 I remember when I first started working in a Financial Aid Office at a major university, parents would tell me they hired someone to help their child find, and apply to, scholarships. Thankfully things have changed nowadays. You really don't need to pay someone to help you find scholarships anymore. The internet has made it so much easier to find virtually every scholarship out there. There are probably a dozen prominent sites devoted to helping you find scholarships. In addition, you don't need to rely just on these online databases. This is where the power of the internet really shines. So with that in mind, let's jump into how I suggest your child looks for scholarships. In my practice, I focus on just a handful of websites when looking for scholarships. Admittedly scholarships may be duplicated across each site. However, each site has its own pros and cons, and each student has their own preference for which sites they like best. Here are the websites I like to start with:
The first two, Scholarships & Fastweb, have been in my stable for about 20 years. They are solid resources. I also like College Board’s database because most students already have a College Board account due to the SAT or AP tests. But also, that is where we complete the CSS Profile (one of the main financial aid applications used by about 250 universities). The last two suggestions, Going Merry & Bold, are newer websites with newer designed interfaces that students seem to really like. With that said, I don't think you need to create an account with all these websites. I suggest picking two that your child will use. It's probably going to come down to the ease of use and how your child's brain is wired. There is no right or wrong choice. In addition to these websites, the ability to search the internet is a profoundly powerful tool. Open up your internet search engine and run a search using the following parameters: scholarship "[dollar amount]" application [your state] [year] So an example would look like: scholarship "$1,000" application California 2024 The first page of results will most likely be filled with highly competitive scholarships that are shown on all the big databases that I just suggested. Go to pages two, three, so on and so forth. Focus on the lesser known or less popular scholarships as they tend to be less competitive. TWO MORE BIG TIPS! Don’t ignore the smaller scholarships. You may feel a $500 or $1,000 scholarship isn’t worth applying to. But if it only takes an hour or less to apply, that’s a pretty good return on your time invested. Plus micro scholarships tend to be less competitive, so your chances could be better. I've had plenty of students who piled up tens of thousands of scholarships by winning a bunch of these micro scholarships. Look for local scholarships. You might be surprised by how many local scholarships are available without you knowing it. I suggest asking your high school guidance counselor. Sometimes employers offer scholarships for their employee's kids. Also check with your local civic and church organizations. Basically anything that is community based, such as the Elks or Lions club, may offer scholarships. Oftentimes I use this Community Foundation Locator to look for what's near my students. Be Aware! Full-ride scholarships are very rare. There are less than 300 private scholarships that award enough money to cover the cost of most State schools’ tuition. Less than 1% of full-time college students receive a full-ride scholarship. Scholarships might reduce the financial aid award from a university. It's called scholarship displacement. When a university awards any amount of need-based aid (e.g. subsidized loans, work-study, or grants), the Federal govt requires them to also factor in any outside awards the student earned. Every situation is different though. Sometimes if the school did not meet your determined need for assistance, then the private scholarship may be able to be added with no problems (up until your need has been met). But if the university did meet the calculated need, they will have to reduce their aid to fit in the outside private scholarship. Some schools may reduce the loans or work-study, but some schools may reduce their grant or scholarship to accommodate the outside private scholarship. Since each situation is different, and each school will have their own policies, I suggest contacting the university’s financial aid office to find out how a private scholarship may affect their financial aid award letter. Final Thoughts Scholarships and grants (the free money) rank #1 on my order of operations for paying for college. But to maximize your scholarship funding, you must have a plan. You can't haphazardly look for scholarships and become successful at winning enough of them to pay for college. And just like the college application, the essay is a critical piece of the scholarship application. Your child might be a great candidate, but if they can't write a good essay that showcases how amazing they are, they might easily be overlooked. I do suggest checking out Going Merry’s page that shares tips and examples for the scholarship essay: https://www.goingmerry.com/blog/scholarship-essay-examples/. Consider creating a spreadsheet of scholarships with their deadlines and requirements. You don't have to be a perfect match for the scholarship. If you fit the majority of the requirements, and aren't ruled ineligible, go ahead and apply. Look for scholarships that are based on your area of study, ethnicity, gender, state, or school. If I know my family won't qualify for need-based aid, or if I know the schools they are applying to will gap their Financial Need, then I want them to spend a lot of quality time applying for private scholarships. I tell my students to mentally prepare to apply to 100 scholarships if possible. I know I'm overshooting, but otherwise I tend to find they will stop applying after five scholarships, or maybe 10 at the most. I like to think of this process as a numbers game (assuming the student is a strong candidate). The more times you try, the more likely you'll win some scholarships. Do you want more help in regards to scholarships, financial aid, or college admission? Let's talk about your situation and see how I might be able to help you. Click HERE. Comments are closed.
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