anyone a pro with scholarship stuff?

[luvmyfam444]

I'd like to get dd started on them - she's a junior, and an average student (3.2 or so) Would love any idea where to get started.

 

[Southernmiss]

Start with her high school guidance counselor.

 

[NewRVLady]

Most scholarships are for those in the 4.0 and higher....would not count on it

 

[Southernmiss]

My oldest 2 have received their scholarships directly from their colleges. I would suggest picking a few schools she's interested in and start looking at their websites thoroughly to see their requirements and offerings.

 

[bittybabygrower]

Her guidance office should have a list of local ones. Be aware that many of them are needs based, but sometimes no one else applies. Colleges will also go on ACT or SAT scores. Good luck!

 

[Goddesstree]

Her school should have a list of local ones, also check for any at work (yours, family members, etc) and so on. Be careful about online ones or websites or search engines that claim miracles. How did she do on the PSAT? National Merit Scholar is based on PSAT Junior year.

Also, when she applies to colleges she should look for ones that send her info or free applications. If they are looking for her, chances are there's at least a little money there for her freshman year. May not go for four years, but they lure you in with some grants sometimes.

For example, my younger daughter got $$$ from her 3rd choice school. We pay very little for her education, as she got an academic scholarship, an alumni scholarship, and an honors program grant for textbooks. This year she even got two more scholarships we knew nothing about! We pretty much pay for some of her room/board and that's it. Not bad for a $50K+ school.

 

[luvmyfam444]

Most scholarships are for those in the 4.0 and higher....would not count on it

Sounds like no reason to bother

 

[disykat]

If she hasn't done it already, the first step is to make a list of volunteer experiences, awards, honors, clubs and activities, leadership positions, work experience, etc. She should note any things about her that might make her more of a "minority" so to speak where the pool of applicants will be smaller - ethicity, a health challenge, a special skill, child of someone who....

Also have her make a list of possible essay topics - adversity she has overcome, experiences that changed her, etc. Thinking about all the things that make her "her" will start to point towards possible places to look for scholarship opportunities.

Then, like others have suggested, check your school counseling center for scholarship lists and also start investigating niche scholarships. Those without honors gpa's have a harder time competing, but it really depends who they're targeting. There still could be opportunities. Don't let her waste her time looking for anything targeting high academics because she won't be able to compete with that gpa. Look to see if you can find scholarships that aren't looking for that.

Did you go to college? First generation college students can sometimes find opportunities.


My oldest applied for scholarships at church, DH's employment, music, our local rotary and shriner group, etc. We briefly considered, but he didn't end up applying for a students with asthma scholarship and a peanut allergy scholarship.(We didn't feel he'd had to overcome that many challenges with those so he didn't feel right applying.) His school didn't give merit awards so he had to look for independent scholarship opportunities, most of which came out on the counselor's list at his school, but a few he found elsewhere through internet searching, word of mouth, etc.

Although he had a little less luck with outside scholarships, my younger son chose a less "prestigious" school and has gotten acadademic excellence scholarships at entrance and beyond.

 

[barkley]

Most scholarships are for those in the 4.0 and higher....would not count on it

i'll politely disagree with this. there are many scholarships that go to students with gpa's in the mid 3's. not all scholarships place all the weight on gpa's, some balance out gpa with volunteering AND look to the major a student has named (TIP OP-if your child has even a vague idea of what they want to major in have them declare it when they apply to colleges because there may be funds earmarked for just those who degree in a certain major, dd (sophomore in college) got one as an incoming freshman for this very reason).

dd had just shy of a 3.5 gpa in high school but we had her apply for EVERY scholarship she met the minimum qualifications for. when her classmates heard of one that she was applying for they thought it was a waste of time because it was only for $250, but our attitude was every penny counts, and the 30 minutes it took to complete that application worked out to being payed $500 an hour when she won


