If you
need help to pay for college then you need to know where to look for the
money. There are all kinds of places to look, literally everyone can get
at least a little help with their college bills if they look for it hard
enough. So start searching early for places to get grants and scholarships
and any other types of financial aid.
Here are some things to look into
when looking to finance a college education:
Roth IRA
This is a good choice
because you can withdraw all of the contributions without having to worry
about any tax or penalties as long as you use the money for college or any
other higher education. And you can take out the earnings of the plan
penalty free as well as long as you are not over 59 and a half, you will
still however have to pay taxes. You will not be getting the asset of
compounding with these IRAs though so you should look at other
alternatives first.
Employer assistance
Some companies have tuition
assistance programs in place to help their employees continue their
educations. They see this as an investment so if you have a job and you
are thinking about going back to school look into this as it could help
pay for a large chunk of your schooling. You will have to qualify of
course so ask what the requirements are. There are a couple of good things
about this option, of course the obvious cut of tuition costs is one but
you may also be able to take a tax exemption of over $5,000. And if you
are of the younger set and you are working your first job some of these
types of places like department stores and grocery stores have
scholarships in place to help you pay for college. There are even some
companies that have scholarships that they offer to the employee’s
children. So talk to your employer and see what all in available for you
or your children.
ROTC scholarships
Over a
thousand colleges offer these scholarships. If you have done well in high
school and on your SATs then you may be eligible for ones of these
scholarships. All you will have to do is agree to undergo some military
training and serve your country when you have completed college. You
will not only get tuition but also money for books and gees as well as an
allowance each month to help you pay for your living.
Military service
If you have been
in the military for the last 3 years then you could find yourself able to
go to college on them. There are a few programs that are there for those
who have been in the military to help them go to college if they want
to.
Custodial accounts
This is a good
way for parent to help their child go to school but still keep control of
the money. This money will grow with a lower tax liability but these are
not perfect. They are considered an asset of the student and as such they
will take away from the amount of financial aid that is available to them
dollar for dollar. Once your child turns 18 he or she will gain control of
this fun.
Community
options
If you are
going into the nursing profession or the Peace Corps, then you need to
know that it is possible to have your student loans forgiven. Even some
doctors and lawyers can get in on this loan canceling action as well as
many other professions. It mostly depends on the community in which you
are working. Talk to your loan officer to find out more about whether or
not you will be eligible for this.
Hope
credit and Lifetime Learning credit
These are tax credits and by making
use of them you will be able to lower your income tax. These are not
deductions they are credit so they will come off dollar for dollar. Hope
credit themselves can be as much as $1500 per student each year and the
other can go as high as $2000 each tax return. There are some requirements
concerning which courses that you will be taking and how many years you
can claim these credits but the easiest one to get is the Hope
credit.
