Playing And Winning The Scholarship Game
By Dan Rosenfield, Sat Dec 10th

OK, you don't have a 4.0 GPA, you're not the senior classpresident, you can't throw a football fifty yards, and your SATscores aren't generating letters or phone calls from Harvard,Yale or Princeton. So, you'll never qualify for a collegescholarship, right?

Not necessarily! There are lots of scholarships, and other kindsof financial aid for which you might qualify. Some colleges mayoffer you academic grants with a GPA of 3.0 and SAT scores of1000. Ashland University offers scholarships to twins. Manychurch affiliated colleges offer grants to students who aremembers of their religious denomination. And that's just thebeginning.

If you are the son or daughter of a military veteran, if eitherof your parents work for a major corporation, if your mother orfather is a member of a fraternal or civic organization, or ifyou are preparing for a career in a particular profession, theremay be substantial scholarships for which you can apply, even ifyou're not a top student or student leader.

Are you good at writing essays? If you are, your writing skillsmay be the ticket to a scholarship. There is even a scholarshipfor students who agree to abstain from using tobacco and alcoholwhile in college.

You may even qualify for a scholarship because of where youlive, your last name, your ethnic heritage or race, or a diseaseor handicapping condition you may have. Get the idea yet? Thereare all kinds of scholarships, grants, and financial aidprograms out there. Some require economic need or have otherrestrictions, others do not.

You can search through hundreds of thousands of possiblescholarships (free!) in more than twenty different data bases athttp://www.college-scholarships.com. While you're there, you cansign up for a free email newsletter with articles on collegeadmission, scholarship and financial aid programs, collegesurvival tips, and income opportunities for college students.

At http://www.guaranteed-scholarships.com you'll findscholarships given by individual college to all enrolledstudents meeting the listed criteria.

Student-athletes may visithttp://www.college-athletic-scholarships.com to find theinformation needed to secure an athletic scholarship (or anopportunity to compete in a Division III or othernon-scholarship program).

Don't forget your school counselor, as he or she can be a greatsource of information about local scholarship sources. In fact,most high school guidance offices maintain a list of locallybased scholarships. Parents and students would be well advisedto explore the range of scholarships for which they may qualifyas early as the ninth or tenth grade so they can plan to meetthe requirements of as many as possible.

You should be aware that many private colleges offer substantialscholarships and grants in order to be more competitive withlower cost public institutions and/or attract students who mightotherwise enroll elsewhere. These monies are often offered tostudents with very little or no demonstrated financial need. Infact, many private colleges frequently "rebate" 30%-35% (ormore) of their

tuition revenue in the form of institutionalfinancial aid. When these funds are factored in, privatecolleges may ultimately be little or no more expensive for somestudents to attend than public colleges and universities withlower published fees.

If you can demonstrate financial need, as established by youranswers on the FAFSA form at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ , you maywant to apply to at least a few colleges which meet 100% ofdemonstrated financial need and do so with a reasonableproportion of gift aid to self-help aid (loans and/or work-studyfunds). Take note that although some relatively small number ofcolleges will meet the full need of all enrolled students, manymore will be far more likely to meet or nearly meet the fullneed of stronger students.

To position yourself well to be a competitive candidate forscholarships, students should take the most challenging classesavailable, work diligently to learn as much as possible (notjust to get grades), and get involved in co-curricular,community, charitable and/or public service activities. Here's agood rule of thumb for all students; the more you have to offerthe more you're likely to be offered.

Remember three words...research, research, and research. Themore time you spend investigating scholarship opportunities, themore likely you are to find scholarships for which you may beeligible.

Don't let anyone discourage you. There are lots of people "outthere," including some educators, who are inadvertentlyspreading their serious misconceptions about who may qualify forfinancial aid and what is required to do so. Most important ofall, do not fail to investigate or apply to a college you likebecause you think it is too expensive. That is one of the mostcommon and worst mistakes a family can make. Remember, you neverknow what kinds of scholarships and/or financial aid you mightreceive.

However, just like you should have "fall back" or "safety"colleges in case you are not admitted to your first choiceinstitutions, you should choose and apply to colleges that willbe affordable if you do not receive the financial assistance forwhich you hope.

Obvious as it may be, I feel obligated to remind you to payattention to details and deadlines when applying forscholarships because so many students fail to do so. I couldhardly believe it when an independent educational counselor whoprobably earns in the neighborhood of $1,000 for helping astudent identify and gain admission to appropriate collegesasked (on an email list serve) how many words above the limitone of her counsulees could go on his college application essay.Don't make the mistake that she did by assuming there will be nopenalty if you "come close" to the requirements or are "only afew days beyond the deadline". If you don't pay attention, beprepared to pay for your mistakes. But, do it right and you havea great chance of getting some scholarship and or financial aidhelp. Good luck.

About the author:Dan Rosenfield is a university dean who creates educationalwebsites as a hobby. Among his sites ishttp://www.college-scholarships.com, one of the most popularcollege admissions and scholarships websites on the net. You canreach Dan at aegc@earthlink.net.