I suggest that you start now by listing out what she's done over the past few years-any volunteer work (try to remember rough dates and where), any clubs at school (or if in choir-any outside school community performances), any instances of being named to honor roll/principal's list... this list will help when you fill out applications. next-consider going to this year's high school graduation-many list scholarships received by graduates so that way you've got a starting list. the high school counselor should have some info as well. google search your city/county/dd's high school and the word 'scholarship' to see if anything pops up, sometimes there are local foundations that aren't well advertised within the schools. check the websites for colleges she will apply to and see what their inside process for applying is, and any links they offer to outside sources. see if she can talk to her teachers/principal/counselor before the end of this school year to find out if it would be convenient for her to ask for letters of recommendation early in the fall b/c some scholarships have very early cut-offs including December of the year PRIOR to her freshman year in college, and for those that don't there's a mad dash of students making requests and it's better if you've already got yours (try to get one copy for you, and several in sealed and signed envelopes).

dd didn't get the top dollar amount in scholarships for her graduating class, but she did get more individual scholarships than anyone else-and some renewed for this year at college as well. yes, it took time to gather the information for the applications but once we had it together it was a breeze to do subsequent ones.

 

[twinmommyks]

Just went through this last year with DS18. Our high school counselor provided regular emails to students and parents with scholarships (national, state and local) and the deadlines. We then looked at requirements and decided which ones to apply for. We also applied for scholarships at each college he applied to. In our state, these colleges all had academic ones based upon GPA and ACT score. I also disagree that you must have a 4.0. My son had a 3.8 with a 26 ACT score and received 18 different scholarship offers and this year tuition was 100% paid and next 3 years 95% of his tuition is paid. He had many one-year scholarships but has 3 scholarships that are 4-year renewable through the university. Some of the offers were institution specific so those were declined, but some could be used at any place.

Our son received 3 scholarships (academic, merit, and presidental) from the college he is attending. He also received one national award from the National Eagle Scout Association (about 200 scouts out of 3000+ applications received one - so highly competitive), and received two local scholarships from organizations in our town that could be used anywhere In addition, he was a finalist for two other ones that he didn't receive, but being called in for an interview was an honor. Some of the 18 offers had to be used at other colleges that he decided not to attend.

There are alot of scholarships listed on-line (like Coca Cola, Bob Dole Foundation, etc.) We did apply for a few of those, but had no success with those. I recommend looking in your community.

Just a little background info on my DS18 & why he received a total of 18 scholarship offers between the 3 colleges he applied to. It was because he was a well-rounded individual that excelled in many areas of high school. He was an athlete (3 sports and & state placer in one), was a 4 year band member going to state individually 2 years, an Eagle Scout & StuCo 4 years, class president, class vice president, volunteered 75-100 hours each school year, among several other activities Being diverse in his extracurr. activities very much helped in the scholarship area. His resume was outstanding having leadership, music, athletics, service and scouts all covered in addition to a part-time job.

I will say the higher the ACT/SAT score is helps tremendously. If my ds would have hit 28 his offers would have increased just based upon that score.

I recommend contacting your high school counselor, start her resume to see what areas are lacking, and start searching the colleges she is interested in and see what academic offers they have (most listed on-line). Good luck. It was a lot of work for our ds, but for us, the hard work paid off in the long run.

 

[SydSim]

When D was applying to colleges last year, the scholarship search websites weren't much help for her. They would constantly send emails about scholarships that she wasn't eligible for (just because she met 1 of the numerous requirements!)

I read somewhere that getting a scholarship book (yes one of those old school, in the counselor's office or library) could narrow things down a lot, and it did.

D's college had automatic scholarships listed prominently on the website, but the "endowed" scholarships weren't as obvious (not hidden, but sort of tertiary). The only reason I knew about them was from a poster on another message board (and I'm a little OCD about that kind of stuff and even I missed it). There were over 50 more scholarships listed there that she would have to put in individual applications for.

Lastly, since she's a junior, she has time to make contact/join local organizations that offer scholarships as well (rotary club, etc. ) and research local businesses as well.

Have her save some of her English essays, because they can be recycled for a scholarship application.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Fastweb is where you can look at the scholarships that are available right now.

