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Scholarships [Where do I find scholarships?]

College is ridiculously expensive. It pains me to think about how many hours my parents and I have to work to pay for that diploma. But the cost is a reality, so the sooner you face it the better off you will be. There is hope for a free…or pretty affordable education! Scholarships come from plenty of sources…directly from your college, from a major company or foundation or perhaps a local organization or school association. So how do you find these scholarships?

There are many ways to find scholarships; in fact, they’re all around you. I’d start off with using scholarship search engines. Try FastWeb.com. It’s free, accurate and thorough. You just enter your interests and activities, and it automatically produces a list of scholarships right for you. I had hundreds of scholarship and internship opportunities right at my finger tips; they even list the deadlines and award amounts for you.

Also on the web you can do your own independent research. Use Google or Yahoo to search keywords like “scholarships” “athletic scholarship” “minority scholarship” or “Sons of Italy scholarship.” Beware of scams, however, that try to get your personal info for a chance at “10K in scholarships!” If you search carefully through search engines, you will find many independent scholarships that may not be listed on FastWeb or in other places. This gives you a better chance to win scholarships since many people may not know about them.

You can do more targeted web searches also. Try visiting the websites for major companies and foundations—and the colleges you’re interested in. Go to the corporate sites and most often you will find scholarships under the “Community Relations” page. This is how I found the Best Buy Children’s Foundation Scholarship. From there you can get contact info, criteria and even download applications. A note on company scholarships…if you or your parents work for a major company try to see if there is an exclusive scholarship for you. Many companies run programs for their “corporate families” and you will face a much smaller applicant pool in these situations.

In addition to seeking company scholarships directly, you can look at your prospective colleges. Many schools offer scholarship programs to highly qualified applicants; UVA has the Jefferson Scholars Foundation and UNC provides the Robertson Scholars Program. Sometimes you don’t even need to apply for the scholarship itself; my application to UNC-Chapel Hill was enough for them to fly me out to North Carolina for an interview with the other hundred or so finalists. If you apply specifically for the scholarship or indicate interest in the program through your application, however, you are more likely for selection as the admissions committee will see your passion for the school.

So you’ve tried FastWeb. You’ve scoured the web. Now what? Don’t forget your guidance counselors! Guidance counselors often have the best information on scholarships because the programs offering grants and scholarships contact them directly! My school’s guidance department kept and published a monthly list of possible scholarships with deadlines and award amounts. This was even available to download online! You can even search other schools’ websites/guidance department websites to get additional resources. Here’s my old high school’s list: http://www.sprucecreekhigh.com/Guidance/monthlyscholarship.html. Imagine having compiled lists from 10 different high schools! Just do some internet searches or ask friends from different high schools. Aside from this public list, you can arrange a meeting with your guidance counselor. Tell them your interests, activities, ethnic and personal background, so they can get an understanding of who you are. Then your counselor can figure out which scholarships may be right for you and recommend some that may not even be on any published lists. An additional benefit of these personal talks is that your counselor will know you even better and understand that you are a motivated student. This will come in handy when you apply to college and your counselor fills out your “School Report.” Moreover, these meetings give you a chance to be nominated for certain awards that require school-nomination, and you cannot just apply on your own. When I wanted the Prudential Spirit of Community Award, I presented myself to my counselor and asked for the nomination. They can only nominate one student a year, so you have to be early and have the credentials. An additional benefit of these personal meetings and working with your guidance department is they can tell you about scholarships only available locally; some organizations like the Rotary Club, Kiwanis or a local Elk’s Club may not advertise or list with FastWeb, so you have to find out from your guidance counselors.

Next, word of mouth. Ask recent graduates or friends at other schools which scholarships they know about. A lot of graduates may have won scholarships (listen to the morning announcements when you’re an underclassmen!) and they could tell you the best way to earn the award, too! Moreover, there are so many opportunities during senior year that recent graduates probably missed some chances. They’ll be more than anxious to tell you about those scholarships or opportunities….they’re not competing with you!

So use the internet. Consult your guidance department. Ask friends and alumni. Seek and you shall find many scholarships!

Scholarships [How to win, Part 1]

Scholarships...some are more competitive than college admissions! Each scholarship is competitive in its own right, so it will require an incredible applicant to take the cake in each case (unless it is an unknown scholarship that has a total applicant pool of... one student).

So let's go about this logically. Scholarship committees provide criteria. This is how they judge who wins and who gets their application tossed aside (it's not that harsh but the impact is the same). Read the criteria. Study the criteria. Apply for scholarships when you know you meet and excel at such criteria. Each word has a purpose, so be aware of this. If a scholarship is solely seeking students who have "demonstrated a commitment to community service", then your two-hour participation in a local breast cancer charity walk is not enough to merit a winning application! For example, I founded Bridge Education, a non-profit SAT tutoring organization that provides assistance to disadvantaged students in Central Florida (we are still operating, so if you are interested in the program, send an email to Bridge.Education@GMail.com!) My involvement in Bridge totaled over 750 hours of community service and showed true initiative. This program was probably impressive to the folks at Prudential and allowed me to earn the Prudential Spirit of the Community Award. For a program that focuses solely on community service, your GPA, extracurriculars and job mean nothing! Pay attention to the criteria.

Okay so... other criteria? Well fortunately the criteria for scholarships generally mirrors what colleges want. A high GPA/class rank. High test scores. Rigorous course load. Diverse and meaningful extracurricular activities. Athletic involvement. Dedication to your community. And more...

