<p>I'm confused about which scholarship sites are real and which are scams. Does anyone have some reliable websites for scholarships? Also, if I have to list my top school when filling out forms, is the school notified?</p>
<p>I don’t know if the school is notified, but this really isn’t the best way to get money for school. The largest awards come from the schools themselves, in the form of need-based or merit aid. Find schools where you’ll qualify for merit aid and you won’t have to worry about other scholarships. (Hint: To qualify for competitive merit aid, look for schools where your GPA and SAT/ACT scores put you in the top 75th percentile of students admitted to that school.)</p>
<p>You can also search the financial aid forum for threads with the words “automatic” and “guaranteed” in the title to find automatic merit awards: if your grades and test scores are high enough, you will automatically get the award, so long as your application is filed in time.</p>
<p>Thanks so much! Most of my schools don’t offer merit based scholarships, but I will definitely search for automatic ones.</p>
<p>Rory - The “automatic” merit awards are school-specific also. They’re only available to students attending the particular schools that offer the awards. They can’t just be used wherever you want.</p>
<p>I have to ask, if you need the money, and “most of your schools” don’t offer merit scholarships, how are you going to pay for school?</p>
<p>If you don’t need the money, but were just hoping for a little something extra, then it doesn’t matter. But if you do need the money, then maybe it’s time to look for schools that will offer the merit aid that you need. Otherwise, what are you going to do?</p>
<p>Agree, it is pretty much impossible to make a large dent with scholarships from outside the school with only a few exceptions. And the candidates who get those “few exceptions” tend to be outstanding. You can make a small dent, but you are planning to fund a significant amount of your school expenses this way, you had better add a couple of financial safeties to your list (either inexpensive to attend to start with, or where you are a very strong candidate for merit aid and you know they offer it).</p>
<p>My family can make it work if we absolutely HAVE to and I will get another job and just try to spend even less. I don’t want to go to a safety school because I couldn’t afford to go to one of my top choices. I’ve worked hard and have the grades so I want to go to the best school possible.</p>
<p>Depending on what you plan to study, the schools that are financial safeties may offer opportunities not available at some of the more well known schools. There have been many, many kids (and parents) who’ve reported on CC that the so-called safety school ended up being the kid’s first choice. Although it was the generous scholarship that got the family’s attention in the first place, once they visited, the schools quickly moved to the top of their list.</p>
<p>Just saying, the “best school possible” isn’t necessarily the one with the famous name.</p>
<p>Of course! But I do think that there is a difference in how challenging courses are, social environments etc between safeties and top choices. And when applying for a job, there’s no denying that a better name helps.</p>
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<p>Actually, there are plenty of people on this board who will deny that - many of whom have extensive experience (past and/or present) being responsible for hiring at their respective companies. The consensus here seems to be that a “better name” is a consideration only if your goal is Wall Street.</p>
<p>Otherwise, where you go to school (geographically) probably makes more of a difference than school rank. A regional school graduate will likely fare better (and have significantly more recruitment opportunities) than a graduate of “pretentious school on other side of country.”</p>
<p>And there are some schools that just have fantastic career placement offices. Studying engineering? Sure, if you attend MIT, you’ll probably have a good shot at a summer job somewhere in New England. You’ll also have lots of competition. And do you happen to know what the cost of living is for a summer in Massachusetts? Attend University of Alabama-Huntsville, and, if you’re doing well in school, a good summer job or internship is all but guaranteed . . . and if you don’t live locally, it’s likely your employer will cover your housing costs as well! And that’s not an isolated example.</p>
<p>In most cases, your performance in school counts for a lot more than the name of the school . . . but if you want to spend yourself into debt or your parents into the poor house for a fancy name, then there’s probably nothing we can say that will convince you otherwise.</p>
<p>I understand that you’ve worked hard . . . and your reward could be a free (or nearly free) education. That’s not a bad payoff!</p>
<p>P.S. Do the math: $200k to $240k in savings versus your anticipated increase in earnings for graduating from “famous name school.” Which is the better deal? (Need help figuring it out? Ask your parents how long it took them to save that $200k, and what they had to give up to do it.)</p>