scholarship stress/fear/anxiety idk

[nintendude]

Long story short, and probably a dilemma many people face: I did not apply to many scholarships for college and in turn I'm really scared about the money we'll be paying for it.

Basically, I was unsure about this whole scholarship process. I didn't know where to look, how to finish one, and basically how to get the hang of it. All my parents told me was to look for them, and all my school did was tell us of websites of where to find them. I was also largely scared of my merits, requirements, etc, because a lot of them look for interesting people that have these affiliations, these ambitions, etc, and the most I have is being the top 10 of my class. I never had experience filling anything out, and adding to that schoolwork and a breakup and just emotional chaos, time went by and nothing happened. I'm still largely unsure; I know of where to find some and all of that, but I just feel like I've missed so much that it kills my motivation, that I don't have time because of all the other obligations I have, overall stress etc.

I'll be attending an in state public school (UNC), so the approximate total expenses is 4 digits hopefully, but regardless, I fear that it will be a lot of money, that I will burden my parents, and that any job I get in the future (I have never worked before) will just barely help me scratch that surface of college expenses.

I don't know how to alleviate these fears, stress, how to strategize getting this money, blahblah.

[ThisWillDestroyYou]

Depending on your major, the pell grant and federal loans are a good option. Pell grants should shave a few thousand off ever semester, and student loans have a really low interest that doesn't start acquiring until you graduate. There's also many ways to get the loans forgiven. If you're entirely worried about cost, go to a community college your first couple years. It will save a lot of money, and you get the same education in a smaller classroom. It's definitely the way to go. The overall debt shouldn't be a big deal depending on your major. The rule of thumb is to not take out more loans then your first year salary. So if it's estimated that your major starts at 50K year, don't take out more than that. It seems like a lot, but in the long scheme of things spending the tens of thousands ends up earning you a lot of money in the long run. Think of it this way, people blow money on cars that cost 3x your education. Don't let finances worry you until you graduate. Keep an eye on them, but don't stress it.