You may be surprised to learn that grants for online college students are the very same grants available to students that attend physical campuses! That’s right – you don’t need to step foot inside of a traditional school to qualify! Locating grants isn’t as difficult as it used to be; most applications can be found online, and some of them can even be completed and sent digitally! Does it get any easier than that?
Federal, State, and Provincial Funding
Your first steps should be big ones. Your very own government is often the best place to look for grants for online college students – even if you plan to attend school outside of the country. In the United States, the process is fairly straightforward: you fill out the FAFSA by a deadline, wait a few weeks for processing, and then you will receive a financial aid award letter that contains how much money, if any, you will be entitled to.
The process is a little more complicated for Canadian students. Federal financial aid is automatically awarded when you submit a government student loan application, but the procedure is a little different for every province – the forms must be picked up at your local college or Student Financial Services office. You can find a list of Student Financial Services offices by province at CanLearn.ca; a few provinces offer online applications much like the FAFSA.
Private, Organization, and College-Specific Grants
Not all grants for online college students come from the government! Many large corporations and community organizations offer grants and scholarships, too. But here’s the kicker: many of these grants require students to submit a FAFSA or Canadian student loan application before applying!
This is why you should always apply for government aid whether or not you think you will qualify.
Local grant providers will take into account the amount of federal and state or provincial funding already awarded before deciding how much grant money to give you. Even if the government won’t pay enough to help you cover tuition, you still may be able to count on other sources to fill in the gaps.
If you wanted to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder[3], for example, you would be eligible to receive a federal Pell grant, a grant from the state of Colorado, and a grant from CU Boulder itself. Small awards can really add up!
It’s always smart to work your way from the top (federal) down to the regional (institutional or organizational grants). Don’t be afraid to go for the gold, no matter what your financial situation looks like! Everybody deserves a quality education – and grants for online college students can make these big dreams possible!
