This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

College Scholarships Begin with an Honest Conversation

College is expensive.  That’s all there is to it.  But it’s important to remember there are ways to offset the out-of-pocket expense your family will contribute towards the college education.  Scholarships for the 2013-2014 school year are beginning to post, with many of the larger, national scholarship competitions closing in October and November. So it’s time to figure out the best way to approach the scholarship process.

Below is an excerpt from: “Maximizing Your Funding Potential”©, a guide included in the CSO: College Scholarship Organizer™ to open up the dialogue about college expenses and how your family is going to deal with tuition, room and board, and other expenses.

__________________________

Find out what's happening in St. Charleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The fall of senior year is typically busy and chaotic for a high school senior. Perhaps there is one last attempt to get a higher score on the ACT or SAT, college applications need to be completed, meetings with counselors, securing letters of recommendation, and the “last” everything, last first day, last homecoming dance, etc., so there is less time to start on the essays, videos, or posters needed for scholarship applications.

Winning a college scholarship is a time-consuming endeavor. There are several ways to reduce the amount of time spent applying for scholarships. Being organized is key.  The scholarship process requires a lot of information from the students about their high school careers.  Then there is the login and passwords, deadlines, required documentation, etc.  There is a lot of information that needs to be managed. The best way to lose a scholarship is miss the deadline or have an incomplete application.

Find out what's happening in St. Charleswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

You should also plan to spend some time this fall familiarizing yourself with the Federal Financial Aid information even if you think you do not qualify. Many private schools will use this information to distribute endowed funds.

To maximize all of your potential funding options, the Internet will be the best avenue in navigating all the available resources, but it is still vital to be organized and focused throughout the process in order to be successful.

Parents and students take note. Perhaps that last line has you thinking organized and focused does not describe a teenager. You are probably right. Therefore, it is vital to determine how important obtaining outside funding for college is to your child. If they don’t own this process, then it will be an uphill battle. Before the college application process begins, you need to discuss, as a family, what your realistic financial contribution will be to their college expenses.

We all wish we could pay 100%, but that is not a realistic goal for most families in today’s economic climate, combined with the rising cost of most colleges. Most high school seniors are encouraged to apply to several schools, including a college they will likely be accepted and they would attend. Then they should apply to the colleges that are within their reach, offer the programs that interest them or their specific major but may be more difficult to get into or have higher costs associated with them.

It may also be a good idea for your child to apply to a “dream school”, one that if everything lined up, they were accepted and could afford it, they would attend. This may be an Ivy League school for the strong academic students, the top Art school in the country, a college or university in their favorite city or region of the country, or that school that has always caught their attention. If your child has a dream school, a place they would go if they could afford it, then ask your child how much time and energy they can and will commit to the process of applying for scholarships.

Determine the maximum amount the family will be contributing and how much the student will have to contribute. Also determine who will carry the debt of loans, the parents or the student. Applying for scholarships is rewarding, but it is also work, at a time when there are so many other distractions.

You cannot do this for them. They have to want it and be willing to work towards that goal. By deciding as a family how much your child will need at all of these schools will help you and your child determine how aggressively to pursue additional funding.

There are scholarship opportunities that award $10,000, renewable for four years; big scholarships are definitely the prize to want. But realistically, these are very difficult to win.

Absolutely, apply for those scholarships. But keep in mind that there are scholarships available from $50-$50,000. The more local or specialized a scholarship is, the smaller the applicant pool will be. The goal is to put together a financial package that will offset the cost of the college education. For the majority of students applying for scholarships, piecing together several smaller scholarships is a much more attainable goal. Don’t pass on the $500 or $1,000 scholarships; obtaining several of these will decrease the amount spent for college. One national retailer offers $1,000 scholarships for a few lucky students, but a larger group wins $50 gift cards. What a great way to save on purchasing those needed dorm supplies!

­­­­­­­­­­­­________________________________

The CSO: College Scholarship Organizer is a great place to store all the information necessary for scholarship applications and tracking scholarship requirements and deadlines. There is a place to keep academic records, awards, test scores, activities, work and volunteer history, and college contact information. The Summary of Activities CD allows you to keep it organized for cutting and pasting into applications. The six folders provide a place for recording vital information throughout the process and also tips for making the most of each of the sections.

 

 


We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from St. Charles