My dd is a senior and is applying for scholarships right now. Not sure if she will get any of those.

She has gotten 1 merit scholarship to the college she is going to and Missouri has a "bright flight" scholarship that she got so far.

 

[mom2rtk]

Buy her an ACT prep book. My son was not great at writing essays. But his ACT score got him full tuition at the school he now attends.

 

[Schmeck]

Buy her an ACT prep book. My son was not great at writing essays. But his ACT score got him full tuition at the school he now attends.

Around here, 'full tuition' means just that - only tuition (around $860 for a state school) and does not touch the various 'fees' tacked on. For example, there's a $4k+ curriculum fee. Does it mean that your son got a full scholarship because of ACT scores, or just a tuition scholarship?

That's one thing everyone has to watch out for - the way colleges charge for tuition/fees/services. In MA, a student that gets advanced on the MCAS state testing gets free tuition to a state school, but as shown above, that pays for very little.

Also look at "needs based" funding for each college. Some fund with grants only, others consider Stafford loans as part of the funding and expect students to take the loans. Older daughter got tons of grants through MIT and didn't have to pay anything back. Younger daughter will have a small amount of Stafford loans when she graduates.

 

[mom2rtk]

Around here, 'full tuition' means just that - only tuition (around $860 for a state school) and does not touch the various 'fees' tacked on. For example, there's a $4k+ curriculum fee. Does it mean that your son got a full scholarship because of ACT scores, or just a tuition scholarship?

That's one thing everyone has to watch out for - the way colleges charge for tuition/fees/services. In MA, a student that gets advanced on the MCAS state testing gets free tuition to a state school, but as shown above, that pays for very little.

Also look at "needs based" funding for each college. Some fund with grants only, others consider Stafford loans as part of the funding and expect students to take the loans. Older daughter got tons of grants through MIT and didn't have to pay anything back. Younger daughter will have a small amount of Stafford loans when she graduates.

Our son is a sophomore this year. I think we'd know by now if we were mistaken about what his award was. Our state schools don't play games like that.

Not sure what your point is here. Does anything you have to offer here negate my suggestion that she do everything possible to get her daughter ready for the ACT (or SAT depending on region of the country)?

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Most scholarships are for those in the 4.0 and higher....would not count on it

That is not true.

 

[mjkacmom]

Dd18 is at an in state school, with no merit aid. She graduated with a 4.3, NHS, Spanish NHS, honor choir, all state and regional choirs, very active in community and school theater, a bunch of volunteer hours, all honor/AP classes, graduating class around 350.

She did get money from smaller private schools, and an out of state public school, enough to bring the costs down to 25,000 - 35,000 per year.

She did receive a few local scholarships, $1500 each, that went towards books. She also received enough money from her local safety school (5 miles away) that would have covered most of her costs, but she really wanted to attend a high ranked business school.

Scholarship money is à fraction of what it was when I was in college. Even 10 years ago, she probably would have had close to a free ride at her current university. And her SATs were just under 2000.

 

[Hrhpd]

It is good that you are starting to look into this. However, she will not be able to really start applying to most scholarships until she has her SAT and/or ACTs.

Have your daughter log into her Naviance account (she will need one if she is going to do Common App.) There is a scholarship tab that lists numerous scholarships and where she can start getting the feel of what is going to be needed to apply for the scholarships.

The best money that can be spent: If your child is not a good test taker, get a great tutor for the SAT/ACT tests. The higher the scores, the more scholarship money she will be eligible for.

 

[Hrhpd]

double post.

 

[NewRVLady]

I was slightly exaggerating
OP's DD has almost a 3.2-to me that isn't in the leagues of top kids all applying for scholarships


My brilliant nephew attended a High School for gifted kids 10-12th grade-all started with 4.0-all got into Ivy Leagues & Top Tier Universities, and even he only got a little scholarship $$ (he was one of the top 5 grads and had 35 out of 36 on his ACT)...now at Carnegie Mellon studying computer robotics and artificial Intelligence


Has she taken the ACT or SAT? This should be done THIS SPRING!!