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Get Scholarships

How do scholarships and financial aids work for college?

I just applied to college for next fall and I cant fill out any FAFSA forms yet because its too early. I was wondering, if I get accepted, do I have to pay full tuition before school starts and THEN they will give me money back for any scholarships? Or will they let me know before next fall and subtract it from my tuition before I pay.

Rose:

There are two broad types of scholarships - scholarships awarded by the schools themselves, and scholarships that are awarded by "outside" organizations.

When you apply to a particular college, you will almost always be considered for all, or nearly all, of the scholarships that are awarded at that particular school. While there are certainly "big dollar" scholarships, many scholarships award only a few hundred or a few thousand dollars, and the lucky recipients use those to supplement their other sources of funds, rather than having the scholarship pay for college. When you receive your application information, you'll want to read all of the information carefully - there may be scholarships that you're not automatically considered for, that will require a separate application.

While school scholarships are only offered to students who have been accepted at the school, there are also thousands and thousands of "general" scholarships that are available to a much broader range of applicants. There are many well-known internet sites that list lots and lots of scholarships, but you should remember that these sites are used by many people, and the scholarships that are described there usually receive tens of thousands of applications.

Another great source for scholarship information is your high school counselor or college advisor - they'll be able to point you in the direction of some lesser-known regional scholarships - and programs that other students from your school have done well with in the past.

Regardless of the type of scholarship that is involved, the application process is almost always designed to select and notify the winners in time for the upcoming school year. If you are an award winner, the chances are really good that your funds will be waiting for you at the beginning of the year - in time for the payment deadline.

Just remember - scholarships are highly competitive - and despite what you'll sometimes hear, there really isn't "a scholarship for everyone". Scholarships go to the students who demonstrate high academic, athletic or performance potential. You'll need great grades, high standardized test scores, or a record of success in sports, band, dance, music, art or community service to make yourself a good candidate for scholarship assistance.

Take a few minutes and spend some time with this Department of Education booklet - it's a great introduction to the entire process of financing a college education. You'll learn about all of the different types of assistance that are available to you - including the other forms of financial aid that are far more likely than scholarships. Hopefully, you'll qualify for both scholarships and other forms of aid!

Good luck to you.

How to Get a Japanese Scholarship

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Scholarships are Your Friend

There is nothing like getting scholarship information directly from someone who has already had the experience. Here are a few tips that one parent shared about getting scholarship money for college. Her son went to a private college for four years on a full scholarship and her daughter earned a scholarship at a state school. Below are some brief thoughts to consider when looking for your scholarship.

Her words of wisdom, for getting the scholarship that you want, were to start early, start early, start early! There are two important scholarship dates to make sure that you stay ahead of the deadlines. One of the most important things to start doing early, is to study and sit for the ACT or FAT. Many students start in the seventh or eighth grade start studying for and taking the test. She says that it does not matter how many times you take the test so many people take the test several times. The most important thing in qualifying for a scholarship is your final test score.

It would be good to check to see what test is required in your state for scholarships. Because of making a 32 on the ACT, her son won the governors scholar award and received scholarship money from the state program called the academic challenge. Watching for test deadlines is very important because they missed one test that could have given them more scholarship money.

The second important date is the deadline set for applying to be eligible for the various scholarships. You will start testing at least in the eighth grade and it does not hurt to start learning what scholarships are available by the time you reach the tenth grade. For sure by the eleventh grade, you need to know the scholarship rules that you are interested in pursuing because the deadlines for applying for many scholarships can be nine months before the fall that you would enter college.

Another start early point for scholarship success is when applying for a scholarship, you would treat it like you would preparation for a good resume. You need to put as many scholarship enhancing details as you can about how involved you are in the community, how you are serving at the home for senior citizen, you volunteer at the hospital, you are a life guard at the pool in the summer, you have a part time job at the mall or anything that enhances your chances of being selected for the scholarship. A good idea is to document anything to use when applying for your scholarship that shows you are an asset to your family, your church, your school and your community.

Here is a Good Way to Start Your Scholarship Success!

