Martha will be entering high school in a couple of years. Which steps should she take to ensure she has money to pay for college? Check all that apply. She should start or add to a college savings account so it can grow with deposits and earned interest. She should ask her parents if they have a college savings account set up for her. She should work to maintain high grades throughout school so she can qualify for scholarships. She should get involved in extracurricular activities like clubs and sports so she can discover what she enjoys and qualify for scholarships. She should fill out the FAFSA immediately so she does not miss grants or scholarships she qualifies for. She should ask all her friends and neighbors to contribute to her college savings account so it will grow faster.

Martha should take all the steps in order to have enough money to pay for college, except filling out a FAFSA immediately. The FAFSA is only good for a year at a time, so filling it out several years in advance is pointless: Martha's circumstances might change between now and her senior year of high school. A college savings account will grow over time, so even if she only puts in a few dollars a month, she'll end up with more than she put in. It may not be much, but it'll be something versus nothing. In college, every penny helps to pay for books, supplies, gas, tuition, etc. Asking her parents if they have a college savings account set up for her will help her decide how much more money she may need to raise. If they don't have an account, she'll need to find ways to come up with quite a bit of money. If they do have set up, she should find out how much is in it, how much will be in it by the time she's ready to start college in a few years time. Martha should keep her grades as high as possible. The higher her grades, the better chance she stands in qualifying for and actually winning some kind of scholarship. The same goes for getting involved in extracurricular activities. Martha could ask for friends and neighbors to contribute money to her college savings account. She could request money in place of other gifts for Christmas, her birthdays, and as graduation gifts. If people know she will be using that money for college, they'll give it happily. Most people would prefer to give money instead of having to pick out a specific gift.