A few years ago I was introduced to Monica Matthews, the Scholarship Mom. Her story is unique and she created a short book, How to Win College Scholarships, to introduce parents to the method she used to win scholarships for her kids. If you don’t have the book, get it.
Today, however, I want to introduce you to her Scholarship Mom Tips on Smart College Visit. Every week she shares a short tip to help parents with the scholarship process. They are easy to read and easily applicable to the scholarship search.
Follow Smart College Visit on Twitter (@collegevisit) and Monica Matthews (@AidScholarship) for weekly links and tips.
A few days ago I listened to a How to Pay for College HQ podcast (you can listen to it yourself by following this link: http://www.howtopayforcollegehq.com/8/) hosted by Celest Horton with guest Felicia Hatcher.
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.
Felecia Hatcher was recently named one of the Top 10 Superstar Entrepreneurs under 30 by Allbusiness.com and honored at the White House for the Empact 100′s Top 100 Entrepreneurs under 30. In her book, The C Students Guide to Scholarships, she talks about how she found scholarships to pay for her entire college education.
Taking excerpts from the transcript about scholarships for C students, read below:
Slow Start in High School?
Are you student that was not focused for the first few years of school and your GPA is under a 3.0? Don’t fret as there are ways to differentiate yourself so that you can find college scholarships.
There are college scholarships that don’t require your GPA in order to apply or the GPA requirement is low.
Focus on being a well rounded student who is active in community service, clubs or activities that you are passionate about.
What are your strengths (writing, math, speaking, etc.)? Use those strengths to your advantage to separate yourself from the potential pool of applicants.
Key aspect is to concentrate on LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS because the pool of applicants is much smaller.
Go Local, Go Local, Go Local
Where to look?
High School Counselor or College Financial Aid Officer,
Student Clubs and Organizations,
Businesses (Local, Your Employer or Your Parents Employer),
Military Service (You, Your Parents’ or Grandparents’ Service),
Community Organizations (American Legion, Association of Junior Leagues, Elks Lodge, Lions Club, Kiwanis International, Knights of Colmbus, Optimist International Club, Rotary Club, YMCA, etc.) You might be able to think of more than I did off the top of my head so keep brain storming.
Church
Unions
Local Professional Sports Teams
Local Newspaper
If you haven’t subscribed to Celest’s podcasts, you are missing out on some great college financing information. Her guests are knowledgeable and eagerly share their expertise to help parents pay for college and stay out of debt.
The New Year has begun and what better way to kick it off to a good start than applying to scholarships. Here are just a few sites listing scholarships with January deadlines:
About.com list of scholarships with January deadlines
Don’t forget to check out the colleges you’re applying to (or have already applied to) for any scholarships with January deadlines. And while you’re at it, investigate spring deadlines as well. It’s never too early to start applying!
According to CollegeWhale.com they have made the scholarship search simple. Most students would disagree but they claim to do this by creating the
Easiest Scholarship Search Ever
No sign up, no registration, and no personal information required. The CollegeWhale.com Easiest Scholarship Search Ever gives you fast and easy access to one of the largest online scholarship databases. Get matched with hundreds of scholarships in just a few simple clicks. Scholarship money for college made simple, period.
It’s a good place to start, but there is much more to searching than answering a few simple questions. Check out the site and peruse their information about financing college and managing college expenses. It will be worth your while.
Sign up for my FREE parent tips emailand get my FREE Ebook on college financing! Or subscribe to my blog on the left and get email updates.
This week I would like to do a recap of some previous posts about college scholarships for special groups. If your college-bound teen fits into any of these groups these posts should help you find scholarships.
Scholarships for military dependents
Are you or your spouse in the military? Do you have a family member that was a veteran of a foreign war? If so, there are scholarships available in these specific categories.
Follow this linkfor all the information related to these scholarships.
Scholarships for homeschoolers
More than 2 million students per year are home schooled in the United States and the numbers increase every year. While there’s a lot of sacrifice going into providing that first rate education one thing homeschoolers don’t have to sacrifice is a college education.
While most scholarships don’t specifically exclude homeschoolers from applying, more and more are specifically including and even encouraging homeschoolers to apply. This may have something to do with the widely publicized studies revealing that homeschoolers have consistently scored higher on college entrance exams than their public school counterparts for the last eight years.
If you have a college-bound teen who is learning disabled, you will be happy to know that there are specific scholarships set aside for these type of students.
Follow this link to discover scholarships for learning disabled students.
