An associates degree is generally awarded by community colleges and junior colleges. However, a few four-year colleges and universities also award the degree. You need about 60 credit hours to graduate from most associate programs.

With the high cost of a college education, no one wants to pay more than they must. Yet thousands of families pay too much for college every year because they don’t understand the basics of financial aid and don’t know the right questions to ask. So let’s learn the basics and then what questions to ask.
Basics Part I
There are three types of financial aid for college: grants or scholarships, loans and work-study.

Grants and scholarships are free money that you do not need to pay back.

Most grants and scholarships come from the federal and state government or from …

Colleges look at many different factors in deciding which students to admit. To complicate matters further, these factors, and the weight given to each, differs from school to school. However, in general terms, colleges are looking for students who have the academic ability to succeed at their school. They begin that process by looking at the courses taken in high school, the grades received, the student’s standing relative to their classmates, and their test scores. Once they have determined that a particular student could succeed academically, many schools will look at a variety of other factors. Some of the other …

In trying to decide what type of college will best meet your wants and needs there are many things to consider. Listed below are some of the factors you will need to consider in deciding where you want to go to college.
Type of institution- Private or Public. College or University. Church sponsored.
Colleges can be either public or private. Public colleges are those that are supported by the state in which they are located. Many highly ranked colleges in the United States are state-supported institutions. These colleges can often provide an excellent education at a price for an in-state resident …

With all the research and paperwork that goes into college planning, it is very easy to become confused, even disoriented, with making sure the right forms are submitted at the right time to the right people.  The following timeline was provided by Tamara E. Holmes from Bankrate.com and is an excellent resource for parents of high school seniors preparing for college.
September

Look for scholarship opportunities. Some employers offer scholarship money to children of employees. Sometimes local organizations have scholarship programs for high school seniors. Meet with your high school counselor to get information …