The fact is that 98% of college assistance is in the form of financial aid from federal and state governments and need- and merit-based aid from the schools themselves, and only about 2% is in private scholarships from organizations other than the schools.
There's money out there, to be sure, and someone has to win it. But finding and winning scholarships is an extra-credit project -- with the emphasis on project. Filling out applications, getting recommendations, writing essays and otherwise competing for scholarship money is time-consuming work for the applicant. And it's not always as rewarding as you might hope.
Most scholarships fall into one of three categories:
1. The incredibly narrow. Know anyone who would qualify for a scholarship for left-handed Lithuanians studying horticulture? Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but consider a real award:
- From the American Pomological Society, $300 for the best research or historical paper on fruit breeding.
Most of the time, the glass slipper just doesn't fit.
2. The supercompetitive. Some scholarship competitions could make you want to head for the lottery window, instead. Check this out:
- As many as 20,000 high school seniors have applied for the ESPN Scholastic Sports America Scholarship, worth $2,500. Only six young men and six young women win.
Many of the best-known and most prestigious national-level scholarships fall into this category. There's nothing wrong with competing for them -- the competition itself can be a great experience for young people. Just be aware that lots of super-bright, super-talented kids don't win. (Although people may scoff at Miss America, Miss Teenage America and Junior Miss pageants as scholarship competitions, they are just as competitive as many of the more "serious" competitions -- and they award a lot more money.)
3. The drop in the bucket. A huge number of scholarships you'll find listed in aid directories, available at your public library (see Where to Look) are for $500 or less. Yes, money is money. And the award itself adds an extra spark to the college application. But your kid might have an easier time earning $500 than meeting the entry requirements for a half-dozen scholarship competitions that might yield a $500 prize.
The scholarship mirage
A financial award might not help you as much as you might think with the college bills. When giving out financial aid, some colleges subtract the value of an outside scholarship from need-based grants they would have awarded, freeing up the funds for other students. Their view: You now have additional resources to cover the bills, so you need that much less help from the school. The result: Your out-of-pocket contribution to college costs remains as great as before the scholarship.
However, many of the more-prestigious private colleges have softened their policy on outside scholarships, so that such awards replace student loans and work-study first. Then, any remaining scholarship money remaining replaces need-based grants.
What if the school is one of an increasing number of schools that "gap," or leave families with a certain amount of unmet need? Most colleges that gap will allow an outside scholarship to cover that unmet need. Let's say, for instance, that you have $10,000 of need at a $20,000 college that meets just 90% of your need with a $9,000 aid package. Such a school would allow the first $1,000 of any outside scholarship to go toward meeting the gap, before using any additional scholarship money to replace grants, work-study or loans in your aid package.
Before your son or daughter scouts out and applies for scholarships, ask a financial-aid officer at each college you're considering how the school treats outside awards.
- If the school uses scholarships only to replace its own aid, it probably doesn't make much sense to spend a lot of effort applying for scholarships.
- If the college lets some or all of the scholarship go to replace loans rather than grants (or, even better, to reduce your own contribution), then finding outside money is worth the effort.
Who should seek scholarships?
Some students (and parents) don't mind expending the time and effort to seek scholarships even if the gain might be small.
Here's who stands to benefit the most:
- Families who don't expect to qualify for any financial aid or whose aid packages will consist mostly of loans.
- Families who do expect aid but are applying to schools that gap, leaving students with unmet financial need.
- Families who expect aid but are applying to colleges that have favorable policies toward scholarships.
- Students who enjoy the thrill of competing and the prestige of winning, even if the award doesn't reduce college costs.
Where to look
To find local awards that are probably less of a long shot than national competitions, do some detective work. Here's a list of leads to get you started.
Your high school guidance counselor. Most guidance counselors maintain a bulletin board or keep a folder of local and national scholarship opportunities.
College financial-aid officers. Drop in at the financial-aid office as you're touring college campuses, or pick up the phone and call if you're unable to make the trip. Ask whether the schools offer merit-based scholarships, and what grades, SAT scores or other criteria would make your child eligible.
Find out whether you must apply and submit recommendations for such awards or whether the school awards them automatically based on information you've supplied on your child's application for admission. Also ask about departmental scholarships in your child's intended major.
Scholarship directories. Hit the library and page through a couple of scholarship guides. One good choice is the Chronicle Financial Aid Guide (check the reference section of your library or contact Chronicle Guidance Publications, 800-622-7284; $24.98).
Search services versus free databases. Computerized services advertised in newspapers or online are sometimes poor values -- and sometimes outright rip-offs. The $40 to $200 or more you spend may turn up awards with narrow eligibility or ones your child has only a remote chance of winning. Sometimes the search companies even claim that their services are "guaranteed" and offer a refund or a $200 savings bond to students who don't receive any scholarship money. But the Council of Better Business Bureaus has warned that such refunds are "difficult, if not impossible, to obtain," requiring, for instance, that you prove you applied for every scholarship on the list and were turned down. Besides, you can serach just as well or better yourself with the following resources.
- Fund finder. You can probably tap into one of the best searches around right in your high school guidance counselor's office -- at no charge. One thousand high schools subscribe to the College Board's ExPAN, a database of thousands of private grants and scholarships.
- The College Board's Web site. If your high school doesn't have Fund Finder, you can search the database at the College Board's Web site.
- Other free searches. Other free search programs can be accessed on the Web, including fastWeb and Mach25.
To read about more great places to search for scholarships, go to "Finding A Scholarship That's Made for You."
Tips for scholarship seekers
Thousands of bright students compete each year for scholarships. How can you improve your chances of coming away with a coveted prize?
Start your search early. Junior year isn't too early to begin hitting the guidebooks. Some competition deadlines fall early in the senior year, which doesn't leave much time to send away for applications, prepare essays or science projects and get recommendations from teachers.
Thinking ahead -- say, by sophomore year -- also gives your child time to join organizations that offer scholarships, like a 4-H Club or scouting group.
Carefully read instructions and eligibility criteria. Encourage your child to read every word to avoid wasting time on applications that are trashed on receipt by the sponsor or disqualified for a small error, such as exceeding a word count for an essay or omitting a required transcript or recommendation.
Ask for samples of winning entries. Most scholarship sponsors will tell you in broad terms what criteria are used to select winners, but reading a winning essay, article, speech, history paper or science-project proposal can give you real insight into what judges are looking for. Often, they're available for the asking. How to Go to College Almost for Free: The Secrets of Winning Scholarship Money (Waggle Dancer Books; $22) includes sample winning essays and applications along with many helpful tips.
After high school
For those who are inclined, scholarship-seeking isn't just for high schoolers. There are just as many awards for college sophomores, juniors and seniors, even though we've excluded them here. The same search tactics -- and caveats -- apply:
- Spend some library time with the guidebooks.
- Try a computerized search if it's free or low-cost.
- Touch base with clubs and organizations, faculty and your financial-aid officer on campus.
- Think creatively about outside groups that might have a philanthropic interest in a kid like yours.
- And don't let the scholarship hunt for relatively few dollars eclipse the more-important task of applying intelligently for financial aid.
Article from www.kliplinger.com
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