Nia Grant graduated from Clemson University in 2022 with about $30,000 — in her bank account, not in loans. Grant's road to post-grad prosperity started in high school, where she estimates she applied for between 60 and 70 scholarships. She won about a dozen, including awards from the Horatio Alger Foundation, UNCF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. With the cost of her education covered, Grant didn't feel she had to wait until graduation to start building her financial future. Resources vary from school to school, but one is available virtually everywhere and tends to be the most overlooked by students looking to get ahead, she says.

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Persons: Nia Grant, Horatio Alger, Melinda Gates, Grant didn't, Grant, edu Organizations: Clemson University, Horatio Alger Foundation, UNCF, Melinda Gates Foundation, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Procter & Gamble, JPMorgan, Dow, Cash, CNBC