Financial questions concerning college

[LostTeen011]

Ok so I come from a low-income household. I live with my mother who's single and grandmother who's retired and receives social security checks every month of about $500. We use half of her check for bill payments and the other half for groceries. With that being said I'm currently a senior in high school and I want to attend college and study animation so I can become an animator of children shows and movies. Right now my gpa is a 2.0 so any hope for full-ride scholarships are shot. If I cant get into Virginia Commonwealth im going to go to a community college in my area and transfer after 2 years to any 4 year university of my choice. My problem is how im going to pay for a 4 year university. I know I can fill out for scholarships to help pay, but my teacher recommended something about pell grants and loans. Can anyone further elaborate on what mmy teacher was talking about?

[alixthetree]

They could have been talking about FAFSA (free application for federal student aid). It's an application that you fill out and you can get those grants and money towards your school. It tells you about loans you can get too, and you don't have to accept everything they say you can get.

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

[.Brittany.]

Moving on down to Finances

[Elizabeth]

Grants are amazing. My friend applied to about 20 grants and her college is paid for four full years! It does take some time, but if you do one every night, it doesn't seem that bad. Most ask for basic information, such as your major and high school. A lot of them that I have filled out also ask for a short answer question or short essay. Most of them are between 250-500 words and ask a question like, "How do you give back to your community?", "Why are you choosing your major?", or "What was your favorite class in high school and why?". Your parents can help you fill out the basic information, and you can write the answers to the questions.
Alix mentioned a GREAT resource that you should really take advantage of, and that is FAFSA. You can't fill it out yet, but you can urge your mother to get her tax information together for the form.
Best of luck! =)