|
Featured Resources
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
(back)
The private payoff
Finding money to pay for college can be a daunting task. While applying for federal financial aid seems to be the normal recourse for many prospective college students, competition is fierce. What’s more, many scholarship and grant-eligibility criteria require you to meet demanding academic standards. What about you? Maybe you’re not the class president or a superstar athlete. Or maybe your grade point average won’t put the world in awe. Don’t despair; there is still a place in the scholarship world for you.
Each year, thousands of high school students achieve their dream of attending college due to funding from private scholarships. Private scholarships, also known as private endowments, total about $20 billion a year, according to the National Scholarship Research Service. Yet according to the National Commission on Student Financial Assistance and the House Subcommittee on Post-Secondary Education, more than one-third of this available money goes unclaimed each year. That’s not because students don’t qualify, but because many are unaware that the funds are available.
Take the Billy Barty Foundation (www.rth.org/bbf), which offers a scholarship for a promising student who has a form of dwarfism, a medically recognized condition that makes the body smaller than the average person’s.
Did you know that there are scholarships and grants available for twins (http://www.twinsfoundation.com)? Or that there is a scholarship with awards ranging from $500 to $5,000 for an individual who has caddied at least three years for a Massachusetts golf club (http://www.ouimet.org)?
Last name Gatling or Gatlin? The John Gatling Scholarship, named for the inventor of the Gatling gun, offers a full scholarship to North Carolina State University. There is also a left-handed scholarship, worth $1,000 to $1,500 a year, offered by Juniata College (http://www.juniata.edu), which is located in Huntingdon, Pa.
Each year, at least 54 percent of financial aid for college is contributed from various corporations or philanthropists from the private sector. Keep in mind that the donor, not colleges or universities, directly control private scholarships. The donors determine the application process, selection criteria and recipients.
Awardees of these scholarships are notified by the donors, yet the money is sent to the attending college or university for distribution. Think these scholarships only go to the neediest, most-athletic or most-brilliant students?
Think again.
Many private-sector scholarship requirements deal with your personal, educational and occupational background. Affiliations with certain organizations, talents, ethnicity or even where you live can be taken into consideration for your application.
There are many scholarships in your state or region. Look at scholarships available from the college in which you are interested. Regional scholarships, such as Pennsylvania’s bowling scholarships (http://www.psbabowl.org/Scholarships/scholarship_program.htm) require that you are a resident of Pennsylvania. Check with your high school’s guidance office or visit your local public library. Scholarship guides, such as “The Scholarship Book,” “Peterson’s Guide” and “Barron’s Guide to College and Universities,” are excellent sources for scholarship information.
Where to start
Start your application process early. Looking for possible scholarships during your sophomore year is not too early to begin your search, says Denise Rossitto, Director of Corporate Communications for Sallie Mae, a financial-services corporation that handles the funding of student education loans. Starting early helps you and your family become familiar with the application process and with what is available. Allowing yourself enough time to complete your applications will make you less stressed and thus better able to identify all the awards for which you qualify.
Keep in mind that private scholarship deadlines vary, as they are often set to coincide with organization dates or important anniversaries. If it is possible, try to beat the scholarship deadline by at least a month.
Assessing your needs and goals
When looking for private scholarships, the first thing you should consider is the college or university you are planning to attend. Define your educational and financial needs and goals. Assess the tuition and fees, room and board costs and how long it will take you to graduate. Once these guidelines have been established, you can then look at where you qualify as a potential scholarship recipient.
Leave no stone unturned
When applying for scholarships, consider all of your attributes that could make a difference to scholarship committees. List your all your features that make you unique, and look into scholarships that match any and all of them. Some questions to ask yourself are:
- What do I plan to study?
- What hobbies do I have?
- What is my cultural or ethnic background?
- Do my parents or other family members belong to any professional organizations?
- In what clubs do I participate?
- What religion do I practice?
- To what military or veteran-support groups do I or my parents belong?
- What social organizations do I or my parents belong?
Pay close attention to the instructions on scholarship applications. Many private scholarships are very specific with their eligibility criteria. For example, Backpacker Magazine (http://www.backpacker.com/scholarship) requires that applicants possess leadership experience in the outdoors and a commitment to encouraging and protecting wilderness experiences for others. The Truckload Carrier Association (http://www.truckload.org/scholarships.htm) offers a scholarship that requires you to be a college junior or senior with a family member who is an employee of a trucking company or who is an independent contractor affiliated with a trucking company. The student must also be attending an accredited four-year college or university.
Attention to detail is important; any inaccurate, incorrect or missing information could cause delays in the processing of your application and possibly cost you the scholarship.
With more than 3,000 colleges and universities throughout the United States, it is sometimes difficult to identify the colleges and universities that will be able to offer you admission, meet your educational needs and offer you the financial-aid package you deserve.
Through private-sector scholarship, your dream of attending college can be achieved. If you are serious about applying for scholarships, take a look at yourself and your interests and define everything that you can use to find scholarships. Finding scholarships may seem like a lot of work, but it sure pays off.
Do I have to be extraordinary?
So you don’t have dwarfism, and you’re right-handed, too. Don’t worry; there are still financial-aid packages that take your unique skills and abilities into consideration. In addition to the athletic and academic scholarships that colleges and universities offer, there are also scholarships for students who have distinguished themselves through community service, leadership abilities, or who, for example, show special talent in journalism, dance, drama or art. Article provided by 
|
|
|
