Thursday, February 17, 2011
provided by Yahoo Finance
Students matriculating this fall are in for an unpleasant surprise: They'll likely get less assistance from the federal government. Last week Congressional Republicans proposed cutting the maximum Pell Grant — the main source of help for low-income families — by 15 percent to $4,015. President Obama's proposal would maintain the Pell Grant but slash other student aid programs.
While politicians duke it out on Capitol Hill, students should apply for as many private scholarships as they can, says Mark Kantrowitz, author of the new book, "Secrets to Winning a Scholarship." Kantrowitz is founder of FinAid.org, a financial aid informational web site, and fastweb.com, a free scholarship database site that includes information on 1.5 million scholarships worth more than $3.5 billion.
The book offers straightforward tips on finding and maximizing the chances of winning scholarships and fellowships from sources other than colleges, as well as advice on writing scholarship essays and conducting interviews.
Students attending four-year programs have a one in 10 chance of landing a scholarship, and the average amount is $2,500, Kantrowitz says. Less than 1 percent of students receive scholarships of more than $15,000.
But for every $100,000 Intel Science Talent Search scholarship, there are literally tens of thousands of others in the hundreds of dollars that can help families avoid borrowing for college. And although scholarships are typically based on academics, athletics, the arts and sciences, or community service, there are plenty of unconventional awards as well. To name just a few: $1,000 for being tall or for being short; $2,000 if you're skilled in calling ducks; and $5,000 for designing the best prom outfit out of duct tape. Here are seven of Kantrowitz's top tips:
1. Use search sites, and fill out the whole questionnaire.
Finding scholarships used to mean plowing through phone-book-sized directories. Now students can search online using sites such as fastweb.com, the College Board's Scholarships.com, and Peterson's College Search at Petersons.com. Students register and fill out a lengthy background survey, and the sites match them to scholarships for which they are eligible.
Sign up for all of the sites, Kantrowitz recommends, and take the time to fill out the entire questionnaire, even the numerous optional questions. An analysis of fastweb.com members found those who filled out every question matched twice as many scholarships as students who didn't. "There's a laundry list of questions — everything from 'Do you participate in water polo?' to 'Has a family member had cancer?' as well as a list of parental affiliations with companies and fraternal organizations," Kantrowitz explains. "A lot are nitpicky, but the question triggers inclusion of the corresponding award in your background profile. If you don't answer the question, you won't find out about that award."
Students should also look through those massive directories from the library. "You might want to do random exploration in fields you never heard of, such as scholarships for microbiology or genetics," he says.
2. Apply for every scholarship for which you qualify, no matter how small the award is.
Applying for dozens of scholarships may seem like a part-time job, but after submitting the first few, it gets easier because you can start to reuse your essays. Just make sure you tailor your appeal to the specific sponsor and change the name of the scholarship in your essay. "It's a mistake I've seen occasionally," says Kantrowitz.
Don't snub smaller scholarships. "Students will say a $500 award is not worth their time, but because of that, those scholarships are a lot easier to win," Kantrowitz says. Not to mention, those minor scholarships will add a line to your resume that can help you snag bigger ones. "It's an indication that someone thought highly enough of your background that they were willing to invest money in your future, and other scholarship providers do notice that," he says.
3. Take an obsessive-compulsive approach to following the application rules.
It sounds like a no-brainer, but follow application instructions carefully. Otherwise, you're making it easy for the judges to count you out. "I've sat on selection committees where it's incredibly painful to choose between really talented students," says Kantrowitz. "If the application requires a 300-word essay and you do 301, you're not going to win because they need some method to distinguish between candidates."
4. Mind your online image.
Employers are increasingly checking up on job candidates by mining the web for any bit of information they can find, and awards panels are doing the same when it comes scholarship finalists.
"I've seen more and more Googling and looking at Facebook accounts to see how responsible the individual is and if they will reflect well on the organization," says Kantrowitz. "Also, if you're using an email like 'hotmama at hotmail,' it can make the difference between winning and losing a scholarship. Go be yourself in your diary — but not online where it can affect your future. You want a professional appearance in person and on the web."
5. Mind your interview manners.
That includes proper attire, attitude and etiquette: "I've had face-to-face interviews with students wearing flip flops and cutoffs jeans, and chewing gum throughout the interview," Kantrowitz says. "Also pay attention when an interviewer says their name. A lot of students don't do that and in the middle of the interview they forget." If that happens, ask the person for their business card at the end of the interview, and send a thank you note by snail mail, he adds.
6. Start searching well before the kids get to college — or even high school.
A big mistake is waiting until college application time to begin the scholarship hunt. The free databases allow students to register as early as age 14. The program maintains your profile, so when an award is added to the database that matches your profile, you'll be one of first of your peers to find out about it.
Don't forget about scholarships for elementary school students. The best-known is the Scripps National Spelling Bee, with a top cash prize of $30,000. But even hopeless spellers qualify for The Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest, which awards a $25,000 scholarship to cooks age 6 to 12 for the best sandwich recipe based on creativity, taste, nutritional balance, and ease of preparation. (Parents can find a list of scholarships for kids in grades K-8 at finaid.org/age13.)
7. Never pay for scholarship search help.
Every year, several hundred thousand students and parents are defrauded by scholarship scams, says Kantrowitz, with estimated losses of more than $100 million. "Never invest more than a postage stamp to find out about a scholarship or to apply," he advises. "If you have to pay money to get money, it's probably a scam." Students who register with several search databases should see overlap in the awards for which they are eligible, which helps identify legitimate programs.
Laura is author of the book "Money & Happiness" and blog of the same name. Read more about her here.
My Perspective:
One thing is for sure, it is never to early to begin thinking about your child education. even in todays tough times, any little bit that can be put away to help them with tuition, books, supplies or even housing will be a great help when the time comes. Also, as the article indicated, there are hundreds of grants, scholarship programs out there to apply for, simply where i work they offer a scholarship. As parents we think about the things we want to give our children, the things you never had, the opportunities that are available...you have to take that first step for them...and I promise that a higher education can only bring rewards.
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