College Scholarships available, but you have to know how to look for them

College Scholarships available, but you have to know how to look for them

by Megan Gordon
The Arizona Republic

This is the time of the year when many high school seniors scramble to meet the deadline for scholarship applications.
There are literally thousands of scholarships students can apply for, but finding the ones you qualify for can be challenging.
"This becomes like a part-time job," said Paul Halpine, lead counselor at Estrella Foothills High School in Goodyear.
"You need to do it extremely well. Every scholarship you fill out is the potential to make money for college," he said.
Many scholarships and colleges require students to first fill out the federal student aid application (FAFSA) form, available at fafsa.ed.gov. The deadline is 11 p.m. Sunday for Arizona. Some states have later deadlines. Some private scholarships do not require the FAFSA form.
Halpine offers these tips for seniors applying for college scholarships:
1. Start early. Applying for scholarships can be tedious and time-consuming. Set aside a few nights or weekends to investigate what scholarships are out there.
"We have a college and career prep course for all freshman and junior students," Halpine said. "Just making that transition getting them to think about four years down the road helps our students."
2. Make sure that the scholarship pertains to you. Identify scholarship standards that you meet.
3. Read the fine print. Look carefully at scholarship directions and make sure to complete the application fully.
4. Practice essay writing. Many guidance offices have sample essays.
"If you can't write a well-written coherent essay, you won't be as successful," Halpine said.
5. Be original. Creatively approach every topic and make it personal.
6. Proof and edit essays. Ask counselors and English teachers for writing tips.
7. Don't plagiarize.
"There are programs out there to check if a student plagiarizes something. It has happened in the past," Halpine said. "It's a short cut. If you're doing that sort of thing, you're probably not ready."
8. Apply for many scholarships. The more you fill out, the better chance you'll have.
9. Be professional and thorough. You have to impress and sell yourself to organizations, giving them reasons to award you money.
"They want the go-getters and overachievers," Halpine said. "As a result, the implication is those students are going to do better in college."
10. There is no substitute to preparation and hard work.


