You've sent in all your college applications, but you're still waiting to hear back as to whether you are accepted or rejected. It's a difficult time, full of anxiety and curiosity, and it's hard to stay focused on school and other activities. After all, a simple "yes" or "no" will determine how you live the next four years of your life.    

The Professor's Guide at US News and World Report has recently created a list of 10 tips for staying sane while you're waiting to hear back from your prospective schools. Here is a summary of the excellent advice.

1. Check on the status of your application to ensure all the necessary components were received. Many schools allow you to look online and make sure they received everything, or contact the admissions office if you can't find out online. I can personally attest to the importance of double-checking; I didn't get into one college because they never received my transcript, and I didn't find out until too late since I never bothered to check.

2. Don't worry that you could have written a better essay or worked harder in a certain class. Instead of beating yourself up about what you've done so far, just relax and know that the ball is no longer in your court.  

3. Don't call the admissions office to find out if you were accepted or to ask why you haven't heard back yet; they won't be able to give you any information you don't already know.

4. Think about what will need to happen once you are accepted or rejected and plan ahead. Create a plan in case you don't get into your school of choice, and remember to get started on your FAFSA.  

5. Write notes or emails to personally thank everyone who helped you in the application process, including guidance counselors, teachers who gave you recommendations, and friends who proofread your essays.  

6. Prepare yourself emotionally in case you are not accepted to your first choice school.

7. Write down all the positive things about the schools that are not your first choice. This way, if you don't get into your number one, you can easily recognize the pros of the other schools.  

8. Don't have a "poor me" attitude, and don't assume that the decision process is taking a long time because you didn't get in. It's also important to stay supportive of friends who find out they are accepted to schools before you do.  

9. Don't stress out over college admissions so much that you can't enjoy other exciting senior-year moments, such as prom and graduation parties.

10. Remember that transferring schools is always an option, so if you don't get into your school of choice right away, it doesn't mean that you will never have another chance to attend.

Obtaining a college education is becoming more expensive than ever. Many students and their families will need to rely on loans, grants, and scholarships in order to fund it. Another major tool for saving for college is a 529, which is a designated college savings plan that has major tax benefits.  

The website Freshman Fund offers a free registry for your 529 account that others can donate to (hat tip to Smart Wallet). Whether you are a parent starting a 529 account for your young child or a high school student looking for some last-minute money for college, this site offers a great way to help grow your college savings.  

How does it work? When you sign up, you submit the name of the future college student, his or her birthday, the account owner's email address, and the 529 plan information. It will then link your Freshman Fund account to your 529 account. You can also add a picture and even special events to the profile, such as birthdays or graduation dates. There are various privacy settings, so you can make the profile viewable to the public, only to registered users, or not viewable by anyone but the account owner.  

Once you have created a Freshman Fund profile for yourself or your child and linked it to the 529 account, your registry is created, much like a wedding registry. Anyone can donate directly to your 529 account through the site. You can import your address book from your email account in order to send notifications to people who may want to donate to the 529 account. You can set email reminders to go out, such as on birthdays or special holidays. If you are eager to get as much funding for college as possible, ask that your family and friends donate to your college account instead of giving traditional presents on your birthday or during the holidays. Your loved ones will be thrilled to contribute to such a good cause rather than buying a physical gift that may never be used. A 529 is less wasteful and more useful!

For vegetarian teens, a meat-free diet isn't just good for the conscience and the body; it's also good for the wallet! Each year, an anonymous donor provides the Vegetarian Resource Group with two $5,000 scholarships for students on their way to college. While the application is a bit extensive and will take some time and work to assemble, you should certainly make the effort if you're a vegetarian looking for creative ways to pay for college!

The award money is intended for graduating high school students who promote or have promoted vegetarianism in their communities or schools. The group defines vegetarians as those who do not eat meat, fish, or fowl. You "will be judged on having shown compassion, courage, and a strong commitment to promoting a peaceful world through a vegetarian diet/lifestyle," according to the Vegetarian Resource Group.

Set aside some time for the essay; you must cover 16 different topics in it, including why you are a vegetarian, how you expect to promote vegetarianism in college and after, and what vegetarian foods you would recommend to a non-vegetarian, in addition to more basic questions about your strengths, weaknesses, and goals. To learn about what is required in the essay and what other information you must submit, check out the website.

This year's scholarship is for students graduating in the spring of 2009. The deadline is February 20, 2009; applications will be accepted as long as they are postmarked on or before that date. They encourage early submission, so get to work! If you win, the money will be paid directly to your college, which must be located in the United States. This means you can't use it for fun money, but if you win, you'll be grateful for this when your tuition bill arrives!

If you have any additional questions about the scholarship, call (410) 366-8343 or email vrg@vrg.org. Good luck!
 

Now that it's January, it's time to start thinking about filling out the FAFSA, the government paperwork that determines a student's eligibility for financial aid for college. Some colleges and universities use it to determine financial aid, as well. Sure, the federal deadline isn't until June 30, but some states require its submission by February or March in order to qualify for state financial aid.

The hefty form has over 120 questions and takes a decent amount of time and effort to fill out, especially because it requires several tax forms and other documents. Despite the pain-in-the-butt factor, it's best to get started on it sooner rather than later, says a recent article from The Dallas Morning News. It's easy to procrastinate, but this is not something you want to put off and risk forgetting about if you need financial assistance for school.  

The article quotes Education Secretary Margaret Spellings as saying that the intimidation factor of the FAFSA alone keeps 40 percent of students from seeking financial aid, which is equivalent to about 8 million students (and she believes most of them would have been eligible for some type of aid had they applied). Because of this, in the next five years, the government is working to make the FAFSA simpler to understand and easier to complete, especially for low-income families.

In the meantime, what can you do to conquer the beast? Make the paperwork easier by filling out the form online, the article says, which is quicker and helps cut down on errors.  

Remember, the FAFSA isn't a one-time thing; students must re-submit it every year they're in college if they want to continue to receive financial aid. Look at it this way – you'll become a pro!

If you're in high school, your parents and guidance counselors are likely pushing you to do some sort of community service work. They've probably told you the following a million times: "It will look great on your resume!" "You will be helping people in need!" "It will make you look well-rounded!"  However, community service doesn't just look good on a college application. Nowadays, volunteering for free can literally pay off in the form of scholarships and even full rides, reports USA Today.

Sure, star athletes and geniuses are still first in line for the annual $29 billion in institutional grants given out by colleges, but there is a growing trend in what are called service scholarships. Schools such as The College of New Jersey, Tufts University, and Drew University have implemented major service scholarship programs to help those who give back.  

The USA Today article discusses a young woman from Rochester, New York, who was always very active in community service. She thought that would make colleges more likely to accept her, but she was shocked when she opened up an envelope and found that Drew University was offering her a service scholarship that would cover her entire tuition (which is about $36,000 a year).

While these service scholarships award students for helping the community while in high school, once they get a service scholarship to a college, the hard work doesn't end there. In order to attend, most of the schools require you to fulfill a certain number of community service hours (sometimes up to 300 hours per year). However, the community service activities are frequently related to classroom learning.   

Schools and organizations that are beginning to add more service scholarship programs hope this will help take away a little emphasis on grades and put more on giving back to the community.