| A recent report from the U.S. Department of | | | | more generous if the prospective student considers |
| Education had encouraging news for black students. | | | | continuing their education inside the state boundaries. |
| The percentage of students attending college and | | | | A good way to find out what's available is a two-fold |
| other post-high school institutions of higher learning | | | | process. First of all, check in with the financial aid |
| who are black has increased from 9% to 13% of the | | | | officer of the local college of your choice. Also check |
| student body in the last 30 years, from 1976 to | | | | in with the local state board of education. You can |
| 2007. That doesn't mean the times aren't tough. | | | | easily find those, again, through search sites like |
| Since 2007 the economy has taken turn south, | | | | Google. |
| making many think getting the financial aid they'll | | | | At the same time, don't ignore freestanding |
| need to get through isn't out there. Nothing could be | | | | organizations specifically set up for black students. |
| further from the truth. The fact is there are | | | | Some websites actually list over 200 of them. They |
| hundreds of scholarships and grants out there more | | | | range from world recognized organizations such as |
| than willing to put a student of any race, religion or | | | | the United Negro College Fund and the Jackie |
| otherwise out there. It will just take a little more | | | | Robinson Foundation, to mega corporate charity |
| work. | | | | funds from companies like McDonalds and Intel, to |
| Understand, under no circumstance should a student | | | | private, posthumous trust funds and church groups, |
| not consider such basics as the Pell Grant. The Pell is | | | | and can add anywhere from $500 to $5,000 towards |
| based on need, which there is plenty of in these | | | | tuition, fees and just plain living expenses. |
| times. President Obama is also hard at work at | | | | There are two important things to understand about |
| increasing the Pell's ceiling to a max of $5,750 from | | | | many of these funds, and that is they are also based |
| $5,350. That can go a long way towards paying | | | | on academic excellence and financial need. In the |
| tuition and fees. The Web has a plethora of this | | | | case of the scholarships, a high school academic |
| information, and the Board of Education's website is a | | | | record plus letters of recommendation are almost |
| good place to start this process. | | | | mandatory. If one is going for a grant, family financial |
| One should also consult their state and local | | | | records and a completed FASFA application go |
| governments. Many states have set up scholarship | | | | hand-in-hand...and don't be surprised if these funds |
| and/or grant educational funding thanks mainly by | | | | demand all the paper work, with maybe a little extra. |
| setting up state lotteries. These states are much | | | | |