College Scholarships available, but you have to know how to look for them

College Admission Aspirations Collide With Financial Realities

College Admission Aspirations Collide With Financial Realities

By Ike Wilson
News-Post Staff
Frederick, MD

High school students in recent decades assumed they would go to college. It was the route of their parents and often their grandparents. But, like much that has changed in today's troubled economy, students and their parents are finding college is not a given.
This is the time of year when seniors are rushing to the mailbox and finding college acceptance letters, but for many the elation is short-lived when they start thinking about how they would pay for it.
Kenan Cola, a Gov. Thomas Johnson High School senior, was accepted into Temple University in Philadelphia but is struggling to line up the money. With tuition and housing costing around $30,000 a year, Cola said he will need significant financial assistance.
"I'm still looking around for scholarships, but all I can do now is to apply for grants to see if I qualify," Cola said.
Parys Martin, another TJ senior, was accepted at The Art Institute of Washington in Arlington, Va., but said she has had to withdraw her application for financial reasons. Enrolling for the sake of enrolling is becoming less of an option for students who are undecided about a career, like Martin.
"My mom didn't want to put up that kind of money with my mind not made up about what I really wanted to study," Martin said. "They had a culinary program I wanted to pursue, but I wasn't sure I wanted to be a chef."
Affordability
Because of the economic difficulties American families are facing, increasing numbers appear to be at risk of not pursuing a college degree, according to a study released last month by the Public Agenda and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The two organizations have been tracking attitudes toward higher education since 1993.
College prices rose 6.4 percent last fall, and a separate National Center report recently flunked 49 of the 50 states on college affordability. The report found low-income families have been hit particularly hard, with the local college now costing the average family in the bottom quintile of income 55 percent of their earnings -- up from 39 percent in 1999-2000.
The study also reported that more people today believe college is financially out of reach for many qualified students.
"Public perceptions are not always accurate, but in this case, they are right on the mark, and these findings hold true for both four-year institutions and lower-cost community colleges," according to the study.
In 2006, Maryland received an F for college affordability from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. Today, four Maryland colleges received the extraordinary distinction among the top 50 "Best Value" public colleges in America by the Princeton Review, Gov. Martin O'Malley said in his February newsletter.
O'Malley said the state will use more than $720 million from President Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan for education.
"These funds have been available to improve public education and make college education more affordable, and that's exactly what we intend to do," O'Malley said.
By 2010, the University System of Maryland will have gone from having the sixth-highest tuition in the nation in 2004 to the 18th-highest, O'Malley said.
Thomas Powell, president of Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg is more optimistic, saying private institutions like his offer substantial scholarships to students to offset tuition and fees.
The university's communications director, Linda Sherman, said that "while the cost of tuition for the (fiscal) 2010 budget will be $28,420, for the most part that is not the amount the majority of students pay. After the average student financial aid package is considered, the actual average net tuition cost is a little more than $15,000 per student."
Sherman said the Mount has been named among the top "most faithful and affordable Catholic universities in the country by the Cardinal Newman Society, publishers of the Newman Guide, which has been helpful in the school's recruiting efforts for its Division 1 athletic programs."
Last year, the Mount offered more than $17 million in assistance to students. The school expects to offer $17.5 million next year.
Powell said: "Students and their parents should always apply for financial assistance and scholarships. Very few pay the full price of tuition and fees."
But an area of particular concern is the ever-increasing cost of textbooks, some with prices as high as $150 each.
"This is an issue that will require leadership to keep books at a reasonable cost," Powell said.
Hood College spokesman Dave Diehl said tuition is $13,100 per semester. That doesn't include room and board and other fees. Hood's Board of Trustees will discuss tuition and any changes later this month, Diehl said.
"We've been consistently ranked as one of the most affordable colleges in the country, and these rankings are by objective criteria," Diehl said. "We're able to reduce the family's out-of-pocket costs at a level that's often right there with public universities."
Do your homework
Despite the financial hurdles, a college education is attainable, provided planning and effort begin early.
Making good grades, taking hard courses in high school, being involved in school and community activities and beginning a savings plan early are steps that will put a college education within reach, education experts said.
Colleges are looking for students who not only do well in school but also have been involved in extracurricular activities, giving back to the community, or sports, said Michael Concepcion, assistant principal at Tuscarora High School.
Concepcion was one of several presenters at a recent college preparation seminar at First Missionary Baptist Church in Frederick .
"A well-rounded student not only does well in school but will benefit the school as well," he said.
Concepcion was not a scholarship recipient, and he admitted he waited too long before starting to prepare for college. But Concepcion said financial aid options are many for students who have good grades, get their paperwork done on time and stay active in the community.
The Community Foundation of Frederick County is among the many local organizations that provide scholarships for local students. In addition, high school counseling departments post scholarship announcements regularly, said Sharon Boettinger, Frederick County Public Schools supervisor of counseling and student support.
Work study and internship experiences are invaluable for students, and those opportunities often translate into permanent employment after graduation.
"It is important for students to be able to balance studies, employment and other activities such as athletics," Boettinger said. "Those who may be working long hours during the academic year may not be able to devote the time necessary outside of class for studying, writing papers and completing projects."


College Admission Aspirations Collide With Financial Realities

College Students Scramble as Bank Loans become Harder to Land for College Admission Help

College Students Scramble as Bank Loans become Harder to Land for College Admission Help

