Professor Slobod
113B
9 February 2012
The Way to Success
Although
there are people who say that money doesn’t buy ones happiness, in some occasions
it does when one has that stable job and is economically well. One can’t expect
to live happy without having their own home, car, etc. in the future. All these
things don’t just magically come your way. One has to have money to make money
and work hard in order for it to all pay off in the end. In other words, in order for someone to
be able to prepare themselves in college, they have to have the money to pay
for it and then later in life make probably twice as much as what they spend
getting there. It all ends up being for a good cause if you really think about
it. College is an important part of life if one wants to make it pretty far,
and even though it’s expensive to pay for, there are many ways that one could
get money from. As teens, most are used to receiving some type of allowance
from their parents, but that probably won’t cover most of the expenses of
college. This is why Financial Aid is offered or scholarships, or getting a
part time job could be a great idea too. If one takes advantage of these things
in order to pay for their education, in the end everything that he/she worked
so hard for will pay off.
Financial Aid (FAFSA) could be one of the most helpful ways to pay for college.
FAFSA is an application that is filled out every year before the deadline which
is March 2nd with the student’s parents’ income tax returns for the
year. Financial Aid money is money from the government given to those students
who plan to go to a four year university and are full time students (Home-FAFSA
on the Web-Federal Student Aid) They help pay for tuition, fees, text books,
and depending on how much one is given, they can even help pay the dorm’s rent.
Every student receives a different amount of money because it all depends on
how much the parents are making. This is something that every student should
take advantage of because free money is not offered very often. If the money is
given to you, why not take it? Yes, college is hard but no one said it was
going to be easy and if you have the money then go for it! This is a step
closer to success. Almost everyone qualifies for Financial Aid, but there are
also those who don’t.
In order to be able to apply for Financial Aid, one has to be a U.S. citizen
with a social security number in order to put it into the application. Students
that are not citizens and are undocumented are not eligible for this free money
and this is why most of them don’t end up going to college. Now days, college
is getting really expensive and without any help to pay for it, there is no way
that one can continue attending. By experience, I have friends who are undocumented
and weren’t able to apply for FAFSA and that’s why now all they do is work.
It’s very sad to see these type of situations because all they want is a chance
just like everyone else, yet there are those teens who are documented but don’t
go to college because they don’t feel like going. There are many teens out
there who wish that they could go to college and get ready for a good future.
This is why everyone who has the opportunity to go with this free money should take
the opportunity and make the best of it!
Another way to obtain money to pay for college is by applying for scholarships.
There are many ways that one can apply for a scholarship, and there are many
places and websites that also
offer them. For example places like Wal-Mart, Macy’s, McDonalds and many other companies
offer scholarships. It may not be a whole lot of money, but that money can
benefit you in some way while in college. There are also website like
CollegeBoard.com or Fast Web. In order to apply for a scholarship, it takes a
little more thinking than when applying for FAFSA. Most applications ask that
one writes a couple of paragraphs answering the questions that are asked. For
almost all scholarships, the answers will be similar so all one has to do is
save their answers and paste them into other scholarship opportunities. There
are also scholarships given if one is involved, for example, in a sport or a
club. Being involved can also get you into some great opportunities.
What can be bad about scholarships is that not everyone is chosen. Only a few
out of the many that apply are given the reward. Some scholarships will prize
up to more than just one winner, but there are others who will only prize one.
So sometimes it might feel like it was a waste of time applying but one will
never know unless you keep trying. That’s why those who don’t even try to apply
for any scholarship because they have no hope, are missing out on great opportunities.
That money is obviously going to other people because one is not bothering to
try for their own benefit. If one wants to keep going to college to meet their
goals and have a successful life, one has to take these opportunities into
consideration and actually take them.
Without
any money for college, one can’t expect to get anywhere because college is all
about making payments for almost everything. If one keeps a positive mind
though, they are going to be able to accomplish anything and be able to pay for
college somehow, someway.
Part time jobs are also a way to make money in order to pay off for college
expenses.
