Graduate Debt Free? Check out these full ride scholarships!

As I have mentioned on Money for College Students, there are some full ride scholarships out there that will cover your ENTIRE cost of college! That’s right. These superb financial aid packages pay every dime of your tuition and housing costs (books, etc. included as well I believe) and ensure that you will graduate debt free.

One of these full ride scholarships is the SMART Scholarship provided for students pursuing education in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics areas. If you are selected to receive this scholarship, your education costs will be covered by this scholarship up until you receive your degree. After you graduate, one of the requirements of this scholarship is that you then work at a DoD laboratory for an amount of time equal to the number of years that the scholarship covered your college costs. Given that the pay for such jobs is decent, this is definitely an excellent financial aid package. Best of all, it is not determined based on financial need, but merely your academic aptitude and accomplishments. The deadline has passed for this year (December 15), but you should definitely look into this scholarship for the upcoming year.

Another great full ride scholarship opportunity available is a NASA full ride scholarship for college students. The NASA Aeronautics Scholarship awards $15,000 per year for two years for undergraduate students, and also offers winners a $10,000 Summer Internship at a NASA research center. NASA also offers full ride financial assistance to graduate students. Obviously, this scholarship will apply more towards the more technical majors out there.

Another full ride scholarship possibility for students of any major is financial aid available through ROTC. This type of financial aid will require that you serve in the military for a few years after college. ROTC scholarships can range from a few thousand dollars to a full ride, depending on the applicant, making this yet another great financial aid option to consider for college.