1. Start Your Scholarship or Grant Search As Early As Possible
Although each scholarship program has it s own deadline – most scholarships programs are awarded on a first-come-first-served basis. This means that many grants and scholarships will not be able to fund all applications they may receive. You should start your search for college scholarships during your sophomore or junior year of high school – it s never to early to start the search!

2. Make Use Of Professional Scholarship & Grant Search Services
There are literally thousands of scholarships that go unclaimed every year, simply for lack of qualified applicants. The reason is that there are many obscure and little publicized private scholarships and grants that simply do not receive finding requests from qualified applicants every term. It s almost impossible to find these by yourself – a qualified professional scholarship or grants database can help you locate these programs and determine whether or not you qualify.

Please takes note that no one scholarship database contain a complete list of scholarship programs, you should take time to search as many of them as possible. Of course you may come up with some duplicates, but it’s better than you miss out any good scholarships programs.

 3. Look for Financial Aids Page of College’s Website
College websites are after gold mines of scholarship information, if you know where to look for. First, look at the admission page as it will contain a list of merit scholarships. Review the listed scholarships to see whether the scholarship programs apply for your field of study. Then, check the details at the college’s Financial Aids page for details application requirement. If you are a graduate student, you should at the graduate section of the site, which often lists university-sponsored fellowships and fellowships from external sources. Besides, you should write down the contact information for further enquiries.

4. Search for Specific Scholarships Using Search Engines
In order to use search engines, such as MSN, Yahoo or Google, to locate the best scholarship programs, narrow your search by using precise keywords. For example, if you are looking for surgical nursing scholarships, then search with the keyword term “surgical nursing scholarship” for more targeted results.

5. Utilize The School s Own Resources
If you know what school you would like to attend, then use the school s own resources in addition to the ones suggested above. Every college has a financial aid office, and should be able to refer you to several resources, although bear in mind – these tend to be just the better known ones, and may often tend towards loans rather than scholarships and grants.

Originally posted 2009-04-02 20:03:12. Republished by Old Post Promoter.

1) Ask for your recommendation letters at least six weeks in advance. Your teachers are busy – and this gives them the time to really write the letter that they want to write and that you need for them to write!

2) Make your request in writing and deliver it in person. If you need something special emphasized in the letter, let them know at this time.

3) Follow up: Two weeks after your request, remind them with a note in their mailboxes, and then 7 days after that, make a visit to their classroom. Remind them in person that your deadline is approaching, and that you will come by in a few days to pick it up. Thank him or her again for their effort.

4) Stop by a few days later – just poke your head in and ask when you can come by and pick up your letter. Get a commitment at this point!

5) Ask for more letters than you really think you need. (awards may vary in the number of letters needed). If you think you need two – ask for letters from 4 people.

6) If you are applying for several scholarship awards ask your teacher or whoever, if they could put their letter on a CD, so that you can print out the letters and bring them back for their signature.

7) Who to ask for a recommendation letter? Obviously, an instructor in a topic that relates to the scholarship you are applying for is important – if you are applying for an art scholarship, then your art instructor s recommendation is very important! But, other letters can be from teachers in unrelated classes, as most scholarship funders look for well-rounded students to make the awards to.

Use your high school letterhead, when possible.

Originally posted 2009-04-15 20:03:12. Republished by Old Post Promoter.

However, of the various types of student funding aid available from the United States Federal Government, the preferred choice is grants, by both both students and parents alike, mainly because grant money for college, unlike a student loan, doesn’t have to be paid back. It is based solely on need, calculated by putting your financial data through a formula, which includes your income and various expenses. This is then used to determine your award.To apply for free grant money for college, you will need to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The quickest way to do that is to apply online at FAFSA.ed.gov.

You can also complete the CSS Profile Application. The Profile is a must if you are an incoming freshman, since most colleges require this form in addition to the FAFSA to determine if you qualify for free grant money for college.

Your CSS Profile and your FAFSA data are then used to calculate the total amount of free grant money for college you are eligible to receive. Here’s how:

When you apply for the FAFSA free grant money for college, you will be asked to submit several documents; the data received become the basis of your EFC.

On the FAFSA form, there is a place called the CPS or the Central Processing System. A formula, called Federal Methodology, will be used by the Dept of Education, which administers FAFSA, to determine your eligibility (EFC)

Knowing your EFC is very important in applying for free grant money for college – this is a key factor is determining your need, since the EFC is what the government says the amount is you should be able to pay toward your own education based on your state of residence, household size, number in college and student and parent income and other asset information.

In addition to the EFC is the COA or Cost of Attendance. This school you are planning to attend establishes this figure- it is composed of tuition, room and board, fees and other estimated miscellaneous expenses, such as books, supplies, personal, etc.

Your financial need is calculated by subtracting the EFC from the COA to determine if you qualify for free grant money for college. The formula is the standard guideline in determining how much need-based financial aid you may receive from the government.

The equation, simplified, looks like this:

COA – EFC = Financial Need

Once the ‘need’ is determined, the school financial aid office should then use their various’need-based’ resources to try and meet your financial needs for college.

Originally posted 2009-04-19 20:03:12. Republished by Old Post Promoter.

But many of these students then have to look at the bottom line cost for their dream schools and wonder how their family is going to be able to pay for the expenses.

Today, the total cost of college is enormous – and it’s not just the tuition, fees, and books. It’s also the housing and food and other expenses. If your chosen school is quite a ways from your family’s home, then you also have the cost of transportation between the school and home during the school year, and then you have to factor in the occasional ‘extras’ – sporting events, a movie, pizza, clothing. It all adds up!

Colleges know that there are expenses beyond tuition – they call this the Total Cost of Attendance and it supposedly covers all of these variables. For Harvard, that TCA is $52,650, MIT, it is $50,100, USC runs $65,000. And yes, these figures are more than most families make in a year.

So, the question is whether you can afford to go to the expensive college you want, or you should choose a less expensive state school that is closer to home.

Surprisingly, many students find that after they complete all the paperwork and really compare the costs – the ‘expensive’ school and the local school may cost their family the same amount. Once you complete the FAFSA, and you get your expected family contribution (EFC)you will find the number is the same whether you are attending a school that costs $15,000 or $50,000.

But – if you qualify for one of the many programs available at major schools – such as Harvard, MIT, and USC – these schools will guarantee to meet demonstrated need. That means, they will find the money in terms of scholarships, grants, work study, and loans, to make sure you can attend.

Harvard goes a step farther and charges no fees (including fees for room and board) for students whose families make less than $80,000 a year.

There are, of course, schools that cannot meet the financial need of their accepted students, but these tend to be private schools with more limited endowments. These colleges may be need-blind in admissions, but meet the full demonstrated need of only a portion of their students. That means that you may have to take out private loans to fill the gap.

The only way you will know whether a dream school is accessable to you financially is to apply for admission and then fill out the FAFSA. These two actions put the financial aid process into motion. After you have been accepted, the school will do the things it can to get you to come to their school. That includes putting together the most attractive financial aid package.

Ironically, you have the best bet of getting a good financial aid package at the big name, expensive schools.

Originally posted 2009-04-10 20:03:12. Republished by Old Post Promoter.