Types of Money for College

• Scholarships - Scholarship programs provide free money for college that doesn't have to be paid back. There are two basic types of scholarship awards - merit-based and need-based programs. Merit-based scholarships select recipients for college funds based on academic qualifications like grades, leadership & organizational experience, test scores, and other academic awards and honors. Need-based scholarships, on the other hand, provide money to students with financial need based on their personal or family incomes.
  
• Grants - Grants are similar to scholarships in that they do not have to be repaid, but they typically require an additional project or research effort that can be promoted by the organization providing the grant. Technically, a grant may not have any strings attached, but the majority of them go toward advancing knowledge of a particular subject or advocating for a particular cause.
  
• Financial aid - Financial aid is money that comes from the college or from the government that doesn't have to be paid back. Typically, this money is based on financial need and the amount available in a particular year may be variable depending on institutional investments or current government law. Applications are generally accepted on a first-come first-served basis, because there usually isn't enough money available to provide funding for every single student that is technically eligible.
  
• Student Loans - Student loans are a less than idea source of college money, because they will eventually have to be repaid with interest costs added in. While they can be a pain to pay for, student loans still typically carry a good return because the money you'll make with a college degree far exceeds what is usually possible with just a high school diploma.
  
• Contests - Contents, drawings, and raffle-like programs can often provide significant awards to students who are lucky enough to be selected (and diligent enough to apply to many offerings). This money doesn't have to be paid back, but students are usually selected at random and have almost no way of influencing their odds of winning without simply applying to more contests.