$82,000 THOUSAND DOLLARS!

$82,012.36 to be exact. And she still has at least one more year to go. The tuition is $24,400 per year (and increasing).

That adds up to about $72,000 over 3 years - (according to my calculations). So where did the other $10,000 come from?

FEES... New Student Fee, University General Fee, Student Activity Fee, Late Payment Fee, ID Card Replacement Fee, A/R Interest (what's that?).

And this doesn't even include books (which average about a hundred bucks each), food, transportation or room and board. She doesn't even live on campus.

According to St John's University - the cost of attendance for the 2007-2008 Academic Aid Year will be:

Books and Supplies................. $1,000.00
Fees....................................... $640.00
Home Maintenance................... $2,700.00
Personal Expenses................... $1,800.00
Transportation......................... $1,100.00
Tuition.................................... $26,200.00

Total: .................. A Whopping $33,440.00

Damn!

Her grades are pretty good... All A's and a couple B's. You'd think she could get some grants and scholarship money since she's a good student. Well, she can.

But not $33,440.00 worth.

Which means the balance will have to come from loans. By the time she graduates, she AND I, will be up to our eyeballs in student loans and debt.

Now I don't know about you, but it took me years and years to pay off my own student loans. Now I have to start all over again by taking out Parent Plus Loans to help pay for my daughter's education.

So, what's the solution? The solution is MORE SCHOLARSHIPS. More Scholarships = Less Loans.

College is more expensive than ever. The scholarships you win can change your life forever.

Example... If you can pull off a $5,000 scholarship, that's $5,000 less in student loans you have to take out. A $5,000 student loan means 10 YEARS of paying about $100 a month... EVERY MONTH!

Instead of paying that money to the government in the form of student loan repayment, you could save about $12,000 or so for your retirement.

Assuming a modest 8 percent rate of appreciation, that $12,000 can easily grow to over $120,000 in 30 years.

In 40 years, it'll grow to over $260,000!

That's a serious life style change. And that's just for a small $5,000 scholarship. Just imagine what a $10,000, $20,000 or more in scholarships can do for your lifestyle.

Billion$ of dollars are available in scholarship money.

But the irony is that most students (and their parents) don't know where, and more importantly, HOW to apply for scholarship money. Do your due diligence. Money is available for your education.

Just A.S.K.

Ask and Ye shall receive. Seek and Ye shall find. Knock an it shall be opened unto you.

Carl Willoughby has worked as a Licensed Registered Representaive for the Prudential Insurance Company, as a Computer Programmer for the New England Telephone Company, as a Computer Salesman for SEARS and is self-employed as an Internet Marketing Consultant. For resources on student loans, scholarships and grants - Check out his Blog at: http://StudentLoanDebtConsolidationSite.com