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During the summer, parents can put their high school students to work searching for scholarships and writing applications. If a child will be a sophomore or junior in the fall, the timing is ideal.
Some of the sweetest scholarships — ones that pay $5,000 or even $25,000 — are awarded early in the high school years. But families often miss them because parents aren’t thinking about college when their children haven’t even passed driver’s training. Others assume erroneously that it’s futile to seek a scholarship if a child isn’t an A student or a star athlete.
Scholarships are geared for everyone from community do-gooders to inventors, golf caddies and bowlers. Some are designed specifically for members of racial minorities or particular religions, and others for people with learning or physical disabilities. According to FinAid.com, there’s even a $1,000 scholarship for a left-handed student who will attend Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa.
Parents tend to start searching frantically for money when children begin applying for college in their senior year of high school. Many don’t realize that tuition, room and board at a public university can run about $20,000 a year. Private schools, without the help of grants and scholarships, can be $45,000.
The trouble is that the parents’ panic over money hits at the worst time. Then, students are overloaded — trying to score well on SAT and ACT college entrance exams and writing essays for college applications while keeping their grades as high as possible.
At such a time, students can throw their hat into the ring for one of the few scholarships with no requirements other than entering a lottery. But in those contests, the numbers are against you. Any high school student who can click a mouse can enter.
Greater opportunities exist for scholarships that require substantial effort — such as writing essays. It might take more than 40 hours of work for one application. So the time during a summer break from school can allow a student to give the effort that’s needed.
Is it worth it?
A student might prefer the couch and TV. But $5,000 that isn’t taxed can make a difference. And families that take the application process seriously can add scholarship upon scholarship. When a student wins one award and puts it on a resume, the track record helps impress the committee weighing the application for the next scholarship, said Benjamin Kaplan, author of “How to Go to College Almost for Free.”
Kaplan won nearly $90,000 in scholarships while in high school in the 1990s and then wrote about how to do it. His book helped my children win almost that much.
To begin, start scouring Web sites such as FinAid.com or FastWeb.com. Some parental supervision is wise because most scholarship Web sites depend on giving businesses access to potential teen customers. Most sites are set up like obstacle courses, putting “free offers” for music or other items in front of teens as they navigate toward the scholarship search. If they take the bait for the “free” offers, they could end up being snared in potentially expensive offers. My advice: Say “no” to the free items and go straight for the scholarship search.
There are books of scholarships available in bookstores and high school counseling offices, but Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.com, suggests skipping any book copyrighted before 2008. Scholarship criteria, prizes and deadlines change from year to year. Even some Web sites list outdated information.
Using Web sites allows students to program in special interests and talents. Then the Web site spews out a list geared toward them. The lists can be overwhelming, with some awards as small as $500, and a lot of work to win. When my children were applying for scholarships, I suggested focusing on awards over $5,000, with criteria that looked like a good match.
For a quick search of the scholarships that grant the largest sums, on FinAid click on “scholarships” and “prestigious scholarships and fellowships.”
While most are geared toward undergraduates, some fund graduate school and study-abroad programs too.
In addition, if you thought you needed to be an A student for a scholarship, check out the FinAid scholarship link to “unusual scholarships.” If you are 14 or older, you could win $3,000 if you wear Duck brand tape to a high school prom. Average students who are creative and will go to Ball State University in Indiana could win $10,000 in the David Letterman Telecommunications Scholarship.
Starting early allows students to go beyond the scholarship lists. Often the best free money comes from colleges themselves, sometimes in the form of grants to students from middle- or low-income families, and sometimes to students who meet some type of talent or academic criteria.
To qualify for the need-based grants, which are based on family income, students apply for financial aid through the college financial aid office. They must fill out a form called the FAFSA, and sometimes another form called the Profile.
To receive extra scholarships at specific colleges for special talents, achievements and interests, students often must give extra effort. To get a merit scholarship, students might have to fill out an extra application. Search both “financial aid” and “admissions” on college Web sites for scholarships, and pay attention to application dates, which often are different than the date to apply for college. Also, ask admissions offices if there are scholarships for any special talent.
The benefit of searching for outside scholarships early transcends winning college money. Many scholarship applications require students to submit resumes and references. That gets students to start thinking early in high school about what they have achieved, and what they could still do to enhance their background. Students who do that can increase their chance of winning a scholarship and being admitted to a college that might otherwise be a stretch, Kaplan said.
He said he talked to one science scholarship winner who used a summer to pursue a science project involving an oil spill. And an art scholarship winner painted murals on old buildings to spruce up a community.
Gail MarksJarvis is a personal finance columnist for the Chicago Tribune and author of “Saving for Retirement without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery.”
Contact her at gmarksjarvis@tribune.com.
