Category Archives: scholarships

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: A Job and a Scholarship

 

There’s been much talk in the news lately about Starbucks offering its employees college tuition. But did you know that there are companies that offer scholarships to their employees? What better incentive for your college-bound teen to get a job than a job and a scholarship!

Here are three companies that offer scholarships to their employees:

job and a scholarshipMcDonald’s

Good old Mickey Dees offers the McDonald’s USA National Employee Scholarship Program. To qualify, you must have been employed at McDonald’s for at least four continuous months for a minimum of 15 hours per week. Each state selects one student-employee from that state to receive a $1,000 scholarship.

Wal-Mart

Who doesn’t love Wal-Mart? The Wal-Mart Associate Scholarship Program is a $2,000 scholarship that is paid over one year. It is offered to Wal-Mart employees who are graduating high school seniors.

Chick-Fil-A

Not only is Chick-Fil-A a great company to work for–they take care of their employees. The Chick-Fil-A Leadership Scholarship Program gives student-employees the opportunity to compete for $1,000 scholarships for college. Employees have to commit to completing high school and move on to an accredited college to qualify. In addition to the application, a letter of recommendation from his or her operating store must also be submitted.

Other company options

While some programs are merit-based and others are need-based, one requirement for receiving an employee scholarship is that (surprise!) you must be employed by that company. Check with your employer to determine whether there is a minimum employment requirement that must be met before applying.

Don’t dismiss your employer just because they’re not a national corporation with a marquee name.

Many small businesses offer scholarships to their workers as well. No matter what the size of your company, ask your supervisor and check your company’s Web site to find out whether there are any scholarship opportunities available. A scholarship for college would be a great supplement to your college-bound teen’s paycheck.

Scholarship Friday, scholarships, test prep

Scholarship Friday: The PSAT Scholarships

 

psatIn the National Merit® Scholarship Program, three types of Merit Scholarship® awards are offered to Finalists: National Merit $2500 Scholarships, corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards, and college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards. Special Scholarships are awarded to outstanding students who are not Finalists and meet a corporate sponsor’s criteria. In the National Achievement® Scholarship Program, two types of scholarships are offered: National Achievement $2500 Scholarships and corporate-sponsored Achievement Scholarship awards.

Today, however, I want to focus on the merit awards a finalist can receive from the colleges. This is where the big awards appear. And it’s also why the PSAT just might be more important than the SAT.

Why put so much focus on the PSAT?

By outscoring others in your state, your student can become a National Merit Semi-Finalist. In order to do this, they don’t have to necessarily have a perfect score. They have to score as well or better than the state index. By outscoring others in your state, you can become a semi-finalist. Your goal is to beat the state index which isn’t as difficult as you might think since most students don’t study or prepare for the test. For a list of state index scores click here.

How does your student become a National Merit Finalist?

After being chosen as a semi-finalist, there is a 96% chance of becoming a finalist. The only students who do not move up to finalist rank are those who do not submit any information about themselves, do not have good grades, do not take the SAT, or fail to score well on the SAT.

What type of awards are we talking about?

When your student completes the semi-finalist paperwork they will indicate the college of their choice. Only one college can be selected, however; be thoughtful when making the selection. Colleges who have money set aside for the finalists will use merit aid to entice your student to attend: full tuition, room and board, books and fees, laptops, study abroad and even spending money. They will also offer automatic entrance into the honors college, the best housing and priority registration until graduation.

As you can see, with all this at stake, it makes sense for your student to put a great amount of focus on studying and preparing for the PSAT.

For a great explanation on the importance of the PSAT for students and how parents can help, listen to Celest Horton’s podcast on How to Pay for College HQ: Paying for College With Debt-Free Strategies.

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarships for All Ages

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scholarships for all agesMost parents, and students, believe that you have to wait until senior year to apply for scholarships–believing the theory that all scholarships are for seniors in high school. That theory is incorrect. There are scholarships for all ages from children, to middle school, to high school (even before senior year). The hard part, however, is finding them.