By Cassie Foss
The Grand Rapids Press

As her name might suggest, Hope Start isn't giving up when it comes to finding a way to pay for college.
A sophomore at Calvin College, the 19-year-old from Hudsonville has become a pro at rustling up school money wherever she can find it.
Like many students, she has her hands in a number of lending pots, collecting loans, grants and scholarships to offset expenses that will exceed $32,000 next fall.
However, this year's recession forced Start to abandon hopes of a traditional bank loan like the one she had during her freshman year.
"I didn't even try because I assumed it was going to be really hard to get one," she said.
She is paying only the interest on last year's $2,000 loan because that's all she can afford. Her father, Doug Start, said he cannot help this year with expenses because his concrete business is so slow.
"Some people have to leave school because of the money," said Start, who is majoring in Spanish. "But I would never want to leave for that reason."
As today's deadline passed to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid in Michigan, students and families can expect a tougher time in landing loans because of the credit crisis.
"It's definitely been difficult for students to get private student loans," said Mark Kantrowitz, creator of the student financial aid Web site finaid.com and author of "FastWeb College Gold," a guide to paying for college.
Last May, one of Michigan's largest banks, Comerica, suspended its student loan originations because the bank was unable to sell those loans on the secondary market, a bank official said.
The state also pulled back its lending. About 8,500 students lost access to low-interest loans when the state closed down the MI Loan program because the credit market was so tight.
At the same time, however, loan demand is rising from students hard pressed by the poor economy.
Applications for federal aid at Grand Valley State University -- usually the first stop in the funding process -- are up 20 percent over the same time last year, said Ed Kerestly, GVSU director of financial aid.
Kerestly said it's too soon to know whether the rise is due to more students filing or students just filing earlier.
"The biggest unknown continues to be families who look beyond federal loans to private lenders because that's tied up in the market," Kerestly said.
Phyllis Hooyman, director of financial aid at Hope College, also reports a slight rise in aid applications this year.
Dave Steffee, director of financial aid at Aquinas College, said the school received about 1,000 federal-aid applications by mid-February, which is on track with last year.
Kantrowitz estimates almost 30 percent of students getting private loans in 2007 are no longer eligible.
While banks do not disclose much information about the number of loans they make, Kantrowitz said the higher rate of co-signers is evidence lending standards are higher.
In 2007, 50 percent of popular lender Sallie Mae's student loans had co-signers. In 2008, that number grew to two-thirds, he said.
"A number of students are having trouble finding someone to consolidate their loans as well," he said.
Another large bank in the Grand Rapids market, National City, now part of PNC Financial Services Group Inc., has halted its participation in federal consolidation loans, an official said.
The bank does offer students with loans of more than $30,000 extended repayment terms.
But the Pittsburgh-based bank said it still is lending to students. In fact, PNC increased lending to students and their families by more than 20 percent compared with a year ago.
Patricia Scott, director of the Michigan Bureau of Student Financial Services, said getting a handle on how many private lenders suspended student lending is easy to see.
The state once published a list of private lenders running more than 20 pages. That list is under five pages now, she said.
"With all of the credit market upheaval, all of the market has been impacted, including student loans," Scott said.
Most federal student loans still are available, although Michigan a year ago cut its MI Loan program, an alternative loan source for students attending Michigan colleges and universities.
The program helped students bridge the gap between college costs and traditional federal financial aid resources.
"There are ongoing efforts to monitor the credit markets, with the intent of bringing the program back," Scott said.

College Students Scramble as Bank Loans become Harder to Land for College Admission Help

College Admission Forum: Rethinking College Prep Costs in Tough Times

College Admission Forum: Rethinking College Prep Costs in Tough Times

By ALINA TUGEND
New York Times

WATCHING our sons’ college funds dwindle to almost nothing, I am grateful that my older son is on his way to high school, not a university, this fall. Otherwise, we would not only be facing a staggering tuition bill, but we would also have to pay for what has become the obligatory precollege marathon.
Perhaps nothing, except the anxiety before the birth of a first baby, can match the concern parents feel about prepping for college. There is the same desire to control the process and fear that making a mistake can ruin a child’s future.
So I can understand the inclination to buy every product and service possible to cover all bases.
But if anything good comes from these stressful economic times, it may be that parents will be forced to rethink the idea that more is always better. Countless test preparation courses and dozens of visits to college campuses are not only expensive but can unnecessarily add to the frenzy already surrounding the process.
Providing good guidance is one thing, “but I think the amount of money people think they need to spend is out of control,” said Bob Sweeney, a counselor at our local school, Mamaroneck High School, in suburban New York.
Take my friend Edie, whose son is a college sophomore. She estimates she spent more than $10,000 before he even started college.
There was about $2,800 for a private college counselor, $150-an-hour SAT prep once a week in math and English (that’s $300 weekly) over about five months and visits to about 10 campuses.
“This is a rich man’s business,” she said.
My friends and I smugly tell one another that all we needed to be prepared for the SAT in the late 1970s were two sharpened No. 2 pencils. And campus tours? The first time I visited the University of California, Berkeley — one of two universities I applied to — was when I moved there.
But that was about three decades ago. I know that we will offer our older son more than a few pencils and a pat on the head, but I also know that we don’t have to indulge in every option in the quest to get him safely ensconced on a college campus somewhere.
I tried to figure out what we might spend. First are the essentials: college application fees (averaging $60 per institution) and fees for the SAT ($45) and ACT ( $31). Financial aid is available to cover these fees, if necessary. The best way to get more information is to ask your child’s school counselor or visit collegeboard.com for the SATs or act.org for the ACT.
So if our child applies to 10 universities — which seems unlikely but is apparently average in my part of the world — and takes the admissions tests a few times, we’re already up to nearly $1,000.
And that is not counting add-ons.
Parents and counselors I spoke with agreed that students should take at least one course to prepare for the SAT, if only to give them a sense of what the test is about and to alleviate anxiety.
National companies like Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, the Princeton Review, Sylvan Learning and TutorVista.com, offer a variety of offline and online tutoring options at a wide range of prices.
For free help, check out Number2.com and the SAT and ACT Web sites.
Mr. Sweeney, who has been a school counselor for 21 years, said that parents should think rationally about why they are paying for test preparation courses.
“I’m not against prep tests — they can help give kids a certain confidence,” he said. “But I don’t see the need for students who are already scoring high. It’s like repolishing the apple. If your kid is getting close to 700, why spend thousands to get a few points higher?” The top grade for each section of the SAT is 800.
Then there are the campus visits, which can cost thousands of dollars if the colleges are across the country.
Tons of information is available online, including virtual tours, from the universities themselves and independent Web sites, like unigo.com, where students write reviews.
But parents, students and counselors agree that, if at all possible, it is important to visit a few colleges to get a sense of the culture that you can only get by being there.
There is another reason to visit: It shows interest, and colleges like to see that. It means you’re probably not frivolously applying with no real intention of attending if accepted.
But lots of people do not have the time or money to visit a wide range of schools. In that case, try to attach a campus visit to a vacation, experts say. Or visit after being accepted to decide where to go.
Now what about private college counselors? A lot of parents I know use them, even though they acknowledge that they could probably get the same information themselves or through school counselors.
But they like the security.
“The reality is, this is our first child, and it’s a comfort,” my friend Nancy said. “We’re trying not to get too stressed, but we want to do the best that we can for her.”
Alex Weiner, the owner and head counselor of Collegewise, a college counseling company that has branches on the East and West Coasts, said his counselors offer hourly assistance or a $2,995 package to do everything, including helping to narrow a list of colleges, staging mock interviews and helping to select clothes for interviews.
“We brainstorm ideas for the essays and spend time talking about what to write about — what makes their eyes light up, not what they think the college wants to know,” he said. Then Collegewise counselors edit (not write, he specified) the essays.
Parents who use private counselors also like the idea that someone else plays the role of police officer, urging their child to rework essays and submit applications on time.