Now you have one eye on the test dates and test scores and the other eye on the scholarships that you want and the scholarship application deadlines. Then you want to contact the college that you wish to attend to see what their scholarship requirements are. The college should be very helpful and interested in your success not only in applying for your scholarship but in your success throughout your college experience. They will be able to tell you what scholarships you will qualify to receive and the tests and test scores that will be required for that scholarship.

A good way to get a general idea and overview of what scholarships could be available is by searching the internet. This a great place to start to get a broad base scholarship information. The college that you are interested in attending should have scholarship information online and your state department of higher education should be a very good scholarship source online. You can do scholarship searches for free on some websites and get a feeling of what is available and what additional questions that you should ask about any scholarship. There are some sites where you have to pay for scholarship searches and there are government supported counseling services along with paid seminars that would give you more scholarship information.

When you are selecting a scholarship, be aware to consider the source of the scholarship funds and the organization that is behind the scholarship. The Federal Trade Commission warns students and parents to always be aware. If the scholarship sounds too good to be true, then you need to be careful. Below is one of their announcements.

Scholarships guaranteed or your money back! Beware of scholarship "guarantees." Before you pay for a search service, get the refund policy in writing. Call the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP to learn how to avoid scholarship scams.

Once you get a scholarship, the money should go directly to the school and they will take care of the details on your behalf. Something to be aware of after you get into school is the requirements to keep your scholarship. Once you get your scholarship, you do not want to loose it by not keeping your grade point to the required level or missing one of the other scholarship rules.

Here is one last point. Treat it like a business. Be serious. Be diligent. Treat your scholarship search like you are getting paid to do it. Actually, you are getting paid.

About the Author

Dewitt Shotts is President and Founder of Marketing Solutions, Inc. Marketing Solutions serves the proprietary school industry as a full service company including television production, media buying, direct mail and internet lead generation. http://www.collegecareersource.com/

Tags: college, education, get, get, get scholarships fast, get scholarships for college, get scholarships grants, get scholarships online, scholarship, scholarships

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One Response

1. 

   LaLa:

   We put some money back for our kids college but it was to little too late.

   The competition for grants and scholarships is unreal. Our daughter got a 2 year total 3000.00 grant to her college applied towards tuition and one 250.00 scholarship at Senior awards night. This helped to pay for two books she needed for her freshman year. There are also tons of grants and scholarships available on the internet but the competition is stiff and be on your game as far as applying early.

   If your children are highly motivated and excellent scholars they may do well when the scholarships are passed out in their senior year. Once they are in college there are also opportunities to apply for grants and scholarships in the area of study they choose.

   If there are no interest loans out there where are they? Even your federal loans charge interest. You are just defered until you graduate. There are federal loans that parents can apply for but you start paying them back immediately. The interest rate may be lower depending on your credit score. Many students are turning to loans like Teri and others but in my daughter's situation repayment begins the day you graduate and you cannot defer those loans if you decide to go back to school. On this type of loan they also need a co-signer in most cases so read the fine print carefully.

   My husband and I have paid over 15000.00 and my daughter is over 16000.00 in debt with her federal and Teri loans. Her debt would have been much worse if she had not signed on to be a RA for 3 years of her college. She had free room and board during that time.

   If we were young parents and had it to do over again we would have taken advantage of more saving opportunites.

   If your income is around 20000.00 a year and you have more children at home then you may qualify for a Pell grant.

   In high school there may be a 21st Century Scholars program your child can sign up for in the 8th grade. They have to maintain a high GPA, agree to be drug/ alcohol free and your combined family income isn't over 35000.00 a year.

   If your child has a baby and is unmarried she may qualify for a free ride in many situations. Child care is paid for as well as housing and living expenses.

   My eyes were opened up when my daughter and I filled out our first FAFSA. Every penny is factored into their formula. There are ways to get around it. One family we know are very well off. 3 years before their 1st child entered college they put their farm ground in a brothers name and their child got a free ride as well as the rest of their children. Check around and talk will financial experts for these loopholes. I wish we had done something like this.

   In any case whatever money you can put back is helpful. Even if your children choose another route after high school and don't need what you have saved just think of the nest egg you will have!

   Good luck!

   05.01.2011 05:30