Let's talk college

[scrappurple]

Does anyone have great info on college scholarships/grants? this is my first time with my oldest dd and I am lost. I feel like an ant in the ocean!!

 

[Julie Billingsley]

what year of high school is your daughter? Does she know what college she wants to get into, or does she have a few choices?

First, you'll want to fill out the FAFSA in January for the upcoming school year. So if she is going to college next September 2013, you'll fill it out in January 2013. I highly highly recommend not waiting because a lot of grants and scholarships are given out to early applicants. The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and it figures out how much you can get in grants (free money for college) and loans (student loans and parent loans). The FAFSA will also help the colleges that she is interested in determine if they can offer her any scholarships.

Second, when filling out the college application there could be some short essay questions. The college that my son goes to had about 6 short essay questions on the application he filled out his senior year of high school. Those essays are evaluated for scholarships. My son got one scholarship that way and it was for $2000 a year for 4 years. So take those application essays as good scholarship opportunities.

Third, go to the websites of the colleges she is interested in. In the Financial Aid section they typically will have info and links to scholarships. Some scholarships will be based on what degree she is interested in, others will be for any student. We've had a lot of luck with this type of resource.

Fourth, check out companies you are already associated with. Check with your or your spouse's work, if either of you are part of a union check them, your bank's website (like here or here- look at your bank website, then click their "student loans" section and look on that page for scholarship info), and also check various organizations you might be part of like VFW, the Elks, etc.

Five, check out organizations that give scholarships for whatever program your daughter is interested in. My son is pursuing an engineering degree and we searched (through google) for engineering scholarships. This research can be very time consuming, however, it can pay off. My son has a $1000 scholarship for 4 years because of this.

Six, go through websites that have a database of scholarships. I'd recommend asking her high school for good recommendations. We had zero luck with this, but others find success in this. We did get a lot of spam because of these type of sites, so again, ask your high school for good recommendations because some sites aren't legit.

Seven, a lot of awesome scholarships are only available for college juniors and above, so be sure to look out for those in a few years too.

Hope that helps some. Let me know if I can help answer questions!

 

[scrappurple]

That TOTALLY helped! She is a Senior this year and knows where she is going to college. She wants to be an interior designer/interior architecture. Unfortunately, the school she is going to really doesn't offer scholarships like a university or state college would. Their admission process: if you apply, you're in. It is accredited, which is good. This is my first time doing this so I am totally in the dark. I didn't even think about googling her major and scholarships. :wub:

 

[Julie Billingsley]

Glad it helped some. Art and technical schools are different than universities, and I don't know much about scholarships to those. The FAFSA still might get her grants (free money) for school. It's free and it can only help you. Anyone going to college should fill it out. Grants are based on income and even middle class people can get them... it just depends on the numbers. Contact the school's financial dept to see if they have leads for you on scholarships if they don't have the info on their website. All the best to her!!