With the end of the school year quickly approaching, students are rushing to finish filling out various financial aid applications. There are a variety of ways to help pay for college- which is becoming a necessity in today’s society. Scholarships, grants, loans are all forms of financial aid.

In a national survey conducted by Pew, the average cost of a public university in state was found to be over $21,000, while private universities  over $42,000. With such high costs, people are stretching their pockets to pay. Living expenses can add anywhere from $8,000 to $12,000 to the cost, and the cost of books is roughly another $1,000.

“Some college costs are ridiculously high, but ultimately, I know it’ll be worth it. It’s worth paying more for a better job,” says senior Emmeline Franklin. “I’m also going to apply for financial aid, and try to get as many scholarships as possible.”

Scholarships are a useful way to help paying for colleges, because the money does not have to be paid back. There are numerous websites built to help willing students find scholarships, including Cappex.com, Fastweb.com, and Scholarships.com. In each case, an online survey is provided, which includes basic information, academics, and extracurriculars. The websites then compare, and match up the best suited options for the user.

Grants, or essentially “free money” are given by the government or an organization for a particular purpose. When an organization gives a grant, it acts as a tax-exemption, meaning it can write it off. Grants also do not have the requirements that scholarships may have. They do not have a minimum GPA or major or minor requirement.

Both scholarships and grants do not need to be paid back, unlike student loans which typically are paid back with interest. They are both viable, available options for paying for college.

“Luckily, I received a pretty substantial financial aid package with scholarships and government assistance from my school,” said senior Weston Long, who will be attending Pace University in the fall. “I’ll still have to take out loans and pay them back with interest over the years, but it’s not as bad as it could have been.”