None of the online scholarship databases includes information about college scholarships that are available only to children under age 13 because of federal privacy laws. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), 15 USC 6501, and the Children’s Privacy Protection Final Rule, require web sites to obtain “verifiable parental consent” before collecting, using or disclosing individually identifiable information from children under age 13. This effectively prevents online scholarship databases from matching students under age 13 with college scholarships. Because of the difficulties in obtaining consent, all of the scholarship databases avoid the problem by omitting scholarships for underage children from their databases and refusing to register users under age 13. That makes it difficult for parents to find scholarships in that age group.

Today’s post gives you an alternative to searching–links to many of the scholarships available; because it’s NEVER too early to start the scholarship search and application process. Summer is the best time to begin the search and start preparing your scholarship folder/notebook/file.

College Scholarships for Children

https://www.savingforcollege.com/article/scholarships-for-younger-childrenhttp://www.scholarshipexperts.com/blog/college-planning/college-scholarships-for-children

College Scholarships for Kids

https://www.edvisors.com/plan-for-college/scholarships/college-scholarships/students-under-age-13-scholarships/

20+ Smart Scholarships for Kids Under 13

https://how2winscholarships.com/scholarships-for-kids-under-13/

College Scholarships for Middle School

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/parent-child/college-scholarships-middle-school

Top 190 scholarships for High School Freshmen,

https://scholarships360.org/scholarships/top-scholarships-for-high-school-freshman/

Scholarships for Age 13 and under

http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/age13.phtml

Scholarships for Elementary and Middle School Students

https://www.mefa.org/blog/scholarships-for-elementary–middle-school-students

 

Scholarship Friday, scholarships, Uncategorized

Scholarship Friday: Summer Scholarship Search Tips

 

summer scholarship searchThe lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Kids are out of school. Families take vacations. The last thing anyone wants to think about is scholarship searching. But wait! According to Monica, The Scholarship Mom, summer is “primetime” to search and apply for scholarships. And it makes perfect sense. Everyone is playing and your college-bound teen is hard at work (well maybe not that committed, but he’s putting forth some effort). A college-bound teen’s work is NEVER done!

Here are a few summer scholarship search tips to help your teen on the path to finding big scholarship bucks over the summer (and it’s not just for upcoming seniors):

Sign up on some search engines that match you to scholarships

You might as well maximize your time by letting the search engines match you with scholarships. Complete the questionnaire and you’re on your way to locating all kinds of scholarships.

Devote some time each day to checking your email for scholarship matches

Now that you’ve registered on the search sites, you’re going to get daily emails. Read them. It does you no good to let them pile up in your inbox. That’s the way you miss application deadlines.

Devote some time each day to searching

Decide how much time you can devote each day to searching (parents can help). If you’re teen gets overwhelmed, start with 20 minutes a day. If he’s motivated, reach for an hour. And don’t just look online. Research local organizations to discover scholarship opportunities.

Apply for at least one scholarship a week, more if possible

Once you’ve done your searches, start applying. Set yourself apart by submitting a killer application packet. Then wait for the money to roll in.

With a little effort, a ton of organization, and some stellar detective skills those scholarship awards should start rolling in. The first one is always the most exciting!

 

 

college guidance, college planning, scholarships

Memorial Day

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Memorial Day

 

When my father was alive, one of my favorite activities was to go through his pictures of World War II. He served in the Army Air Corp in India. His unit helped build the Burma Road. He had stories to tell of being on narrow roads, being ambushed, swimming with sharks in the Indian Ocean, and having monkeys for pets. It all seemed so long ago in a time that I could only imagine.

When my son graduated from high school, he joined the United States Marine Corps. As any mother, I worried and fretted over his safety, even though it wasn’t during war time. He would come home and tell me stories of venturing across the arctic circle with the Norwegian military, being part of the task force in Panama when we relinquished control fo the canal, and hiking up Mt. Fuji with Japanese soldiers.

In honor of Memorial Day, following are a few posts that I’ve written with this theme in mind:

The military academies and ROTC in college

Scholarships for military dependents

5 Things military parents should know about college

As you celebrate Memorial Day, remember the sacrifice that so many have made to protect our freedom. And enjoy the holiday with your family and friends.

