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With Rachel Korn, former admissions officer at several top universities.
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Research Scholarships
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Even if you're in the lucky position where your parents can afford to send you to college and pay the entire cost, it's worth looking into scholarship possibilities, either need-based or merit-based.

College is expensive, so it certainly makes sense to check out any possible financial assistance. And hey, you can brag that you are a scholarship recipient! But if you haven't even chosen your school, why do this now? Because some scholarship applications require essays, so it is best to figure this out sooner rather than later to ensure you meet deadlines.

HEAD Lines
Once again, the Internet is your best friend. Here are some ways to go about the search:

Need-based aid: Here are some sample websites that list hundreds of scholarships. Think creatively about who you are and what you offer - there may be a scholarship out there for you. Merit-based aid: Many schools offer merit-based aid. This can come as money either for the top applicants in their pool or for applicants that bring something they want: a talent, like athletics or music, for example. What do YOU do?
  • Go to all your favorite colleges' websites and look at the financial aid section - if there are scholarships, you'll see them listed, along with the policies about how they are awarded.

  • Think creatively - perhaps get a list of all schools with such scholarships and add one or two new schools to your list to increase your chances of earning one.
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Research scholarships

Researching scholarships often scares parents and students for two reasons. First, there is so much information out there that it seems like an avalanche of data. Second, it is surprisingly difficult to find scholarships that exactly match a student's background and interests. There are very few scholarships that have opened-ended criteria for applicants.

However, it would be a serious mistake to be frightened off from researching scholarships, especially during the Internet age. Most parents and students will inevitably first go to www.fastweb.com, which is the 500 pound gorilla of scholarship searching. This is a great place to start, but there is a veritable galaxy of smaller websites out there that cater to different parts of the scholarship universe. Be sure to check out websites that might pertain to scholarships in your specific area and field of study. Do not rely solely on the gargantuan scholarship directories you can find at your local Barnes & Noble -- they contain many scholarships, but these books often have the perverse effect of disorienting and demoralizing students from searching further. Make your search specific, hunt down organizations that are relevant to the fields you are interested in, and do this in conjunction with checking out excellent resources such as FastWeb.
Good luck to you!
Jason Lum, MPP (Harvard), JD (UC Berkeley)
College Consultant, IECA Assoc. Member
Jason@scholarlearn.com
www.scholarlearn.com


The views expressed herein are those of their authors alone, and do not necessarily represent the views of Hundreds of Heads or of IECA.

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From Other HEADS
THERE ARE ENDOWMENTS that fund literally millions of scholarships. Don't just browse the Internet for full rides. Take the time to write essays for the smaller $500 and $1,000 scholarships. First, they add up quickly. Second, once you write a couple of essays, you'll find there is a pretty straightforward model to most application processes. Once you write four or five letters, you can make little changes and send them to other groups. This expedites the process and gives you a much better chance of getting the scholarships.

-- DOMINIC BERARDI
UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI


I have a friend who got a disability scholarship because of being color-blind!

-- RACHANN N. MCKNIGHT
INDIANA UNIVERSITY



HoH Tip
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is mandatory if you'll be applying for any federal financial aid. The FAFSA Web site is: www.fafsa.ed.gov


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