Scholarships: JROTC and FFA
Searching for scholarships can be overwhelming, especially if you don’t know where to look; or in this case, how to plan. Sometimes planning for scholarship opportunities takes a little foresight and preparation, but the benefits and the rewards definitely pay off. JROTC (Junior ROTC) and FFA (Future Farmers of America) provide scholarships.
Follow this link to learn about scholarships for these two groups.
Scholarships for families touched by cancer
Families dealing with cancer have astronomical medical expenses, often continuing after the patient is cured and in remission. Today’s post offers some organizations that offer scholarships to cancer survivors and their families.
Follow this link for an extensive list of available scholarships.
Sign up for my FREE parent tips emailand get my FREE Ebook on college financing! Or subscribe to my blog on the left and get email updates.
When someone asks me about doing scholarship searches, I always tell them about Scholarships360.org. It’s not a search engine, per se, but it is an excellent resource that keeps you informed about recent available scholarships. On their site you can look at scholarships for high school, college, and graduate students. There is also a list of merit scholarships from top universities.
Scholarships360 has been connecting students to scholarship opportunities large and small since December 2010. In addition to profiling scholarship programs, they give students the tools they need to become successful applicants, offer resources aimed at demystifying the financial aid system, and examine innovative ways of funding a college education.
What do I like most about Scholarships360.org?
This resource isn’t a comprehensive search site, but it does have a wealth of scholarship information available. You may have to sift through them and determine your eligibility, but they publish a daily scholarship update in each category. I have found unusual scholarships on their site. Additionally, you can sign up for a daily email from them giving you the daily scholarship information. Just click on the mail icon in the top right hand corner of the site (or click here)–it’s that simple. Follow them on Twitter as well (@Scholarships360) for daily tweets.
If it’s not a search engine, why bother?
As with all college prep activities, maximizing your information and taking advantage of all available resources increases your chances of acceptance. The same is true for scholarships–leave no stone unturned in your search. Adding Scholarships360.org to your scholarship arsenal helps you unearth large and small scholarship opportunities by simply opening a daily email. What could be simpler than that?
Sign up for my FREE parent tips emailand get my FREE Ebook on college financing! Or subscribe to my blog on the left and get email updates.
Families dealing with cancer have astronomical medical expenses, often continuing after the patient is cured and in remission. Today’s post offers some organizations that offer scholarships to cancer survivors and their families. Since searching for these specific scholarships is often time consuming, I always recommend families register on a scholarship search site like Zinch or Cappex which usually ask specific questions that relate to scholarship criteria.
Speaking from a family who has been touched by cancer, I understand the medical expenses and the strain it puts on family finances. If you know of any other scholarship opportunities, please post them in the comment section on this blog for the benefit of others.
Sign up for my FREE parent tips emailand get my FREE Ebook on college financing! Or subscribe to my blog on the left and get email updates.
Photo courtesy of FastWeb
There are many scholarship opportunities that anyone can apply for. Some are merit based, meaning you need to meet particular standards, some are based on financial need, and there are many for having a certain background. They can be awards of a few hundred dollars or can cover all of your tuition costs, but whatever the amount, they will decrease the price of your education. How do you apply for scholarships?
Search for scholarship information
Scholarship information can be found many ways. You can contact your college, your high school counselor, the U.S. Department of Labor’s website, state agencies, or nonprofit or private organizations. When searching for scholarships, be sure that everything is legitimate; you will never have to pay to find any financial aid opportunities. Moreover, be sure to only apply for awards you meet the requirements for; the last thing you want to do is waste your time on scholarships you don’t meet the criteria for.
Make note of the deadlines
The deadline for each scholarship can vary. Some may have deadlines as early as a year before you start college so you will need to start searching for scholarships during the summer before your senior year of high school. However, even if you have missed out on a few scholarships with early deadlines, there are still plenty with later dates. Once you have compiled a list of scholarships you meet the requirements for, prioritize those with the earliest deadlines and those you are most confident about getting.
Start the application process
Start the application process as early as possible and follow all of the directions. Most scholarships require high school transcripts, standardized test scores, your parents’ financial information, financial aid forms like the FAFSA or CSS, essays, and letters of recommendation.
If the scholarship is because you are part of a certain group, you will also have to prove your eligibility. Only submit what is mandatory, do not submit extra supporting materials or go over the word limit on the essays. Some applications might be similar and you may be able to submit the same work, or slightly edit your work for other scholarships. Keep the essay directions in mind, however, as the judges will use them to narrow the applicant pool. Once you have finished any essays or portfolio materials, have a teacher, parent, or anyone you trust for advice go over them for honest feedback; you really want to put your best foot forward here.
