by Maria Estarellas
When it's time to go to college, the word "scholarship"
is confusing for both students and parents. We automatically
think about student loans, FAFSA, tuition and fees,
EFC, grants, and work study. But what we don't realize
is that knowing more about the scholarship process
could save us thousands of dollars when trying to
cover the cost of our kids' education.
Scholarships are "free money" given away by the government,
private institutions and organizations, charitable
foundations, schools, universities, clubs, etc. Unlike
loans, scholarships are not repaid to the scholarship
provider. Some of the scholarships available are:
- Athletic Scholarships
- National Merit Scholarships
- Academic Merit Scholarships
- Professional, Career, and Trade Association Sponsored
- FAFSA
- Work Study
- Ethnic and Religious Scholarships
- Community Organization Sponsored Scholarships
- Special Scholarships
- Alumni Legacy Scholarships
- Transfer Student Scholarships
With so many scholarships, how do you know which
one to apply to or where can you go for an application?
Some scholarships are based on your kid's grades
or financial needs, while others are awarded based
on ethnic groups, athletic or artistic abilities,
or given to students interested in a particular field.
In some instances, your kids don't have to have perfect
grades to apply for a scholarship, and some don't
even ask for any proof of income.
For example, the Work-Study Scholarship will require
your kid to work part-time for the money given and
most jobs are on campus. Finding information on scholarships
on the Internet can be difficult because you won't
find everything you need to know to finance your child's
education. A year ago, when my daughter was going
to college, I searched the Internet and the only thing
I found simple to do was fill out a FAFSA application.
Since I didn't have time to search the Internet at
the moment, and because other information I found
was so confusing, I decided just to fill out the application
and did nothing else.
I promised myself that for the next year, I would
search in advance because even though my daughter
got some financial aid, I was convinced that there
had to be other resources out there for her education.
That's when I came accross a guide written by a father
that went through the process of getting a scholarship
for his child, who spent time talking to financial
aid officers at many universities and discovered that
just filling out the CSS Profile and FAFSA financial
aid forms and meeting some deadlines is only half
the battle in acquiring Federal Pell grants, college
need-based grants, and Federal Stafford and Perkins
loans.
I learned how college financial aid offices actually
determine what federal aid and state grants will be
given out to potential students and if you know in
advance how to prepare yourself to receive the maximum
amount for your child's college education, you will
obtain better results.
Once you know where to find the information and when
and how to apply for a scholarship, it will be easy
to obtain financial aid for your kids.
About the Author Maria Estarellas is the webmaster
for 1mykids.com
which provides information on How to Apply for Scholarships,
Parenting Tips, School Projects and More
Additional Resources:
College
Scholarship Information
How
to Win a College Scholarship
Scholarships
Awarded More Than Once Per Year - There are some
scholarship programs that give out awards monthly,
quarterly or twice per year.
