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Financial Aid for School
My fellow graduate student used to say that 50% of getting a
college education is being able to jump through the hoops. One of
those hoops—that often seems as if it a circus hoop on fire—is the
hoop of financial aid for school. But after we graduated and went on
to teach, I made it a goal to help students at the community college
where I taught and worked in the learning center to find financial
aid for school after community college. In my research, which I used
for financial aid workshops, I found multiple methods, venues, and
possibilities for finding and getting financial aid for the school
of one’s dreams.
WHERE TO BEGIN
First, know yourself. What is your major? Why? What career do you
have in mind? Why? What kind of money do you seek? And what are you
eligible for (what characteristics do you have that meet the
criteria for financial aid for school, a grant or grants for study,
or scholarships for specialty areas and skills)?
Financial Aid--> Taxpayer-supported stipends based on need
Grants--> Federal, state, and college gifts based on need
Scholarships--> College, corporate and private gifts based on
academic status/excellence and standing
Next, ask (anyone and everyone).
Then, look (everywhere).
WHO TO ASK/WHERE TO LOOK
1. In the college. If you are a transfer student at a community
college, seeking financial aid for school elsewhere—at the
university you will transfer to, etc.--start your search locally, at
the college you are attending. Every campus has a financial aid
office (or area) which offers financial aid applications, a
scholarship bulletin board, and grant information.
2. Newspaper classifieds sections, backs of trade magazines (in your
field), and the yellow pages (major corporations often give big $).
3. Check other likely places: ask your employer, the place where you
volunteer, your Mom or Dad’s employer, organizations (Lion’s club,
Elks, Eastern Star) and church(es).
4. Investigate corporations. Many give large scholarships. (For
example, Coca-Cola gave thousands to one of the students at my
college one year, and another big biz gave a Psych major $10,000 to
transfer to a state university.)
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5.Use a free scholarship search:
www.brokescholar.com
www.scholarsite.com
www.collegeboard.com
www.fastweb.com
www.srnexpress.com
www.uprise.info.org
www.iefa.orgiv
www.iie.orgv
www.iccs.ciec.orgvi
www.internationalscholarships.comvii
www.rotary.org
www.forkningsradet.no
www.aisf.or.jp
www.istc.umn.edu
www.cies.orgviii
www.scholarships-bourses-ca.orgix
http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3undergr.htm
HOW TO APPLY
1.Start early. The process is arduous and time consuming, and the
wait window is at times quite long, taking sometimes a whole
semester to land the dough (which you initially come up with to pay
for a semester and which is then given you as a reimbursement, in
other words).
2. Read eligibility requirements carefully. Each organization/group/
individual maintains strict criteria.
3. Keep scholarship materials organized (in separate folders, for
example).
4. Keep copies of EVERYTHING.
5. Do your homework: look at biographies, annual reports, grants
list(s) of previous recipients (and, if possible, their bios and
entry essays).
6. Learn what forms you need: For financial aid, for example, you
need a number of forms which can be found at
www.fafsa.ed.gov; for grants
and scholarships, request a copy of the guidelines and the
application. Call or email the sponsor if you have questions.
7. Follow instructions.
8. Proofread carefully.
9. Leave nothing blank.
10. Be legible.
11. Get application materials in early.
12. AVOID SCAMS. When doing the footwork/research for support, be
mindful of any of the following:
Anyone/any site who/that asks for your credit card/bank
numbers/social security number2
Anyone/site guaranteeing a scholarship
Anyone who “selects” you as a “winner”
Anyone who offers unsolicited free stuff
Any “Foundation” without a name (Check out the source)
Anyone who tells you you can’t get this info “anywhere else”
Any place that says it/they is/are “holding” a scholarship for you
and need money from you first
Anyone who asks for any money
Anyone who offers to do all the work for you, for as you see here,
while I have done scads of work for you, you still have a lot of
work to do to get that money!!!!!
1 Many of us use a template. If you do so, be sure that all the
names, dates, etc. are changed accordingly.
2 Of course, government financial aid forms, based on income, will
ask for ss# and/or IRS info.
i Requires you fill out a great deal of personal info first
ii Lends itself to specific fields/majors and citizenship/residency
status (good for int’l students!?); however, poorly edited and
limited in combinations (possibilities)
iii Even though free, you must join
iv International student scholarship search engine
v Ibid
vi Ibid
vii Ibid. nota bene: this is a superb search engine: it breaks down
and collects the field, major, school, gender, ethnicity,
geographical location criteria for you.
viii This is the website of the famous Fulbright Scholar Program. Go
for it!
ix Cannot forget Canada. Actually, this is for Canadians and other
students studying abroad.
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