The Kids' College Almanac: A First Look At College (Kids' College Almanac: First Look at College)

345 Pages·2005·7.16 MB·English

by  Barbara C. Greenfeld

1593571046_ColAlm3 4/4/05 4:26 PM Page 1
$16.95 (HIGHER IN CANADA) COLLEGE PLANNING/REFERENCE/TEEN NONFICTION the
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BECAUSE IT’S A GREAT TIME TO
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START THINKING ABOUT COLLEGE... D
“The Kids' College Almanacis an excellent
Have you ever thought about whether guide that anyone in the family can enjoy… ’
it asks and answers basically every question S
college might be part of your future?
that arises in the college-selection process.”
Have you ever wondered:
Michigan Learning Magazine
C
(cid:2) What exactly is college?
O
(cid:2) How will I pay for college?
Written for middle-school students,
(cid:2) What could I learn there?
The Kids’College Almanacanswers these L
(cid:2) Should I go someday? questions and more:
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(cid:2) How do I get in? (cid:2) Find out more about liberal arts
colleges,larger universities,community E
colleges,and vocational programs.
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How do they differ? Which will be right
About the Authors
for you?
E
BARBARA C.GREENFELDis a college admissions and (cid:2) Find out more about yourself!
advising director.Throughout her career,she has developed
Why should you think about college?
many innovative and award-winning programs,including
Can college help make your dreams A
college awareness programs for younger students.She
come true?
has worked extensively with students of all ages and has
firsthand experience with the importance and benefits of (cid:2) What are role models and mentors? L
early college awareness. How can they help?
M
ROBERT A.WEINSTEINworks in educational publishing.
(cid:2) What can you do now and in high
As an editor for McGraw-Hill,John Wiley,Industrial Press,
school to prepare?
and other publishers,he has helped publish numerous texts
and supplements using a wide range of media.He is the author Packed with everything you need to know A
of a variety of materials aimed at helping high school students
make a successful transition to college. aalbsoou ptr coovlildegese ,loTthse o Kfi dfusn’C foalcletsg—e Athlme aonldaecst N S E L E C T E D f o r
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about college!
third T E E N A G E
edition
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to understand.I recommend it highly.” eiel
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Marcia Bartolf,Counselor
Carl Sandburg Middle School,Old Bridge,NJ
1-56370-730-6.00a 4/25/05 5:11 PM Page i
1-56370-730-6.00a 4/25/05 5:11 PM Page ii
The Kids’ College Almanac
Third Edition
A First Look at College
© 2005 by Barbara C. Greenfeld and Robert A. Weinstein
Published by JIST Works, an imprint of JIST Publishing, Inc.
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ISBN 1-59357-104-6
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To Larry and Mom,
Who have always believed in us
With love and gratitude.
B.C.G. and R.A.W.
1-56370-730-6.00a 4/25/05 5:11 PM Page iv
Contents in Brief
An Introductory Note for Parents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv
1 What Is College? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Why Should I Think About College? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3 Who Goes to College? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4 Where Are Colleges Located?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5 What Can I Learn at College? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
6 How Will I Learn at College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
7 How Do I Gather Information? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
8 Where Should I Apply? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
9 How Do I Apply to College? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
10 How Much Does College Cost?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
11 How Will I Pay for College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
12 How Does College Begin?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
13 What Happens at College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
14 Is College My Only Choice?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
15 What Should I Do Now?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Map of the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
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Contents
1 What Is College? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Types of Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Types of Colleges and Universities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The History of Colleges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
College in the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Do You Know Your State’s Oldest College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The Campuses of State University of New York (SUNY). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
What Is Affiliation?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
College Affiliations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Examples of Colleges with Religious Affiliations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Some Historically/Predominantly Black Colleges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
How Does a College Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Who’s in Charge?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Some Examples of College Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Comparing Your School with College. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2 Why Should I Think About College? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Learning Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Career Opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Careers and College Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Fast-Growing Occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Education and Your Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Be a Career Detective—Ask Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Career Programs at Different Colleges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Artistic Opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Athletic Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Life Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
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THE KIDS’ COLLEGE ALMANAC
3 Who Goes to College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
The Basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Today’s Students. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Male and Female Enrollment in College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Women and Men at U.S.Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Who Went Where to College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
How Many Students Are in Your State? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
International Students in the United States. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Where Did U.S.Presidents Go to College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
The Bottom Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4 Where Are Colleges Located? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
What Is a Campus?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
What Are Branch Campuses? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Learning Away from Campus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Example Correspondence Courses at Western Kentucky University. . . . . . . . . . 67
How Many Colleges Are in Your State?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
The Largest Four-Year Colleges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Exchange Programs and Consortiums. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Members of the Great Lakes Colleges Association. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Colleges Outside the United States. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Colleges Around the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
5 What Can I Learn at College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
College Degrees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Different Kinds of College Degrees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Courses and Credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
What Are Distribution Requirements? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Sample Distribution Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Majors,Minors,and Electives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Divisions,Disciplines,and Departments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Languages Taught at BYU. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
vi
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CONTENTS
Other Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Anything and Everything! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
6 How Will I Learn at College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
The College Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Two Sample College Calendars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Are All Classrooms the Same? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Are There Opportunities to Study on My Own? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Types of Distance Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Can I Combine Work with My Studies? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Ideas for Internships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Libraries and Learning Centers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Spaces and Places at the Library. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Students with Special Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Learning Tools for Students with Disabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Learning Assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Learning Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Other Learning Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
7 How Do I Gather Information? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Information:There’s Lots of It!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Who Can Tell You More About College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Colleges Provide Information in Different Ways. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Write to a College! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Special Programs for Learning About College. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
What Do I Need to Know?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
College Size and Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
8 Where Should I Apply?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
The First Step:Know Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
It’s What You Think That Matters! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Build a List of Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
A Sampling of College Home Pages on the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
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THE KIDS’ COLLEGE ALMANAC
Find Out More. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Is Getting into College Hard? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
How Can I Find Out What Is Required? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Examples of Selectivity Across the States. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Narrow the Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Will I Be Accepted?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Keeping Track of It All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Comparing Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
9 How Do I Apply to College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
The Admissions Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
The Application Form. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
A Picture of Who You Are. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Your School Record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Sample Essay Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Your Activities Outside Class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Interviews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Interview Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Special Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
College Entrance Exams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Major College Entrance Exams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Recent SAT Subject Test Offerings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Completing the Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
A Sampling of Colleges That Accept the Common Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
When Should I Apply? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Types of Admissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
The Costs of Applying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Sample Application Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
You’re In—Now What?!?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Transferring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Changing Your Mind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
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CONTENTS
10 How Much Does College Cost? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
College Costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Tuition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Examples of Tuition at Four-Year Colleges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Examples of Tuition at Two-Year Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Residency Makes a Difference!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Recent Fees at the University of Miami (FL). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Books,Supplies,and Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Room and Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Sample Meal Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Sample Room and Board Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Other Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Estimating and Comparing Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Estimating College Costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Comparing Annual College Costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
11 How Will I Pay for College?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Ways to Pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
What Is Financial Aid?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Offbeat Opportunities for Scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Federal Student Loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Paying Back Loans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
What Are Tax Credits and Deferments?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Tuition Savings and Prepaid Tuition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Work-Study Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Financial Aid Packages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
A Financial Aid Sampler:The University of Louisville (KY). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Financial Aid Information on the Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Financial Aid Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Financial Aid at Four-Year Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
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