How to Pay for College

Soaring college tuition doesn't make it any easier for students to pay for college right now.  But experts say if you plan early, you can protect your pocketbook from paying college loans later in life.

"I'm really excited about college.  I’m really excited about going out on my own," 17 year old Christian Ichter said.

Ichter and his family moved to Conway from New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Now, a junior in high school, he's found his fit in Arkansas, leading worship at his church. Music is his passion, and he hopes it leads him to Ouachita Baptist University to major in music ministry. 

"I'm pretty excited. I'm still worried about paying for it of course," Ichter said.  

Ichter hopes scholarships make up what his family's lacking.  He's already taken the ACT several times and is studying hard trying to get a high score, something experts say is key.

"They need to be pushing themselves in high school taking the hardest classes they can," Elyse Price with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education said.  

Elyse Price with the department of higher education says planning, preparing, and researching early is the key to financing college. Right now, about seventy percent of Arkansas students are eligible for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship.

"We're not seeing nearly that number applying for challenge," Price said.  

That could give you up to $12,000 over a four-year period. As for Ichter, he says he'll continue to study hard and work on his music, so that scholarships can help him pay for college, because the last thing he wants, is to graduate, and have mounds of debt to pay off.

"By then, I'll have a family, and I would hate to pay for kids and a wife, and have to pay for college still," Ichter said.  

As you prepare to pay for college, search the web, several websites we found, allow you to see hundreds of scholarships that fit your interests.

And if you have to get a loan to pay for school, credit experts we talked to say federal student loans are considered good credit because of the typically low interest rates, what you don't want to do is use a credit card.

Also, save early for your child's education, by investing money in a "529" plan.  Arkansas offers one, the gift plan.  You can also have family and friends contribute.