Applying for a scholarship is not difficult; it can be a pretty easy process! Once you have finished one application, it gets easier to complete the rest. Prevent getting overwhelmed by being organized and recording all the application deadlines and by starting early. You may feel unprepared, but after a little research, you will be on your way to completing scholarships and earning financial aid.
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About the author: Priya Sudendra is a junior at the University of Colorado and a staff writer for CollegeFocus, a website dedicated to helping students deal with the challenges of college, including housing, finance, style, health, relationships, and transferring from a community college to a four-year university.
Scholarship search engines like Zinch are great–they expand your reach and match you to scholarships you might not know exist. These are massive scholarship databases and every student should take advantage of them. However, the large applicant pools for many of these scholarships means the competition is intense.
Consider going local. Unearth local scholarships in your own community. The applicant pools for these scholarships are smaller and your chances of winning them increases. You will be surprised at the local scholarships that are often overlooked and no scholarship money is dispersed.
Check out these resources and add them to your scholarship search criteria:
Your guidance counselor
First stop–your high school guidance counselor. Local scholarships come across their desks frequently. Check back often to see if any have surfaced and let your counselor know that you are interested in applying to all local scholarships.
Local newspapers
Check out your local newspaper (even if it’s online) for scholarship winners that they publish every year. Do the research and find out the deadlines for these, get the information and apply for next year.
Area high school websites
Did you know that you can go to other area high school websites and look in the counseling section? They often post scholarships that are set aside for local students, not just students at their high school.
Local organizations
Many local organizations like the Lions Club, the Elks Club, the Rotary Club, and the Toastmaster Club give scholarships yearly to deserving high school seniors. Contact the local organizations and ask for information about their scholarship opportunities.
Your network
Ask your pastor, your parent’s friends, your parents employer and any other people in your network of friends and family if they know of any scholarships. You would be surprised at how many scholarship opportunities go unpublicized.
Local companies
Local companies often give scholarships to deserving students. Engineering firms, architectural firms, law firms and even oil refineries recognize student achievements and give out yearly scholarship awards.
School organizations
Any school organization may award student scholarships such as the school band, the JROTC parent organization, the drill teams, the PTA and others. Any group that your child is involved in could possibly award scholarships.
These scholarships are typically not as large as the national ones, although some are; but the odds of winning are so much greater. And ten small scholarships can add up to the amount of one large one. Start the search early in high school so that when senior year comes around, you will have a list of local available scholarships.
Sign up for my FREE parent tips email and get my FREE Ebook on college financing! Or subscribe to my blog on the left and get email updates.
Engineering is a great college major. It is a versatile degree and that makes getting a job in a related field right out of college a lot easier. The downside is, even though engineering is a high-paying field, getting the right education is still expensive. One of the best ways to reduce expenses without giving up getting an education altogether is to apply for scholarships. Here are five scholarships for engineering students.
SMART Scholarship
Award: $25,000-41,000
Deadline: December 16
Eligibility
This scholarship is available to United States students who are at least 18 years old and pursuing further education and a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Current enrollment in a college or university and a high school diploma or GED and are required. Applicants must be available for summer internships, willing to accept a job after graduation with the Department of Defense and have at least a 3.0 GPA.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted online at http://smart.asee.org/. The scholarship may cover up to 5 years of education.
Maureen L. and Howard Blitman, P.E., Scholarship
Award: $5,000
Deadline: March 1
Eligibility
This scholarship is open to high school seniors who have been accepted into an engineering education program at college or university. The program must be ABET-accredited and applicants must be legal residents of the United States. The scholarship is specifically for those of an ethnicity that is under-represented in the field of engineering. Specifically Native American, Hispanic or African-American engineering students.
How to Apply
Applications can be downloaded at http://www.nspe.org/Students/Scholarships/blitman.html and must be mailed in to the NSPE Education Foundation and received before the deadline.
Lillian Moeller Gilbreth Memorial Scholarship
Award: $10,000
Deadline: February 15
Eligibility
This scholarship is awarded by the Society of Women Engineers. Only women in their junior or senior years of pursuing a an ABET-accredited college or university education in Engineering. Applicants must be full-time students and maintain a 3.0 GPA.
How to Apply
The application must be started online at https://scholarships.swe.org/applications/login.asp. The application and the contact information for your faculty and personal references must be submitted before the applicant deadline. If FAFSA has also been filed, then the Financial Aid representative’s contact information must also be submitted by that first deadline. The deadline for the letters of recommendation is a bit later. The scholarship may be renewed once for undergraduate education only.
