SCHOLARSHIPS:
*Merit Scholarships - given automatically by colleges based on several factors including grades, standardized testing scores, extra curricular activities, etc. Some colleges require you to apply by a certain deadline in order to even be considered for merit scholarships.
*Jackie Robinson Scholarship - Available to minority students
*Coca Cola Scholarship - Achievement based scholarship.
*Credit Unions - if you are a member most credit unions offer a small scholarship that you usually can apply for in March.
*Going Merry, Fastweb, Sallie Mae, Tallo, Niche, Scholarship Owl, Scholly - - apps that link you to other scholarships. Some are completely random and some are matched by data you enter.
*Questbridge - for lower income, high stats kids. You can ‘match’ with a school and get acceptance early and a free ride. If you don’t match with a school you are still in consideration for admission and scholarships.
*Horatio Alger - Scholarships for Minorities
*RaiseMe - You add schools that you are interested in. Not all schools participate with RaiseMe. It will show you which ones currently participate by indicating a "$”. Once you create your profile, add your grades, test scores, Extra Curriculars, etc. you start earning money. The more you do the more money you can get. There will be a running total beside the schools as you update your information and this shows you the minimum scholarship you will get if you are accepted to that school. These are called ‘micro scholarships’. Again, this is just the minimum.
*Employers - some employers offer scholarships if the students parents or grandparents are employed. Check with your employer to see if this is available as an option.
Young Arts - for artist (visual arts, performing arts, etc...)
FINANCIAL AID:
*FAFSA - Even if you don’t think you qualify, fill this out. It usually opens up on October 1st and the earlier you fill it out the better. Make sure to have all tax documents available for an easier process. You can currently only add ten schools at a time to your list for FAFSA. If you need to add more you will have to wait until the FAFSA is complete which normally takes a few days after submitting it. Once you receive an email notification that all schools have been added you can go back in and update the school list inside the FAFSA to add the new schools. Repeat the process as needed. Just don’t forget to wait before editing the schools or the original schools will not be notified. It usually takes three business days so I’d suggest waiting five just to make sure.
*CSS Profile - Some schools require a CSS profile for financial support. There is a fee for this application. I cant remember the cost but I believe between $15-$30 for the application then there is a fee to add each school to the profile. Again can’t remember the fee but around $20 per school I believe. Not every school requires the profile. Most of the top schools do like Michigan, USC, Duke, etc.
Comments