College Scholarships
Due to ever-increasing costs of going to college, it is a good idea to search out available scholarships and apply for them. Scholarships are one of the most enticing forms of financial aid available today. This is because they are available to anyone without any repayment requirements! Many scholarships are overlooked and therefore are a missed opportunity for many students.
If students know about scholarships, they can apply for them, but many students do not know that college scholarships exist. Most students do not understand that there are scholarships obtainable to them, which could pay a major part of their education. In fact, the college scholarship can be used for any educational opportunity. This is includes private or public college, junior college or four-year universities, graduate or certificate programs.
What are college scholarships?
College Scholarships programs come in a variety of forms, which are normally considered free college money. College scholarships, unlike loans, do not have to be repaid. Scholarships can be awarded directly to students in a form of a check or to the school itself. You can receive a scholarship from any of the following types of organizations: charitable foundations, businesses, schools, universities, government agencies, and sometimes-even clubs or groups within the school.
Who can get college scholarships?
Although many scholarships are granted based on grades, this is a misconception. There are scholarships for less than perfect academics as long as you meet the other requirements. They range from athletic scholarships, to community service scholarships.
Many scholarship providers want to reward students for choosing a particular school or state. It is believed by older students that only college-bound high school seniors can apply for scholarship awards, this is not true. Scholarships are accessible for all levels of college study, from freshman undergrads to graduate students. You will need to make sure that you check the requirements for each scholarship for which you apply.
How do students find college scholarships?
It takes some time and energy to find and apply for scholarships, but the hard work will most likely pay off. You can sometimes find them by asking department heads if there are available scholarships, in the department you will major in.
Some student's use highly regarded and accurate scholarship search services on the Internet to save time in the searching process. This is highly recommended. Online resources are a good idea as long as the website offers updated, current data and a way to match the student with the scholarship.
High school students can ask their guidance counselors about their eligibility for local or state scholarship awards. You should also make sure that you contact the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend, to see if they qualify for awards issued by the school. Finally yet importantly, students should ask their parents and friends to be on the lookout for scholarships, while always checking local bulletin boards and newspapers for additional scholarship listings.
For more information, visit College Scholarship
About The Author:
David Chandler
For your FREE Stock Market Trading Mini Course:
"What The Wall Street Hot Shots Won't Tell You!" go to: The Stock Market Genie
David Chandler
www.StockMarketGenie.com
For your FREE Stock Market Trading Mini Course:
"What The Wall Street Hot Shots Won't Tell You!" go to: www.StockMarketGenie.com
The Need For Scholarships
Scholarships are the amount of money that is given or cut in fees of students on some spatial basis. Various institutes all over the world provide scholarships for students, based on performances in exams or in some other cases as arias, finance or family backgrounds.
Scholarships are the financial help to the students for their studies. Most of the time scholarships are given based on performances. It is a kind of reward for brilliant students as the reductions of fees or direct financial help. Institute provides scholarships to uplift the level of education and to make it easy for brilliant students to get higher education at low cost.
Higher education is getting more and more costly now a days. Sometimes it gets even out of reach for a certain class of people. Scholarships provide the opportunity to the students of those classes to reach up to that higher education, without caring about big amounts of fees. Sometimes students have to earn money for their own expenses besides the fees of the institutes, in such cases scholarships helps a lot.
In countries, where higher studies are not world class, students tends to go abroad for studies, sometimes because of differences of currencies it becomes a big problem for them, most of the world class institutes provides scholarships for outsider students on the basis of certain exams which help students study abroad. Most of the excellent engineering, medical, business, arts and other institutes provide scholarships. As in U.S.A., all big educational institutes have scholarships for outsider students as well as excellent home country students.
Not only for higher level, but for now almost every educational institute has scholarship programs in different forms. Those programs help in raising education level and provide opportunity for performers. Almost all governmental institutes have scholarship programs to help performers in which government provides money to feed excellence in the country. World over big educational institutes have various scholarship programs and now it is a regular phenomena for all kinds of institutes.
Besides performance in examinations there are some more criteria in which scholarships are provided as there are scholarships for handicaps, scholarships for poor students, scholarships for military background students, scholarships for outsider students and scholarships on the basis of personal earnings (students without financial support of any kind).
