College is outrageously expensive, that much is known. I remember being a junior in high school, searching for higher education and my eyes widening at the estimated costs.

What I didn't know was that the average cost of tuition that Google displayed did not account for room and board, a meal plan, transportation fees, and many more expenses that I was expected to cover. Everything added up to large sums which calculated to even greater totals for my four years of attendance. It was extremely overwhelming and I scurried to apply for as many scholarships as I could.