Tag Archives: scholarships

infographics

Creative Ways to Fund Your Education

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If you’ve been to college, are in college or are planning to go, you know that a college degree can cost enough to affect your personal finances for years – sometimes for life. We look at some facts and figures about college, tuition, and some of the ways that students pay for their degree.

Funding College: The Numbers

There are three timelines for raising funds to pay for college tuition: before, during and after. Obviously, having some or all funds upfront is nice. It gives you a 3-4 year head start on students who accumulate college debt. But given the cost of college, it’s not an option for everyone. Earning and paying tuition during college costs you time while you’re studying, potentially delaying your degree with distractions — but it’s a fact of life. Paying for college after graduating — i.e., acquiring student debt — is of course the most costly option because it involves interest payments. Of course, if you drop out of college and have loans, those could come due immediately.

BestCollegesOnline.org takes a look at the numbers for college enrollments, tuition and other related figures to give you creative ways to fund your education. Click on the image to see the complete infographic.

fund your education

 

infographics, scholarships

Scholarships Demystified

 

Everyone knows that students in America love scholarships. Each year, millions of students apply for financial aid as they prepare for college in the hopes of easing the financial pain of rising tuition costs. But did you know just how much money was being dished out every year? Or where that money came from?

FluidReview, a company that specializes in scholarship management systems, has put together this infographic that demystifies the topic of scholarships in America. Some of this information might surprise you. Click on the excerpt below and it will take you to the complete infographic.

scholarships demystified

Scholarship Friday, scholarships, Uncategorized

Scholarship Friday: Scholarships You Will Love

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scholarships you love
photo courtesy of Zinch

Roses are red,

Violets are blue

Check out these scholarships

And snag some college funds too!

Zinch gathered together a short list of scholarships with deadlines in February and March. Sign up for an account and you can access all the pertinent scholarship information and apply through their site. And here’s a plus–if you win the scholarship Zinch will match your award up to $1000. I can’t think of a better reason to use their scholarship match and application service.

Check out Zinch’s list of Scholarships You’re Sure to Love

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: ScholarshipOpportunity.org

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scholarshipopportunity.orgScholarshipOpportunity.org is another resource available for parents and students to find scholarships. What makes them unique is they have created guides that have scholarships separated into categories.

The Scholarship Guides

According to their site, the “Scholarship Opportunities” series features scholarships available for all students as well as those specifically for minority and under-represented students. They have sorted out the scams and tracked down the legitimate scholarships, internships, and fellowships, saving you months of research. Their books will help you find the scholarships you’re eligible for, so you can get your college degree without drowning in student-loan debt. Their series includes:

  • How to Find Scholarship Opportunities Online
  • Scholarship Opportunities for Non-Traditional Students
  • Scholarship Opportunities for STEM Majors
  • Scholarship Opportunities for Students with Disabilities
  • Scholarship Opportunities for First Generation Students
  • Scholarship Opportunities for Minority Students
  • Scholarship Opportunities for LGBTQ Students
  • Scholarship Opportunities for Veterans and Their Families
  • Scholarship Opportunities for Women
  • Scholarship Opportunities for Everyone

Each guide is available for undergraduates, graduates, and internships and fellowships.

Their publications are available for you to download in a variety of formats (Amazon Kindle, mobile devices, and computers). The Scholarship Opportunity series of books are interactive, filled with links to hundreds of scholarships and their online applications.

The Blog

They also have a blog that helps take the guesswork out of applying for scholarships by giving you tips and tricks to help you find and land scholarship opportunities that can save you money and cut student loan debt.

Each Tuesday they review scholarship sites to help you navigate effectively to find the real scholarships without joining the military. They discuss great sites and sites they think are a waste of your precious time.

On Thursday, they feature specific scholarships, highlighting detailed information on eligibility criteria, award amounts, required documents, contact information, and a link to the online application. These blog posts will give you a glimpse of the rich resources that their books offer.

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: Tips from the Scholarship Mom

 

scholarship mom

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.

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: Scholarships for C Students

 

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.

scholarships for c studentsCan 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.

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: Scholarships with January deadlines

 

scholarships with january deadlinesThe 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

http://collegeapps.about.com/od/grantsandscholarships/tp/college-scholarships-january.htm

Cappex list of scholarships with January deadlines

http://www.cappex.com/blog/scholarships/27-scholarships-with-deadlines-in-january/

Top 10 scholarships for African American Students

http://atlantadailyworld.com/2014/01/01/top-10-scholarships-for-african-american-students-with-january-2014-deadlines/

Extensive list of scholarships for individual colleges (starting with January deadlines)

http://www.scholarshipplus.com/wake/deadline.cfm

Scholarships with January deadlines from Scholarship360.org

http://www.scholarships360.org/discover/page/2/?search_query&orderby=Due&tax_category&tax_post_tag[0]=high-school-students-2&wpas=1

Zinch scholarships with January deadlines (login to see all 173 matches)

http://www.zinch.com/scholarships

Scholarships with application deadlines in January from saltmoney.org

https://blog.saltmoney.org/scholarship-application-deadlines-january-2014/

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!

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: CollegeWhale.com

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college whale

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.

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

Scholarship Friday: Scholarships for special groups

 

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.

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.

college scholarshipsScholarships 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 link for 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.

Follow this link for some options for homeschoolers.

Scholarships for the learning disabled

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.

 

Scholarship Friday

Scholarship Friday: Frame My Future Scholarship

 

Every student loves scholarships that don’t require and essay, and Diploma Frame has come up with a scholarship that asks students to “frame their future”. No essay, just a photo, collage, poem, drawing, painting and more. Use your creativity to communicate just exactly how you would see your future. It’s that simple. Finalists will be chosen and move on to the public voting phase

frame my future scholarship

The 2014 Frame My Future Scholarship Contest is currently accepting applications. The prizes are as follows:

  • 1 Grand Prize Winner – $1,000 scholarship, $1,000 donation check to winner’s 2014 attended college/university, and a commemorative Frame My Future frame
  • 4 Scholarship Winners – $1,000 scholarship and commemorative Frame My Future frame
  • 19 Finalists – commemorative Frame My Future frame
  • 36 Honorable Mentions – Frame My Future certificate

To apply, you must create an original creative image (a photograph, collage, poem, drawing, etc.). 24 Finalists will be chosen to move on to a one-month public voting phase. Church Hill Classics will select 22 of the Finalists based on the judging criteria, and two of the Finalists will be selected based on Fan Favorite criteria.

Eligibility

Applicant eligibility is fairly broad. To apply, you must be:

  • Attending a US college or university full-time for the 2014-2015 academic year (including community college, undergraduate or graduate school)
  • A legal US resident

Application and deadline

You can apply online. The deadline is March 5, 2014. Best of luck!