Scholarships are always given to certain students on some spatial basis; there are three basic reasons for it:
Giving reward to performers so performance is appreciated and others are given motivation to perform.
Helping students, which are financially incapable, but academically excellent.
Honoring some families from spatial backgrounds (as in military)
Scholarship is a very good system for studies as now importance of studies, spatially higher studies, is regularly increasing. In such case, if there are students, which have excellent qualities but are unable to pay heavy fees, will not be able to study than it will be a big loss of human resource. On the other hand scholarships provides motivation to all kinds of students and establish the importance of studies.
Catalogue: Reference & Education | College
Title: The Need For Scholarships By: Dana Goldberg
All Scholarship Applications are Alike, Right?
Evaluating thousands of scholarship applications has
definitely left an impression on me. I still remember
some of them, because the students who submitted them
managed to get into my head in a personal way.
Many books and articles will tell you that "personalization"
is good, but they don't tell you how to accomplish
that. I saw a photo attached to an app showing the
senior student shaking hands with the President of
the United States. Another enclosed an audio tape that
revealed his talent to play the fiddle in a country
band. A girl had her photograph taken with a well-
known professional golfer after she had won a state
tournament. A boy included a picture of his debating
trophies. Another had won a two day fishing tournament
and held the trophy in a picture to prove it. Another
had built his own computer. Still, another had patented
her own invention, a device for counting inventory
units. In each case the items were part of the
requirements of the scholarship award, not just thrown
in for effect. These are super examples of
"personalizing" a scholarship application, but it
doesn't have to be that noticeable.
There were also attempts at personalization not well
received, a picture of a girl in a very tiny bikini.
The word thong comes to mind. Another included prize
ribbons with a request to return them when the judging
was over. We had to send them back at our own expense!
Another application had an algebra homework assignment
inside, oops. We sent that back, too. Her siblings
were probably blamed for its disappearance. One
application had a Santa Claus hat inside. It came
from Alaska. I'm still trying to figure that one out.
Why is personalization so important? Imagine that you
are on the committee, sitting around a table with 247
scholarship forms. It is the committee’s job to pick a
winner. All of the apps appear to look alike. All
things being equal, which one is going to be chosen?
It’s impossible to say. But, let’s suppose that one
personalized his/her request and made it stand out
positively from the rest. Now, someone has taken the
time to be bold, inventive and creative. They have made
it possible for the scholarship committee to know more
about who they are. They are more than a just a piece
of paper with a name on it. They have revealed intimate
sides to their personalities. Who will win now? The
choice is obvious.
Personalize don't dramatize. Use good judgment and
common sense when personalizing. Try to imagine who
the people are making up the committee. Then, send in
your request knowing that, out of all who sent their
forms, you are the one who will win. You are the person
who deserves the money.
Planning produces positive outcomes when the
scholarship effort is truly a family affair.
Catalogue: Home & Family | Kids
Title: All Scholarship Applications are Alike, Right? By: Dale Clifton, The Scholarship Doctor
How to Win Lots of Scholarship Money
Want to Win a Lot of Scholarship Money? Beginning in junior high/
middle school is a great time to start. I'm serious. A winning
scholarship effort always requires a plan. And assembling a plan of
action requires time.
After one of my talks a happy couple asked me "Why do you think
starting in the 8th grade is the best time?" Before I could answer
they said, "We are telling our children in the fifth grade to
start working on winning scholarship contests and any other contests
that we find out about.
They Got Results! Before they left I discovered their first child
had already graduated from college with 50% paid by scholarships only
because they got a late start; or it would have been 100%. They
weren't going to make the same mistake with their other student. I
asked them what they thought was the hardest part of a search. Their
answer surprised me. "NOTHING! There's just a lot to think about. We
really didn't have a plan then. Now we do. And now that we have heard
your College Scholarship Plan we're going to eliminate some things
and add others. We're glad we came to your seminar."
I met a senior, we'll call him "Jake", who was in the top third of
his class. His GPA was in the C+ B- range. I told him that many
scholarships had C+ qualifications or higher. Jake was dumbfounded.
He thought all college scholarships were for the kids with really
high GPAs. Later, in a letter, I learned that Jake had won a
scholarship that would enable him to go to college.
Scholarship Doctor Rule #1
Make sure that you are on the same page. If he/she wants to attend
college, it will happen. And families can make it happen by talking
about it early, often, and openly.