College Admission Forum: Rethinking College Prep Costs in Tough Times

College Admission Help Tools

College Admission Help Tools

There are other great ways to scope out college possibilities without leaving home. Most of them are easy, all of them are helpful, and one popular one should be avoided—read on.
A great way to find out more about a college is to let the college come to you. Many colleges send admission representatives to your high school in the fall to tell you about their college. A list of these colleges is posted in the counseling center or the main office; every Thursday, write down the colleges that will be coming next week, look them up in your college guide (more on that soon), then get a pass from counseling to visit with the rep. In some high schools, reps are only allowed to come before or after school, or during lunch, and some will only let reps talk to students during lunch in the lunchroom (whoa—talk about leaving an impression!) If your school has these rules, give up the free time and go anyway—not many students will do this, which is (everybody sing along now) exactly why you should.
The same goes for hotel visits. Sometimes reps have such tight schedules they can only hold visits for lots of students at a hotel ballroom, in the evening or on weekends. The same rules apply here—do your homework, and go if it sounds good, bringing along your compadres and family for fun, along with dinner before or ice cream after. Whether it’s in a hotel or the school’s lunchroom, take along your college fair questions, fill out a card (even if you’ve talked to this rep or visited the campus before), introduce yourself to the rep (nothing like face time), ask a great question, and write down what you think once you’re home.
If at any point you’re not sure you’re heading in the right direction, a college search might be helpful. Collegeboard.com lets you sort out colleges a million ways, from majors to location to activities to you name it. Princetonreview.com has the Counselor-O-Matic, which asks you questions to point you in the right direction. These sites and others can give you some general direction and lots of schools to consider.
Another great source is college guides—books or magazines that describe colleges and what they have to offer. Guides give you a solid look at all parts of a college; a good guide will tell you about classes, the campus, social life, and atmosphere, and a great guide will include interviews with students, who will give you the straight scoop. There are a lot of these around—try your counseling office or local public library…
…but while you’re there, avoid books or magazines with college rankings. College rankings are designed to tell you what the “best” colleges are, based on the opinion of someone who doesn’t even know what you’re looking for. Unfortunately, parents love this stuff, especially if the rankings include the opinions of university presidents. Now, university presidents are nice people, but asking them to rank the 300 best colleges in the country is like asking your high school principal to rank the 300 best high schools in the country—after about 20 or so, they’re relying more on what they’ve heard than what they know, and either way, they don’t know you. You don’t need to read a magazine to find out Southwestern Michigan State is a great college; you need to find out if SMS is a great college for you. Guides will help you with that, and rankings won’t—so save your time and money, and skip them.


