Scholarships: How to locate, understand and apply for free money for college! Jodi Miller - CHS counselor
Scholarship searching can feel like trying to swim an ocean, climb a mountain or an uphill run. I m going to give you some tips on where to look, what to avoid, why it s worth the time and effort and reasons to start now!
Three types: 1)National 2)State 3)Local
National Scholarships - Not as great of chance as state or local; however, how many apply can be on a very large continuum 1) www.finaid.org/scholarships 2) www.fastweb.com 3) www.collegeboard.com 4) CHS website - Parent or student tab counseling/career/scholarships
Local scholarships - usually small but mighty! WaferTech 2015 Scholarship Application Students involved with STEM education in our community who plan to pursue education in a STEM related career Margaret and William Ginder Scholarship 2015 Camas Senior pursuing an education in history or economics Rotary Scholarship 2015 Resume, essay, community service Camas Athletics Booster Club Application 2- $3000 scholarships. One will be awarded to a female and the other to a male athlete.
GPA isn t the only thing that grants a scholarship...
Leadership, unique hobbies (gardening, sewing), special interests (teaching, I.T., technical programs), ethnicity, religion. BEWARE! If you have to pay money to get money, it s probably a scam Nobody can guarantee that you will win a scholarship Don t give out personal information such as SS number, bank account information or credit card information Have your student document everything done grades 9-12! Including: employment/work experience (paid or unpaid); community activities (church, scouts, beautification projects, collecting donations for a non-profit); extracurricular clubs or sports; special talents; strengths/challenges. FORM IS AVAILABLE - KEEP IT IN A COLLEGE PLANNING NOTEBOOK
Start early! Freshman year you can begin! Review, read, gather materials, apply! Some require letters of recommendation - please give writer at least two weeks notice above the deadline. Also, some require transcripts - request via Mrs. Reed. Spend time on essays - you can get some big bucks! Have student allow at least two adults to proof read. Resources available for essay writing. No scholarship is too small. THINK of it as a job. If you spent 5 hours researching, writing your essay and applying for it; you just earned yourself $100 per hour. A better paying job than what most people will ever earn per hour. You can t win if you don t try!!
QUESTIONS TO ASK/EXPLORE/RESEARCH - 1) Merit based (academic) vs. Need based (financial/other) 2) How long will you receive the scholarship? criteria for continuing to receive (some require pay back if criteria is not met) 3) Some mixes allowed, some are not. CAUTION: WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange) & academic award. Make sure a state specific award can be taken out of state. 4) REMEMBER - YOU CAN T WIN IF YOU DON T APPLY
College Admissions: Social Media Tune-Up Why tune-up your social media accounts? Sometimes, colleges you ve applied to will want to get a feeling for how you behave outside of your academic life, and will turn to your online presence for answers. This is a good thing! It means you have another opportunity to make a positive impact on your application. Social media is a great way to backup any claims about yourself, your interests, and your activities that you make in your application. However, social media can also be damaging to your application if your posts and tweets make admissions officers uneasy. According to research by Cornerstone Reputation, in the 2013-14 application year 40% of admissions officers and 83% of college sports coaches searched applicants online. Your online presence can have a big impact either positive or negative. Jodi Walder-Biesanz is the founder of Portland, Oregon-based College Admission Coach LLC which helps students identify and gain admission to right-fit schools where they will thrive academically and personally. Contact her at jodi.walder@comcast.net Elise Cutts is a freshman at CalTech. A graduate of Sunset High School in Beaverton, Elise founded PEG (Physics and Engineering for Girls). She plans to become an astrophysicist and science fiction writer. http://www.golocalpdx.com/lifestyle/colleges-admissions-socialmedia-tune-up