Student loan debt has risen to $1.2 trillion dollars; two-thirds of students graduating from US colleges and universities are graduating with some level of debt, according to Forbes.com.

College is expensive and many students have to take out loans to pay for higher education. Scholarships and grants may help cover the cost, but it still may not be enough.

College Now Greater Cleveland wants to help UA students reduce the stress of paying for school by presenting the “Scholarship Process” on Nov. 5 in the Student Union Room 335 from 4:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.

This informative workshop will focus on reducing the need for student loans by using scholarships. The presentation will also cover how to locate and identify which scholarships best fit an individual, and how to write an effective essay.

College Now Barberton Site Coordinator Jason Miller will present this workshop. He wants students to take advantage of all the resources provided to them.

“There are many places that say they are a great resource for students, but they are really just capturing contact information and selling it to third parties,” Miller said. “We want to provide students with a real resource for locating scholarships. Our scholarship database is open and free for anyone to download.”

The presentation will also cover the difference between gift money, earned money, borrowed money, and different types of grants.

According to Miller, utilizing these different sources is a smart way to leave school with minimal debt.

“The average student today graduates with over $30,000 in student loan debt. The key word in that statement is ‘average’,” Miller said. “You don’t have to be average.”

He continued by saying, “Each year billions of dollars is allocated for scholarship and much of it goes unused, but millions of dollars is awarded to students who put for the effort and these students are not average and don’t have $30,000 in student loans.”

For more information visit, collegenowgc.org