and in step 3 select make corrections. Go into the FAFSA and correct whatever information is needed on her mother and have her mother get a PIN and sign it and submit it. in 24-48 hours she'll get her student aid report sent to her telling he what she qualifies for and she'll be all set.

As far as grants/scholarships go...I wouldn't count on them but feel free to apply for all you want. But i wouldn't count on them.


FAFSA is ftw

bell grant is no joke, and its quite easy to qualify for it on the minimum level of reimbursement.

edit: if you're under 24, make sure you get your parent's w-2 form

As far as the age requirement, currently if you were born on or after January 1st 1986 you are considered a dependant unless you are married and 50% financially responsible, have a child that you are 51% financially responsible for, a ward of the court, emancipated from your parents and that's about it i think.

Otherwise if you are born before Jan 1st, 1986...you are a independant and don't need to include your parents on the 2010-2011 fafsa

[Telliani]

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/profit-...ry?id=11411379

edit/nm, looks like you seem okay with the place so i won't go there


Otherwise, look into Pell grants. Husband was able to get them for a while before he started to make 'too much' money. Look at your own work place. My husband used to work for best buy and they would fork over 2k a semester towards college (didn't have to pay them back either)

[Skyylya]

Not all schools are like UoP and DeVry, they just give them all a bad name since they spend the most on advertising.

And EVERY college is a for profit college. I get sick of hearing that term tossed around like people actually have a clue. University of Miami costs like 45k a year, University of tampa about 40k a year. Are you telling me they aren't looking to turn a profit?

Are there less expensive schools sure...but you find me a school that's not 'for profit' and i'll show you a school that's going to shut it's doors.

[Ae Cha]

Are there less expensive schools sure...but you find me a school that's not 'for profit' and i'll show you a school that's going to shut it's doors.

Cooper Union's been up and around since 1859~

dem rare exceptions

[Meresgi]

Not all schools are like UoP and DeVry, they just give them all a bad name since they spend the most on advertising.

And EVERY college is a for profit college. I get sick of hearing that term tossed around like people actually have a clue. University of Miami costs like 45k a year, University of tampa about 40k a year. Are you telling me they aren't looking to turn a profit?

Are there less expensive schools sure...but you find me a school that's not 'for profit' and i'll show you a school that's going to shut it's doors.

That's how I feel. I've gone to many worse colleges trying to find a program and degree I wanted. I enrolled in a Media Arts program at SUNY Canton, only to find out 1/2 way through the year that I was the ONLY student in the program and they had lied to me about the program even being finished. I was basically their guinea pig, and felt like it. I called my college rep at least 2-3 times a day for a week and a half w/o him getting back to me, then when I dropped out and they didnt get paid he finally called me up and was like "Oh hey, we need to get you in some classes! "

I mean i'm open for debate, but in my eyes college is what YOU make of it. It's up to you to go that extra mile and get something worthwhile out of college. Be it networking or going above and beyond what a project wants so you can add it to your portfolio and be proud of it. Minimum requirements for assignments are just that, the bare minimum to get an A. I do see negative feedback on AIO though, and I have read a lot of it. A lot of it seems to be students who expected the teachers to be super sentient beings and handhold them through the entire degree while teaching them everything and anything they would ever need to know when they got it. The financial aid programs with AIO do seem to throw up flags, but I have been checking my bills each semester and monitoring my finances as best I can.

[richardd]

As far as the age requirement, currently if you were born on or after January 1st 1986 you are considered a dependant unless you are married and 50% financially responsible, have a child that you are 51% financially responsible for, a ward of the court, emancipated from your parents and that's about it i think.

Otherwise if you are born before Jan 1st, 1986...you are a dependant and don't need to include your parents on the 2010-2011 fafsa

ahh gotcha

well, sucks to me be. i was born may 17, 1987 lol. i wonder if there is a way i can fill out fafsa for next semester 10-11 year, without having to call my dad asking him for information. it's a lot more grueling than it sounds

[Ivaden]

I mean i'm open for debate, but in my eyes college is what YOU make of it. It's up to you to go that extra mile and get something worthwhile out of college. Be it networking or going above and beyond what a project wants so you can add it to your portfolio and be proud of it. Minimum requirements for assignments are just that, the bare minimum to get an A. I do see negative feedback on AIO though, and I have read a lot of it. A lot of it seems to be students who expected the teachers to be super sentient beings and handhold them through the entire degree while teaching them everything and anything they would ever need to know when they got it. The financial aid programs with AIO do seem to throw up flags, but I have been checking my bills each semester and monitoring my finances as best I can.

I'm not sure about the teachers you would have, especially if it's just an online degree, but at least for me and my major, and physically going to AIP, the teachers just suck. There's no doubt that most of them know what they're talking about, but they cannot teach for shit, and that's really the downfall of the school. We have all these resources (except for the whole, not really at all thing for the video majors) and technology and some of the most intelligent people teaching us, but they simply can't teach, and it's a damn shame.

Don't know who teaches the online classes, but if you're taking gen. eds and such, make sure you get Mr. Kokales for Physics if he's at all available.

[Korietsu]

Good luck getting aid as a white male.

[Meresgi]

I'm not sure about the teachers you would have, especially if it's just an online degree, but at least for me and my major, and physically going to AIP, the teachers just suck. There's no doubt that most of them know what they're talking about, but they cannot teach for shit, and that's really the downfall of the school. We have all these resources (except for the whole, not really at all thing for the video majors) and technology and some of the most intelligent people teaching us, but they simply can't teach, and it's a damn shame.

Don't know who teaches the online classes, but if you're taking gen. eds and such, make sure you get Mr. Kokales for Physics if he's at all available.

I'm good on Gen Eds, transferred in with a lot of credits under my belt and an A.A.S in Multimedia. Just needed 1 English course, which i'm in now and a Figure Drawing course before going into the Media Arts program. I hear you on the teachers, I've had 1 so far that was kind of iffy, you can tell they know their stuff...they just dont know how to teach on top of it. Luckily I have a background in teaching so i'm fairly decent at teaching myself the material, figuring out what I need to do and going from there.

Good luck getting aid as a white male.

When I started to go to college my father told me I had some native american ancestry, I looked it up and i'm below the required % to have college help that way. White man keeping me down!

It's kind of annoying knowing I wont even get a glance, even being from a poor downtrodden town with parents who make shit for yearly income. Oh well, applied to a couple things I found through my college's database, and the college has a merit program where if I stay above a 2.5 GPA I get some cash from them.