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: Scholarships with June Deadlines

 

scholarships with june deadlinesIt’s Friday and with a long weekend ahead, I’m sure your college-bound teen would like to do nothing better than apply for scholarships. Yes, I’m being sarcastic. But seriously, summer is quickly approaching and it’s the best time to research and apply for scholarships. Looking for some scholarships with June deadlines? Read on . . .

Why should your teen apply for scholarships?

This seems like a no-brainer to me, but many parents brush it off as a waste of time because of the number of applicants and their student’s chances of winning. It’s just like any other “winning” strategy–the more you apply, the more your chances of winning increase. Also, if you’re wise and apply to the right scholarships (locally, for instance) your chances of winning increase.

Where do they begin?

You can start on my blog. Read my series of scholarships posts to find out how to search, what tools to use, scholarships that are available, and even scholarship apps that can help.

What is the best use of their time?

Apply to the easy ones first. Zinch has a weekly 3-sentence scholarship that requires you answer a question with three sentences to win a $1000 scholarship. For a list of easy scholarships you can start with, read my post: 10 Easy Scholarships.

What can they do to jumpstart the search?

Recently, I wrote a series of posts for TeenLife.com regarding scholarships with June deadlines. This is a great place to jump right in and start applying to the ones with upcoming deadlines. Once they do that, register on some scholarship search sites to get email notifications when a scholarship becomes available that matches their search criteria.

Following are the links to the two posts for TeenLife.com:

Scholarships with June Deadlines: Part 1

Scholarships with June Deadlines: Part 2

Remember: they can’t win FREE money if they don’t put the effort into the search and follow through with the applications. It’s your job as a parents college coach to guide them and help when needed. Once those scholarship dollars start rolling in it will be worth all the time and effort. Happy Hunting!

 

 

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: CEO Sam Yagan Talks about the MatchMade Scholarship

 

Last week, I posted a blog about the scholarship offering from Match.com: the MatchMade $50,000 Scholarship. This week, I had the opportunity to interview Sam Yagan, the CEO of Match.com. I asked Sam some questions about the scholarship, who is eligible, and how the students can participate. He breaks it down simply in the interview and if you’re one of those parents who met on Match.com, you will want to listen to it. If you’re not and you know a parent who is, pass this along.

I asked him the following questions:

1. Why offer a scholarship for “match made” kids? What prompted you to do this?

2. Can you give us a little information about the scholarship contest?

3. Why did you choose videos instead of essays or other criteria such as GPA, extracurriculars?

4. How can parents help their kids with the videos?

5. How will you be judging the videos?

Social media is going to be an integral part of winning the scholarship so it’s not too early to start talking, chatting, and posting about your student’s entry. Don’t forget–the deadline to submit the video is June 30th. Get started today!

matchmade scholarship

Kids can submit their videos through MatchMade.com.

 This is a sponsored post for Match.com

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: Introducing the MatchMade Scholarship

 

matchmade scholarshipIn today’s world of college finances, student loans, and high dollar tuition, parents are searching for ways to reduce out of pocket expenses with scholarships. Many scholarships available to students are simply for high school seniors. Some are only available to current college students. And others are restricted to a small demographic of the population.

Here’s a unique scholarship opportunity for a specific demographic-children or step-children of Match.com matches. According to Match.com, more than one million babies have been made by Match.com connections. To celebrate these connections, they are introducing the MatchMade Scholarship.

What do I “love” about the MatchMade scholarship?

  • It’s eligible to a large demographic and age group (13-20).
  • It’s a yearly scholarship which means your kids can reapply each year from 13-20.
  • It’s a large award-$50,000 to the Grand Prize Winner and $5000 to the parents for a MatchMade getaway.
  • It’s not an essay.
  • It’s a video.
  • The 10 finalists are picked by Match.com, then the public decides by using video sharing.

What are the details and how can your child enter?

  • Those who enter must be between the ages of 13-20.
  • They must be born to parents who met or re-married through Match.com.
  • They must submit a 1-2 minute video telling about their parents love story.

What are the important dates to remember?

  • The scholarship contest began May 5th and goes through June 30th; kids can submit their videos through MatchMade.com.
  • In July, Match.com picks the finalists.
  • On August 18th, the finalists are announced and begin sharing their videos to the public.
  • On September 1st, the video with the highest number of video shares takes home the grand prize.

