DOLLARS FOR COLLEGE

With billions of dollars available for students of all abilities, it is shortsighted not to try to get your piece of the scholarship pie. Don't write off scholarships as a source for funds just because your child isn't in line to be valedictorian or because you think you make too much money.

"A lot of people think they're not eligible for scholarships for reason x, y, or z. The reality is that 80% of the private scholarship sources out there don't care about the parents' income. And 90% are not looking for straight-A students," says Dan Cassidy, author of The Scholarship Book.

Cassidy suggests that parents start talking about scholarships with their kids in the tenth grade. Any earlier, your teen will probably not be mature enough to get onboard with the college goal. While the majority of scholarships are aimed at high school seniors, (and you will receive a package of possible loans and grants from your teen's selected college once he or she gets in), plenty of awards and contests are open to students of all ages. Even students already enrolled in college are eligible for certain scholarships. The only question is, how do you find all this money?

HOW TO START YOUR SEARCH

Nathan Hara, 18, began searching for scholarships at the end of his junior year at Sylvania Northview High School in Sylvania, Ohio. "My parents told me I could either find the money to fund my education at a private college or I could go to the retail university in town," he said. "That was all the motivation I needed!" He began with a general Internet search and came up with at least five credible Web sites (see Additional Resources) from which to start looking for money. He filled out 20 applications and eventually learned that he qualified for five of those scholarships. While he waited to hear, he regularly visited his school's guidance office to borrow materials on both local and national scholarships. He also borrowed college handbooks from his local library and scoured the pages for additional organizations.

Applying for so many scholarships was hard work, but not impossible, Hara says. "After applying to five colleges, I had a battery of essays on hand to use for scholarship applications," he says, adding that his parents helped by proofreading his work. They also filled out the free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and filed it online.

Hara's efforts resulted in more than $9,000 in scholarships from organizations such as the Ohio Parent Teacher Association and the local Elk's Lodge, among others. Perhaps his biggest pay dirt was the renewable $13,000 academic scholarship he won from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Besides the academic scholarship, Kenyon also awarded Hara another $13,000 in need-based aid. (Because he received so much from his school, he was not eligible for FAFSA money.)

"The effort was definitely all on my part," Hara says. "It costs more than $41,000 a year to go to Kenyon, and I'm only paying $4,900. People need to realize that the price tag of the school may not reflect what you're going to pay after you figure in scholarships and financial aid."

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Issue: December 2007