College Scholarship Money

[dfeck]

My oldest son will be going off to college this fall and he's applied to colleges and have received multiple acceptances. He's gotten scholarship money from all ranging from 10K-14K per year. My question goes out to other members who has gone through this process. Is there other general scholarships from private sources that he can get? I've heard there's alot of money to be gotten with little effort but the key is to know where to look. The government FAFSA is a joke. With current college cost (private) starting at 36K/yr and up it would be nice to have additional money without having him gratuation in a ton of debt.

 

[MikePA]

The government FAFSA is a joke.

Why do you say this?

 

[Chuck52]

Are these state universities offering the scholarships? I've always been surprised how much money goes into scholarships here in Missouri. My son did very well in school, but only relatively well on his ACT, and was offered essentially a free ride on the tuition at every state school. There are quite a few kids here who get almost total free rides, including books in the deal, when they have both very good grades and very high ACT scores. How does NY state compare? Missouri state universities even give good breaks to out of state students with good grades and ACT scores.

Chuck

 

[ToadHill]

Check with local fraternal organizations, and any organizations you belong to, many of them have scholarships available that aren't well known. Call the local school guidence counselor,see what they are aware of.

 

[dfeck]

Private Universities offer scholarships based off grades/scores. This is true for both NYS private and out of state private schools. NY state universities do not offer merit based scholarships for NYS residents. What they offer is a reduced tuition for all NYS resident students. For example, a 4 year state university cost a NYS resident about 14K which includes room and board. But of course his top selections are private universities.

My son always has been a sharp student through school. His 4 year high school average is 92% in addition to being a 3 sport athelete. We tried to tell him that taking SAT prep courses were helpful before he took the test. Well he didn't do any prep work and scored slightly above average on his SAT's. His ACT scores where above average but not spectacular. Most universities base scholarship money on current high school transcript along with SAT/ACT scores. While his high school transcript is impressive his SAT/ACT scores are not great enough to get the most money from a university. I've heard there's money out there but you need to find them and apply. Many are given by writing an essay. Granted, those are not much money ($200-$500) but something is better than nothing. Plus it gives him some sense of ownership by writing the essay and applying for the money.

 

[MikePA]

I've heard there's money out there but you need to find them and apply.

Perhaps you didn't see my question to you asking why you do not like FAFSA.

We received specific instructions from the school my oldest daughter attended to fill in the FAFSA. The school indicated they, as well as all other schools (their words, not mine), use the FAFSA as a 'collection point' for all decisions about grants and scholarships that any student could receive. Obviously, FAFSA isn't going to be effective for the scholarship given by the VFW or 4H Club local to a particular student.

 

[dfeck]

I don't like FAFSA because this is finacial aide awarded by the government based off of need. The requirment to get money is based largly off of income/net worth. As with any government aide the income requirments are low. I'm not saying we're rich but not poor either. Needless to say we don't qualify for government aide. I know the school also uses this as a guide but I've heard mixed reviews. If you show the University your FAFSA forms then they know your yearly income and declines any other scholarship monies. Some say this is a kin of letting the car dealer now how much money you'll willing to spend on monthly payments. I also believe these aides are flawed. Any aide should be based off of the student's income or ability to pay the debt. But no, it solely based off of the parents income/net worth.

 

[rox]

Did you try this website? FastWeb: Scholarships, Financial Aid and Colleges
One really great program I hope your son can participate in this Study abroad with Semester at Sea, a program of the Institute for Shipboard Education Semester At Sea (SAS) during his college years. Instead of studying one semester abroad, you spend the semester on a cruise ship and circumnavigate the globe. It was one of the defining moments inour son's maturation. he did snag a $7,000 study abroad scholarship from his university which helped a lot. Here is one discussin group to give you an idea of the program. Semester at Sea Fall 2005
When we figured the cost of out of state tuition at cu Boulder with the reduction of his $7,000 in 2003 the price was a tad higher than we would have paid iin his tuition adn wel well worth it. Top professors frm Ivy leage schools take a semester off and teach on the ship. SAS flys over a "country" person for lack of a better word, in the port prior to arival. For example when they left from Brazil sailing to South Africa SAS had the personal historian for Nelson Mandella board in brazil, then on sea before they arrvied in South Africa he lectured the students about South Africa. When they went to cuba, yes Americans can go for cultural or eductional reasons, Fidel Castro gave the students like a 5 hour lecture then hosted a party for them in his palace. If money is an issue, and really isn't money always an issue, i don't care how much yu make, then go to a scond choice school at less cost but do take part in this Semester Abroad. When you go for jobs after college it is very impressive to discuss your experiences in Africa, or Japan etc. This semester abroad makes you wordly and all fo the students grow enormously. It was in dar Esalam Tanzania where our son first experienced hatred for Americans. the public were wearing t-shirts with pictures of the twin towers falling and a picture of a thumbs up. This is not a visit Paris, Rome and Athens trip. They go places, carefully selected and vetted that expands your students view of the world. Along with graduating with Honors this SAS experience got him n the Peace Corps (Peace Corps is very hard to get into, they accept like 25% of the applicants) and after serving in guinea Africa for 30 months he recently got a very very good job at Peace Corps Washington DC.
When loking at al the variables that goes into selecting which school, factor in the cost of SAS and encourage your son to go. Also I should point out SAS does not take everybody either. In particular you won't get in if you have drinking and disturbing the peace type issues from your home uiversty. If you have high GPA, a clean record, have had leadership positions in your college or university and in the community, and write a good essay you can get in.

Good luck with the scholarships, the only one our son ever got was the $7,000 for SAS.

 

[MikePA]

Any aide should be based off of the student's income or ability to pay the debt. But no, it solely based off of the parents income/net worth.

If the student is living on their own, I agree. If they're still a dependent for income tax purposes, then I think the parents income should be included. Believing 'the smaller the government, the better', I can't get upset when criteria that reduces what the govt spends affects me.

BTW, we didn't get any aid for our kids either, except a lower interest, deferred payment loan. I had also told the kids I'd foot most of the bill for an undergraduate degree at a state university. If they wanted to attend a private school, they had to come up with the difference. Although, I did discover, many private schools offer scholarships that drop the costs quite a bit from 'list' prices.

I also agree with rox re: studying abroad. While our oldest daughter didn't do this, she had roommates who did and she got to visit them in England while in school and then again after graduation when she got to visit Switzerland and Germany in addition to England. It was a marvelous time to expand her horizons and shed the 'fear' of venturing outside of her local environment.

P.S.
I was stunned at parents orientation when the school said most kids graduate in 5 years, not four. While our daughter got two undergraduate degrees, she ended up being in school for 5 years. So, if you're budgeting for this, don't rule out 5 years instead of 4.

 

[garyfisher123]

P.S.
I was stunned at parents orientation when the school said most kids graduate in 5 years, not four. .

I never have quite understood this. I was told the same thing when I went to college in 95'. But, if you take an average of say 13 to 15 hrs per semester, it should be farily easy to to graduate in 4, which I did with an engineering degree. For that matter, my wife received her BA and masters degree in only 4 and a half. I believe it is all matter of how much effort you put into your classes.