College Admission Help Tools

Dealing With College Admission Rejection

Dealing With College Admission Rejection

The college applications are in, and the “Big Wait” is in full swing. A generation of students who’ve grown up with near instant communication (not to mention gratification), must wait for the ultimate snail mail: the college admissions acceptance or rejection letter. Most students get at least one dreaded thin (ie rejection) envelope, so let’s consider the fallout. What happens if you get rejected by your top school or schools, or even by every school you’ve applied to?
First, give yourself some time. Rejection is never easy, but when you’ve missed the mark you aimed for for months, or even years, it’s particularly tough. If you’re feeling embarrassed, remember there is no need to reveal your situation to anyone. We all know people who like to brag about their successes and gleefully enjoy others’ failings; now is a good time to give them the brush off.
Once you’re over those initial blues, aim for perspective. Is the school that wants you really second-rate? Take a closer look, call to find out if there are alumni in your area who will speak with you, and schedule a visit even if you’ve been there before. You’ll see the place through different eyes when you’re not considering it a safety. Ask your parents about successful people they know who managed despite not getting in to their first choice college. (Here’s a start: William and Mary rejected me and I lived to tell the tale.)
Which brings us to point number three: if you are determined to go to one school, planning to reapply as a transfer student, it might not be a bad idea to ask why you were rejected. You might be surprised to find out how seemingly random the choice was; perhaps there were dozens of students with very similar transcripts and the ones whose parents didn’t go to college (a hot admissions decision factor right now) made the cut. You might on the other hand get some very useful information.
That’s what happened to Harlan Cohen, author of The Naked Roommate: And 100 Other Issues You Might Encounter in College. Cohen was rejected by his first choice, Indiana University. “It’s never a great feeling when someone says, ‘I don’t want you,’” he says, but he called to ask why. “Nine out of 10 times, they will tell you the reason.” Cohen applied as a transfer to Indiana University and was accepted.
If you’ve been rejected by every school, or just aren’t interested in attending where you were accepted, you need to do some homework. There are some amazing gap year programs that can help you get some experience or refocus your plans (check back soon for a column on gap year options), and there are schools with rolling admissions) that are still accepting applications. Get started researching your options—nothing feels better than being proactive when you’ve been dealt a setback.
Finally, make the most of your situation. As Dodge Johnson, Educational Consultant, noted in his Philadelphia Inquirer Column “Countdown to College,” “Whatever you do, learn from your setback and give your next step your best effort. If it's a job, do it well….If it's a college that wasn't what originally what you had in mind, give it your all - and shelve any thoughts of transfer for at least a year. Fairy tale dreams may come true because people wish for them. But real dreams come true mostly because people make them happen. That's not so bad when you think about it. After all, it puts your future where it belongs - in your hands.”


Dealing With College Admission Rejection

College Recruiting: Should Yale Target Locals For College Admissions

College Recruiting: Should Yale Target Locals For College Admissions


For the past 25 years, the average number of freshmen in each Yale class from New Haven could be counted on two hands. Elm City residents currently comprise less than 1 percent of Yale College’s student population. And only a portion of those students attended one of the city’s public schools.
While the Yale admissions office offers year-round tours and interviews, it does not have exclusive recruiting initiatives to target students from New Haven public schools.
Six guidance counselors from New Haven public schools said in interviews that Yale should pro-actively reach out to local public school students. But Dean of Admissions Jeff Brenzel said Yale’s existing programs — such as information sessions held at local schools upon request and an annual conference to which public school students are invited — demonstrate the extent to which his office already offers support.
“With Yale being so accessible and so close to these schools, we feel that the hospitality that we afford and the outreach that we do [is] substantial,” Brenzel said in an interview.
Still, none of these programs are unique to New Haven public schools. Local guidance counselors said their time is too scarce to help every rising senior who wants to apply to the University, and they are not alone in thinking that Yale should be more aggressive in its assistance.
“You’ve got to help [New Haven public school] kids once they’re in high school,” said Pedro Noguera, a professor at New York University and one of the nation’s leading scholars on urban education. “Affluent kids, they’ve got tutors, they’ve got huge advantages — you have to try to level the playing field to give less-affluent kids the opportunity.”
It is about fostering good will with the community, Noguera said, and about making Yale a resource for New Haven.



College Recruiting: Should Yale Target Locals For College Admissions