Sometimes
financial aid doesn’t help pay everything for school, so this is where a part
time job would come in handy. Not only does one have the money to finish paying
for whatever hold it is that they have to pay for, but they also have that
little extra money for school supplies and/or other needs. As I mentioned
before, college is all about having money in order to be able to follow through
with one’s career, so students must find a way to obtain the money that they need.
Also, not only do they have the money to fulfill their needs, but they also
gain a job experience while they’re at it. It all follows through with a great
outcome. “Studies show that students who work are more confident and possess
better time-management skills that students who are not employed” (Students and
Part Time Work). When one is in college, independence is a big part of life.
This is why if a job is part of the student’s life, they will gain many
positive things that is going to help them in the future. Another great thing
about having a part time job at this age, is that it can be used as a reference
later on in the future. “Employers can write excellent recommendation letters
for the students who have worked for them” (Students and Part Time Work).
Overall, a part time job helps students a lot in many ways.
Just as a part time job can be very helpful, there are those who disagree on
this point.
Many
people think that a part time job distracts students from having their full
attention to school, and that it also doesn’t help them gain valuable skills.
“What does it matter if you spend 20 minutes to learn to use a cash register,
and then-“operate” it? What “skill” have you acquired?” (Etzioni, 315) While
one may not gain that much of a great job experience, one never knows how it
can help in the future. Obviously many start with jobs like these. One can’t
just start at the top with a high quality job when they’re barely in college.
This is why these part time jobs can also help think about one’s future. No one
wants to be stuck at a job like that for the rest of their lives! This is why
they have to put their all into school in order to succeed in the future and
rise to the top. So not only can you gain some experience from these type of
jobs, but one also realizes that this is not what they want for their future
and look into trying their best in college. There are many teens out there who
have the opportunity of being in college and bettering themselves, but because
they already have this part time job and they like making money, they think
that that’s going to be enough to keep them stable in the future.
There are many ways of going to college and having the money for it. It’s
really all up to one to choose what path they are going to take. What all those
teens with an opportunity should think about is those who don’t have the
opportunity to go to college because of they are either undocumented, personal
problems, etc. If one has many opportunities, they should take it because one
never knows how many people wish to be in their shoes and have that opportunity
to better their future. All teens should consider the different chances that
are offered to them and stop taking them for granite. There are many people out
there with a dream who would do anything to make it come true when there are
those who could care less and think life is easy and don’t need college to
succeed. Everyone needs to start thinking twice about what they have and others
don’t. Choosing the right path can take one very far into many places that they
would never imagine to be in!
Even though these tips can be of great help to those who need that little extra
money to help pay for school, for many, these solutions are no help. There are
many who can’t get financial aid, a scholarship, or a job. Now days, life is
pretty tough out there, and there are many who are struggling to get help, so
they don’t even bother going to college because there is no way that they are
going to be able to pay for it. A suggestion would be that the individual makes
sure to be involved in something while they are in high school. One can be
awarded scholarships if they are involved in a club, sport, or simply have good
academics. Instead of going through the whole process of applying for this
money, it can be easily awarded if they see that one is heading the right way.
So if an individual is not able to apply for any of this help, they have to
step up and prove who they are. It may be hard to get help, but if you put your
all into it, there will be some kind of help out there.
If you really want something, you will go out
of your way to find how to get there and pursue your dream. One thing’s for
sure though, whether one is offered help or not, giving up shouldn’t be an
option. No one said life was going to be easy, but there are ways of making
your dreams come true. It all just takes courage and risks. One will never know
unless they try. Life is full of different opportunities and chances, it’s up
to one to take advantage of them and make life worth it.
Works
Cited
College Admissions - SAT - University & College Search Tool. Web. 06 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.collegeboard.org/>.
Boston,
MA: Thompson/Wadsworth, 2011. Print.
<http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/>
"Students & Part-Time Work." College Board. Web. 06 Feb. 2012.
<http://professionals.collegeboard.com/guidance/prepare/work>.
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