Explore All Education Scholarship Possibilities To Reduce College Costs

No pun intended, but probably no student appreciates the cost of higher education than an accounting major. They can most likely even look over a loan by themselves and figure out how much interest they'll pay. Given this, they are some of the first to realize and appreciate what financial aid can do in regards to cutting that loan down to practically nothing.

What they may need help with is finding the assistance. As it happens, there really is plenty of aid out there, but knowing exactly who to approach is another business. What they should do is their share of research on their own, as well as consult with their on campus or online college financial aid officer.

In all, the sources for aid can be divided into four key groups, which can be defined by who is handing out the money. Almost all will expect such things as a FASFA form, previous grades and maybe an essay as part of the application process. Still, an accounting student should fill out as many as he or she can. After all, the more applications out there, the more likely they are to get the funding. All students should explore:

Federal and State Governments: By this it's not just enough to apply for the standard Pell Grant and SEOG. Various branches within a student's state government and the federal government have their own grant and scholarship programs. For example, the Central Intelligence Agency awards students as much as $18,000 a year. No source should be ignored out of hand.

Private Companies: There are a lot of accounting firms out there, and they can be superb sources for anything from grants to post-grad fellowships. A grant from AccounTemps can be as high as $2,500 a year. Telecommunications giant Sprint offers accounting juniors and seniors as much as $5,000 a year. Sprint also has an internship program to consider.

Professional Societies: These organizations like to keep their memberships large to overflowing, and don't mind throwing money in to help their own cause. For instance, the American Institute of CPA's has a fellowship program good for $12,000 a year for five years. The American Accounting Association has an undergraduate program that helps students to the yearly tune of $2,500.

Minority Organizations: This isn't just groups like the National Organization of Women or the Ron Brown Foundation. There are societies specifically designed for minority accountants and auditors too, such as the Association for Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, the National Association of Black Accountants, and the American Society for Women Accountants who have grants of varying amounts for different conditions.

On top of this, students should examine organizations such as their local church, social clubs like the American Legion or Lion's Club, or the college itself. One can easily come up with several dozen different education scholarship leads by just going onto a search engine. Whether taking traditional or online classes, you will both benefit at both from the funds you secure by your due diligence and research.