Finding Money for College
There’s one thing we all know for sure, college is expensive. With the cost of tuition, fees and room and board now averaging $12,796 a year at a four-year public institution and $30,367 at a private school, some college- bound students and their parents may think that the cost of higher education is spiraling out of reach.
But hold on. That’s only part of the story.
The fact is most students don’t pay “full-sticker price” for their college education. The College Board reports that about 62 percent of full-time college students receive some kind of aid that they don’t have to pay back, mostly in the form of scholarships and grants. In the 2005-2006 school year, grants and tax benefits averaged more than $3,100 per student at public four-year colleges and about $9,000 per student at private schools.
Where does this “free money” come from and what can you do to improve your son or daughter’s chance of getting some of it? Here are seven things every parent should know:
1. More people are eligible for financial aid than you may think. You don’t have to be a straight-A student or star athlete to be eligible for scholarships and grants. Yes, there are many academic and athletic scholarships out there. But there are even more programs that base their awards on non-academic factors and accomplishments, such as a student’s extracurricular activities, career plans, memberships, religion and other interests. Your challenge is to find them.
2. You’ll need a system. If you choose to seek scholarship money, you’ll need to get organized—and the sooner, the better. There are literally hundreds of thousands of scholarships out there, and you’ll need a system for identifying and applying for the ones that offer the greatest chances for success. Deadlines, application materials and eligibility requirements vary widely. It’s smart to create a “scholarship calendar” and database and get going. A student’s junior year in high school is a good time to start.
3. Start local. In general, the smaller the geographic area a scholarship covers, the better your chances of winning. To find them, your child can begin with his or her high school guidance office. Counselors should know about scholarships available to students graduating from their high school. They may also be aware of scholarships for residents of your town, county and state. And don’t forget your employer. Some companies and unions offer scholarships or tuition-assistance programs for employees’ children—often without requiring much more than a one-page application. It’s certainly worth a call to your human resources department to find out. High schoolers who have a job should ask their employers as well. Supermarkets, fast food chains and other companies that employ large numbers of young people often offer scholarships.
4. Use a free scholarship search service. Scholarship search companies collect information on hundreds of awards, and can help match your student’s characteristics with scholarship restrictions. Based on your answers to a questionnaire, you will receive a list of possible scholarships. It is up to you to decide which ones to go after. These online search companies include fastweb.com, collegeboard.com, collegeview.com, princetonreview.com, fastaid.com, mach25.collegenet.com and xap.com.
Incidentally, you should never pay for scholarship information. If you’re asked to pay a fee for “exclusive” scholarship leads, don’t. The same thing goes for organizations that charge a processing fee for a scholarship application. These are almost always scams. Many people who fall for them never hear back.
5. Think outside the box. You’ll be amazed to learn about all the unusual and unique opportunities out there. There are scholarships for students who raise awareness about organ donations. Scholarships for tall people. Scholarships for students who can knit, skateboard or make duck calls. But be careful. Sometimes the award amount may not be worth the effort needed to apply. Also watch for scholarship programs that are highly competitive. The 250 scholarships that Coca-Cola awards each year attract more than 100,000 applicants.
6. Don’t overlook the schools you’re applying to. Most scholarship money is disbursed by colleges. So you’ll want to find out what kinds of scholarships are available at the schools that interest you. Some awards may be offered for particular colleges or majors. They may also be renewable, presuming the student meets certain requirements. Eligibility can be based on merit, financial need, ethnicity or other factors.
7. There’s more than money at stake. Sure, scholarship dollars can ease the financial strain college places on a family. But they offer other benefits as well. They can look really, really good on a student’s resume and can keep paying dividends long after the “free money” has run out. tpw