1. Student Loans and Scholarships How to tackle debt

2. Student Loans in America – By the numbers $1.2 TRILLION – total amount of student loan debt in America 17% - Percent of borrowers behind (or have defaulted) on their payments $23,000 – average amount of student debt $45,327 – average starting salary for college graduates http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/06/08/heaviest-college-debt-burdens-fall-on-3-types-of-students

3. Congratulations class of 2015! You’re the most indebted ever!

4. So what can YOU do? Grants – hard to get Loans – eeeek! SCHOLARSHIPS – Now we’re talkin’

5. 1. School’s (yes, ours) web-site! http://www.cdschools.org/Page/431 Over 1 page of listings

6. 2. FastWeb.com You create a profile and THEY match scholarships to you! Easy to use, update anytime, helpful tools on the site

7. 3. Scholarships.com Yep – it’s that easy.

8. 4. The Ultimate Scholarship Book of 2016 Best. Book. Ever. New book every year

9. 5. Google does actually help! In 1 Google search – found this site: “Fun and Unique Scholarships for High School Students” https://www.pdx.edu/ubets/sites/www.pdx.edu.ubets/files/Scholarships%2 0for%20Students.pdf https://www.pdx.edu/ubets/sites/www.pdx.edu.ubets/files/Scholarships%2 0for%20Students.pdf Don’t like to come up with an essay for your scholarships? The first scholarship listed is a 3-sentence Essay!

10. Caution! Check due dates and expirations of scholarship applications Don’t purchase scholarship info (scam!) Don’t enter your credit card info online (scam!) Follow-up with the scholarship organization if you don’t hear anything