National Public Radio recently broad casted a story about one young student, Ken Ilgunas. In order to afford going to Duke University, Ilgunas lives in a beat-up Econovan. He lives on a diet primarily of oatmeal, peanut butter and pasta. It’s a quarter mile hike if he has to relieve himself. It makes one wonder how much research he did on financial aid. There’s a lot more than most people know.

After all, paying for one’s college education is something that must be addressed sooner or later. Ilgunas went $38,000 in debt when obtaining his Bachelors. So he has some reason for living in a van while obtaining his Masters. At the same time, there are five different ways he could ease his burden. Here’s the rundown:

Pell Grants – Formerly known as the Basic Equal Opportunity Grant, this is money provided by the Federal government. What’s important about this grant is the recipient doesn’t have to pay it back. You must fill out a Free Application for Free Student Aid (FAFSA Grant) to determine one’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC). If qualified, the applicant can get nearly $5,000. Not enough probably pay all the costs, but a good start.

The simple truth is there are virtually millions, if not billions, of dollars in college financial aid if you do your homework. With the aid of a computer, whether at home or at your local FREE public library, one can find hundreds of thousands of grants out there, and there’s no better time to find them like now. Here’s five solid ways one can do this.

Third are Corporate Grants. Innumerable companies have their own trust funds. For them, it’s a good way to recruit higher quality personnel. A good place to start sourcing these grants is Scholarship America which is best known for two particular programs, Dollars for Scholars and the Scholarship Management Services.

Then there are always the Armed Forces. How effective is this program? The U.S Department of Defense reports 56% of all soldiers/officers in the Army, Navy and Air Force graduate from their respective Reserve Office Training Corps (ROTC). After graduation, applicants are obligated to military service, but that also looks quite good on a resume.

Finally, don’t be afraid to explore the Private Sector. Simply go to Google and type in “scholarship programs.” The engine will spit out nearly 2.5 million different entries. One will no doubt have to do some sort of advance searching to refine that 2.5 million to your specific needs. Still, with a clear objective in mind and little time, one can no doubt come up with more than a few private organizations that will be glad to help.

So do your research, explore all the options available to you for grants for online college, and you won’t have to go to live in a van in order to complete your education. Students earning even a two-year degree via schools online have better chances of earning more than those who just barely got out of high school. Life is, after all, tough enough as it is, so explore all the options available to you for online schools.