But it's not just about college-related criteria. Some scholarships award students who are left-handed or have a certain ethnic heritage. Also, financial need factors into many programs such as the program run by the National Elk's Lodge (a very generous scholarship, by the way, that can be worth up to $60,000!).

Once you meet the criteria for a scholarship, make sure you present yourself in the best way possible. This includes your application, interview and essays. Neatness is key because if your application is not legible or causes any difficulty for the people reviewing your application, then what's to stop them from tossing it into the "Sorry, not good enough" pile? Being neat means showing up from start to finish. So make your papers crisp (avoid dog ears!) and place them without bending in a large envelope that fits your app (you can bend if necessary but just do it in the most professional way possible). Presentation goes beyond physical conditions, so consider how legible your writing is...on your application, on your cover letter and on the envelope cover. Chances are that you have typed most of the materials within the envelope, so make sure that the outside matches the neatness of the inside.

At the end of the day, your content and substance mean more than anything else. More on the criteria, your interview and your essays in the near future...

Scholarships [How to win, Part 2]

In my previous post I described the criteria and presentation that you must concern yourself with when trying to earn scholarships. Many scholarships require more than your paper application that requires you to fill in some blank spaces. Essays will need to be written and in some cases an interview will be conducted.

For your scholarship essays (and even college essays) you have to hit a homerun. Many applicants meet the requirements and have many stellar accomplishments, but essays present the opportunity to convey your unique personality and stand out from the crowd. A major pitfall for applicants is to use their essays to further elaborate on their academic and extracurricular accomplishments that were already covered in other parts of the application. Some students do this because they are convinced that no one is as much of as high school all star as they are and seeing this in an essay form will blow the selection committee away. Bad idea. Some students do this because they can't be creative and don't know how handle essay prompts like "Describe yourself." So they resort to listing more accomplishments. Even worse idea. Take advantage of the essays to demonstrate a genuine and interesting personality. Detail a unique experience or perspective--avoid cliches.

For the Semi-Finalist application for the Coca-Cola Scholar program I had to discuss the concept of collaboration and how it affected our society. I decided to use my experience as a student and entrepreneur to detail a summer program I went to--including the friends I made and successes my business team achieved. I didn't discuss games I played with friends or how we won the business plan competition. Bringing up how close friendships and a cooperative spirit contributed to a team synergy that allowed us to collaborate and produce an innovative product communicated something totally different. It let the committee see that I was a people person, aware of the power of relationships. I conveyed what I learned with a unique twist about collaboration--not a word about awards or recognition. I went on to include a brief section about how I planned on leveraging collaboration through the Coca Cola Scholars Foundation and during college. Committees care about what you have done, but they also want to know what you will do since you will be a representative of their organization.

Consider your audience. In writing about collaboration, I knew that the judges of my essay would be civic and business leaders volunteering with Coca Cola. Of course an essay about leveraging collaboration in a business environment at an educational enrichment program would be more interesting for the civic and business leaders to read and make me seem like a more suitable applicant.

With your essays, avoid trying to use impressive vocabulary or overly creative essay structures. The most important idea is that your personality shines through. Scholarships will be awarded to individuals not paper applications. Make your independent voice known and the selection committee will hear you.

Info on interviews coming soon...

Scholarships [I'm an average student. How do I win?]

Frankly, scholarships have winners...and they outnumber the other applicants by and far. I earned the Coca Cola scholarship and they only selected 250 out of 90,000 applicants. Average students don't win these major scholarships, but don't be discouraged. Look locally if you feel like you're average. School clubs, community organizations and local associations reward all types of students. My NHS club awarded me $250 for my involvement in the club...regardless of my grades, test scores and extracurriculars. Also, your local community organizations should be awarding scholarships in the $100-$2000 range; these organizations include Scouting organizations, Kiwanis, Elk's clubs, Rotary Clubs and government chambers, to name a few. Additionally, associations will award scholarships; in Florida the realtors' association provided a very generous scholarship. Sometimes these association-related scholarships will require you to pursue a related major or write an essay.

This leads me to the next opportunity for "average" students. Essay contests. You can find essay contests for a wide range of topics, from Ayn Rand books to Middle East peace to reform of the United Nations. Of course, your writing ability affects whether or not you will advance in these competitions, but these contests truly challenge your thinking and broaden your horizons which makes them excellent experiences. But what if I don't write well? NBD-- no big deal! Plenty of essay contest winners don't impress the judges with their "big words" and polished syntax. Instead, these winners have the ability to communicate effectively, honestly and compellingly.

Lastly, colleges are another great source of scholarship/financial aid for "average" students. These scholarships are sometimes reserved for in-state students or have lower standards than more selective scholarship programs. For example, the Bright Futures scholarship in Florida awards virtually full tuition to students who meet certain academic criteria that is much more attainable than other scholarships. If you earn a 1270 out of 1600 on the SAT, earn an IB diploma or meet other standard requirements...you're going to college for free.

If you're a rising junior or senior, it's still not too late. I founded Bridge Education, a non-profit group that provides SAT prep to disadvantaged students, at the end of my junior year. There's nothing wrong with being an average student, but you always can embrace new ideas and run with them, especially in high school. Hopefully by pursuing local, skill-related and school-specific scholarship opportunities, you will find some great sources for funding your college education!