The finalists will be picked by choosing the videos that are the most creative and heartfelt, telling their parents love story. Each story is unique and each family has its own social network to begin sharing the video once it’s made using the #MatchMade hashtag.

Need some inspiration, watch this video: What Happens When You Ask Kids about Life and Love?

Did you meet through Match.com? Do you know parents who did and have eligible children? Spread the word to your social networks and start the buzz about the #MatchMade Scholarship. Visit MatchMade.com to enter and find out more about the scholarship.

____________________

This is a sponsored post for Match.com

 

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: Show Your College Love Scholarship

 

show your college love scholarshipSo many college scholarships require long essays and detailed applications. When I find one that doesn’t, I like to share it with my readers. The Show Your College Love Contest is sponsored by Popp and Associates, an educational consulting company providing guidance and direction to parents and students.

The 2014 Show Your College Love Scholarship Contest is for high school seniors (Class of 2014) and current college students attending a 4-year college in the United States now or beginning in the summer 2014, fall 2014, spring 2015, or fall 2015 semesters.  Students are invited to submit photos and/or videos along with a brief text explanation of why they chose the college they plan to attend or what they love about their current college experience in no more than 250 words. What could be simpler?

Contest submissions will be accepted until midnight EDT May 9, 2014 and can be completed online.

Entries will be judged for originality of content, creativity of presentation, and the quality of the personal statement writing (including spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.). The winner will be selected by the Popp & Associates staff. Decisions of the Popp & Associates judging committee are final.

The winner will receive a college scholarship in the amount of $500, and a charitable donation in the amount of $250 will be given to the winner’s high school, college or charity of choice.

 

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: The Best Scholarship Podcasts

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college scholarshipsEach week, Celest Horton, of How to Pay for College HQ, interviews experts in the field of college admissions, college prep, financial aid and scholarships. Her goal is to help parents pay for college without going into debt.

This week, I’ve chosen to highlight some her best scholarship podcasts. If you aren’t subscribed to her podcasts you should do so immediately. Perhaps these few will wet your appetite and make you want to listen to more.

 Scholarship Gold Consulting

There was so much information to cover, there were two podcasts. Her guest, Elizabeth Hartley, has been building her credentials and experience for the last 20 years by pursuing and receiving full scholarships, judging for scholarship competitions, coaching students who win prestigious full scholarships all across the country and guiding hundreds of students through the college search, admission and financial aid process. She is also the founder of Scholarship Gold Consulting where her clients have secured millions of dollars in scholarship funding and admissions into their most desired schools. Head over to her website and sign up for her free monthly newsletter, it’s so filled with helpful information.

The C Student’s Guide to Scholarships

Can you imagine being told by your High School Guidance Counselor that you will never make it to college and to just give up and look into vocational schools? That is what happened to Felecia Hatcher, but she didn’t let it stop her.

Author and Founder of Scholarships.Org

Gyan returned to college in her 40s and received a BA in Psychology and a Masters in Professional Coaching. As an educator and a nontraditional, disabled, first-generation student, she is uniquely qualified to write a series of books that provide detailed listings of scholarships and advice on how to find genuine scholarship opportunities online. She shares her knowledge with parents and students on her website, in her books, and through coaching calls on Skype.

Jason Lum of Scholarship Edge

Jason’s background and track record are impressive. Jason graduated from America’s most competitive programs at Harvard, Berkeley, and Washington University in St. Louis. Jason also received rigorous training in leadership and coaching from MIT and Columbia University. He’s also an expert in college advising, having graduated with honors from UCLA’s program in training professional independent college counselors.

Jason won over $250,000 in scholarships, winning virtually every major national award available to college students in the USA. He graduated debt-free.

Monica Matthews-The Scholarship Mom

Monica Mathews is the proud mother of three sons and has earned the title of Scholarship Mom when she helped her oldest earn $100,000 in scholarships. Her second son is a Freshman this year and has currently been awarded $27,000 and will continue the application process while in college. She has written a simple, but easy to apply and understand booklet for parents and students: How to Win College Scholarships.