Scholarship Doctor Rule #2
Start telling everyone you know about your student's college and
scholarship intentions. Broadcast it morning, noon, and night to
friends, relatives and acquaintances. Do this not once or twice but
continuously from the 8th through 12th grades. Serious efforts
require drastic measures.
Scholarship Doctor Rule #3
Make it a goal for everyone in the family to help your student win
scholarships and attend college.
Scholarship Doctor Rule #4
Give the student enough space and quiet time to study.
Scholarship Doctor Rule #5
Be sure to offer continuous encouragement.
And never forget: The college scholarship effort is truly a family affair
Catalogue: Reference & Education
Title: How to Win Lots of Scholarship Money By: Dale Clifton, The Scholarship Doctor
Scholarships for Graduate Students
After a few years in the working world, many graduates find that they just can't advance any farther in their careers without having additional qualifications and credentials. Higher education is so accessible these days that a Bachelor's degree doesn't always bring the prestige and opportunities that it once did. This is particularly true in high technology areas, the sciences and business management.
You are probably going to have to earn a Master's degree or a Doctorate in order to move up the corporate ladder, become a tenured teacher, or get a high-paying job in any number of other fields.
Graduate school costs a lot of money, and if you are still trying to pay off previous school loans how can you possibly get a Master's degree without acquiring a lot of additional debt? One way is to find and apply for scholarships for graduate students.
You might not even have been aware that there are special scholarships available for graduate students. Most people think that scholarships only exist only for undergraduate students, but that's not the case at all.
Many scholarships exist for graduate students and work in the same way that they do for undergrads, except that the awards are specifically intended to fund a Master's degree, law degree, doctorate program, and similar advanced study endeavors. Often these are paid by large companies and corporations but rarely are strings attached relating to future work requirements.
Depending on the size of the award you win, you can either subsidize a portion of your tuition bill or be able to pay for everything and attend school on that coveted full scholarship.
Finding a scholarship as a graduate students can however pose some problems. The availability of scholarships depends on the subject to be studied and not all awards are advertised through the usual channels. It can take hours of research to come up with just a couple of leads that you could potentially qualify for. This discourages many people and a lot of awards go unclaimed as a result.
That is actually good news for you because, if you are determined, it means there sometimes isn't much competition for a lesser-known scholarship. You will therefore have a better chance of winning an award and making grad school more affordable. But if other people can't find out about these lucrative scholarships, how can you? Well, the easiest way is to register with a company that matches your qualifications to existing awards.
There are a number companies that perform this service for a fee, and you can find most of them online. Though the specific services and fees differ depending on which company you sign up with, you'll generally have two separate options.
First, you can sign up with a company that will personally work with you to find potential scholarships that you can apply for. You will have to fill out an online questionnaire detailing your academic and career accomplishments, as well as your intended field of study and perhaps some personal information such as age, gender, and ethnicity.
These personal questions are important because some scholarships for graduate students are restricted to certain ethnic groups or possibly only women may be eligible for the award.
Once the company has your information, a specialist will then begin the process of matching you to award opportunities. You can then decide which awards you want to apply for.
The second option, at a much lower cost, is to sign up with a company that simply gives you access to a searchable database containing thousands of scholarships for graduate students. You can tweak your searches in various ways to yield different results This gives you greater flexibility in browsing through potential awards.
If you want to get the most out of your career, then grad school is probably the way for you to go. You can take steps now to help defray the high cost of tuition by registering with a company that will alert you to available scholarships for graduate students. You can win a significant amount of money towards your education that you will never have to repay, so check out some of these sites today.
About the Author
John worked for many years in insurance and finance and recently completed a degree in Creative Writing. He now writes on a number of topics including education. For information on education research subjects go to Research Paper Topic Ideas or go to In Education for a selection of articles on education for all ages.
John Edmond is 51 and lives in Manchester in the UK and worked in insurance and finance for many years. He recently returned to education and graduated university with a degree in Creative Writing and Writing for Performance. He now writes full time for a number of web sites.
College - Getting Scholarships
By: Michael Russell
In this article we're going to discuss what a student can do in order to get a scholarship to help pay for his college expenses.
