Finding Scholarships for College
By Hanne Moon
You could purchase a small universe for the cost of a college education for your child these days. At the very least you should be able to buy an island nation.
For those of us that barely make ends meet, auctioning the kid off on eBay begins to look like a more attractive alternative. Unfortunately, eBay doesn’t cooperate much on these transactions.
Take if from me…I’ve already tried it.
If the scholarships and grants aren’t rolling in, where do cash-strapped parents go to get a break from the giant sucking sounds coming from the drain on their wallets? Are there any other sources of funds besides those offered by the university your child is attending?
Step Back and Reevaluate
First your child should look at his major, and see if there’s an alternative college on campus that will give him the degree he needs but has fewer students enrolled. Qualifying for existing scholarships is a lot easier if the competition isn’t as fierce.
My youngest wallet drain did exactly that. She was an English major and planned on teaching at a high school level. However, even with a 4.0 GPA and a 30 on her ACT, as an English major in the College of Arts and Sciences, she wasn’t being offered the first scholarship.
Nada. Zip. There were too many students competing for the available money.
She transferred to the College of Education, accepted the fact she was going to have to attend all those dumb education psychology classes (by the way, who thinks up these subjects?), and was offered a very nice scholarship the following fall. It wasn’t big money, but every little bit helped.
What Skeletons are in Your Closet?
FastWeb.com is a wonderful scholarship site that is free to use. You fill out a long application form that includes information about your child’s intended college major, the university he will attend, your family lineage, and your great-grandfather three times removed who fought in the Revolutionary War.
It then searches an amazing database of scholarships (private and public) and gives you a GIGANTIC list of money available for which your child might qualify. For instance, I was adopted from Beirut, Lebanon by my family. Being of Lebanese descent turned up several private scholarships my daughters could apply for.
There are other scholarship search sites, but FastWeb is by far the largest and most comprehensive.
Let Your Money Work for You…Twice
You, and any family and friends, can enroll in Upromise – The Smart Way to Save for College*, and a portion of what you spend on qualifying merchandise at many retailers and meals at qualifying restaurants will be put into a designated account for your student. Even shopping for qualifying merchandise online will add money to the account.
You won’t earn enough to pay off your student’s college loans, but again, every nickel and dime you earn is that much you don’t have to shell out for college expenses.
Do Unto Others
Has your child been involved in community service work? It’s not uncommon for many hospitals, veteran’s organizations, fraternities, and even insurance companies to award scholarships based on outstanding community service.
The Federal Work-Study program is part of many financial aid packages. The federal government pays the salary of the financial aid recipient, so employers (including the colleges) love to hire these kids. Because of the guidelines of the Federal Work Study program, schools are required to use a percentage of their work study funds for students performing community service jobs. If your child qualifies for a work study program, she may have one foot in the door if she has experience tutoring in reading or other literacy programs.
The 9 to 5 Grind
Are you or your spouse a member of a union? The United Autoworker’s Union has a dependent scholarship program that we used to help defray some of the cost of college. Many other unions offer this as well. The AFL-CIO has a website (UnionPlus.org) that has a searchable database for union-sponsored scholarships.
And Then There’s the Hard Part…
Your child will need to do some legwork (mostly on the internet, so that’s not all that hard) and research to find the money that’s out there available to him. The hard part is that there can be a lot of one-page essay requirements that go along with those scholarship applications, and many kids would rather kiss a snake than write another essay, especially if it even hints at interfering with their plans for their senior year.
You can lessen the eye-rolling and moans and groans if you show them that one essay can be used for several applications. A slight rewording is all it takes to recycle it for use with different scholarships.
This time of our lives as parents of college-bound kids can be harder than when we were potty-training the same kids. However, this is a good exercise for our children in understanding that anything worth pursuing will always take an effort of will and a little bit of hustle. The lessons we’re teaching them now will carry them through the rest of their lives.
* Christian College Parents gets $4 when you join Upromise through this link.