One of the myths that needs to be done away with is the one where students believe that there is no way they're going to get a scholarship because they don't have good enough grades, their SAT scores aren't high enough or they just don't have the smarts.
There are many ways to get scholarships. The traditional and your main scholarship will be from good grades. There is no getting around that. A student at the top of his or her class with good SAT scores, when accepted to a college will most likely get a full or at least partial scholarship to the school of their choice. Of course a lot of this has to do with the school itself. The more elite schools will have stricter requirements for giving out scholarships. For example, a student applying to a county college may get a full scholarship for being number one or two in the class while that same student when applying to an Ivy League school may only get a partial scholarship or none at all. But again, good grades and SAT scores are only part of the equation.
The next part of the equation is economic need. There are many organizations who provide funds for students to go to school who simply can't afford it. The main organization for this is FAFSA. A student's first step in financing their education should be to file an application for financial aid with FAFSA. You can get an application for this at any college office or fill one out online. After filing, their program will immediately tell you, based on your reported income, how much money you will be expected to pay towards your child's education. For example, if your child is going to a school that is going to cost $30,000 a year and the FAFSA application says you are responsible for $20,000 then that means you should be getting $10,000 in aid from the government after you have submitted the paperwork to them with your school expenses.
Does that mean you're stuck with paying $20,000 for your kid's education? Not at all. Even if the college itself doesn't give your child any money, there are plenty of other places to get funds from.
Go to your local library or do an online search. You will find literally hundreds of private organizations that offer scholarships for students. Each one has different requirements but they all usually fall into one of several criterial.
The first criteria is that some of these organizations offer scholarships based on grades and SAT scores. In these cases, simply submit this information to the organization. They will get back to you and let you know if you're going to get a scholarship.
Some organizations base scholarships on essays. They pick out the students who wrote the best essays and these are the ones who get scholarships. There may be three scholarship awards for these essay contests.
Then there are organizations that offer scholarships based on some affiliation that you have such as if you had a family member who fought in a foreign war. Then there are organizations like the masons, elks, rotary, that offer scholarships if a family member is part of their organization. Most of these organizations are districted and usually give out only one or two scholarships per district.
So, as you can see, there are more ways for your kid to get money for college besides just getting good grades. But they do help.
Article Source: Scholarship Guide
Preparation For College Scholarship Application
By: Michael Russell
You are a senior in high school and will graduate in a year. If you want to go to college right after graduating from high school and have the need to apply for a scholarship, there are many things for you to prepare soon. Many colleges offer scholarships for their incoming students. This kind of scholarship goes together with the application for admission to that institute. The deadline of the scholarship is usually the same as the one for admission. Be aware of the deadline and get your application packet ready in time. Below are things you usually have to prepare for your application packet. High school study record - This is one of the most important elements in your application packet. The better your high school record is, the more chance of getting the scholarship you will have. Colleges pay attention to your separate grades as well as your average. Class rank is also very important. Most scholarship winners have the rank no lower than the top 20% in the class and full scholarship winners are always in the class top ten. Recommendation letters - Although some colleges don't state this in their criteria, this is essential if you want to get the scholarship. The recommendation letter is usually written by one of your teachers or by your headmaster. There is also the peer recommendation letter which is written by your classmates. However, you have to make sure that your classmate has good writing skills before asking for his help. Standardized test scores - Most colleges just give scholarships to students who have high scores in the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or ACT (American College Test). These definitions seem to work only in the USA, however, many colleges in different countries nowadays also use these kinds of tests to select incoming students. Honours/Awards - If you have won academic competitions and have awards, don't forget to mention them in your application packet. Although many colleges don't require that, it will make your application more special and thus gain more weight in the selection process. Extra activities and volunteer work - Colleges don't search for book worms only, they want to give scholarships to active students who are not only excel in classes but also have an interesting social life. Therefore don't forget to list all programs or activities you have been involved in and attach some proof of that. Essays - Most colleges require you to write an essay if you want to apply for their scholarships. They usually offer the topics you have to write about. Topics are generally why you have chosen the college, what your personal study goals are or some other specific issues. Through your essay, the college can judge your personality and your writing skills, as well as your ideas and eloquence ability. Therefore, make your ideas clear in the essay and try to find special things to write about. Making your essay attractive and outstanding is essential to your chance of success.
Article Source: Scholarship Guide