<p>I know it's early, but I'm an upcoming senior and I was wondering how do I start my search for scholarships. It seems really overwhelming; I don't know where to start looking or how to start looking. Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Your best source is the guidance department at your highschool.</p>
<p>Also look at the financial aid information at all colleges that you are considering (and some that you might not be thrilled about) to see what they offer. The colleges themselves are often the best source for aid. Check through this site for the list of schools that offer generous merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Your best source for scholarships for all 4 years of college is from the COLLEGES that award them.</p>
<p>The scholarships that your GC will know about may be mostly small private scholarships that are likely only for Freshman year. If you’re looking for money to help pay for college ( a 4 year endeavor), then those little one year scholarships won’t work.</p>
<p>keep in mind that merit scholarships get applied to “need” first. They do not reduce what your family has to pay UNLESS the merit is so big that the balance is low.</p>
<p>There are threads on CC that list colleges that give ASSURED merit scholarships for stats.</p>
<p>Look at post #80 on this link
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html</a></p>
<p>In another thread you mention being low income. If so, then you need to apply to schools that meet 100% of need or give HUGE merit scholarships. </p>
<p>You mention applying to UCs. That’s fine if you’re instate. The UCs are good with aid for low income kids. However, if you’re OOS, forget it.</p>
<p>Another source might be the program guide from last year’s high school graduation. Ours lists all the scholarships won by the students and there were some in there that didn’t show up during typical scholarship searches… Just a thought…with lots of upside and no downside. You get the benefit of all the other people who did their research and may have found an obscure scholarship that you could qualify for and might be worth a few $$$</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>good idea as long as your school doesn’t do what some schools do…and that’s report “scholarships” that are really need-based aid. Even schools that tell students to only report merit based awards often end up reporting some that are either need-based or have some need-component. </p>
<p>I went to my friend’s D’s graduation this year and they listed the “merit scholarships” under each child’s name. Since I know that this school ASKS for students to ONLY report merit scholarships, I know that the GC made a mistake when she included a MIT award under a child’s name…likely because the child listed the award on her merit award sheet and gave it to the GC…and the GC didn’t know that MIT gave this student a large need-based award.</p>
<p>My cousin was annoyed that at the HS graduation of his Stanford-bound child (Val of his class/perfect SAT), that the school announced a “full ride Stanford scholarship” that another child had received…based solely on need…yet to the audience it was portrayed as if this other child had been rewarded for extra amazing stats. Granted, any Stanford bound kid is a top student, but the announcement was still misleading.</p>
<p>Some high school guidance offices don’t do a good job. So don’t depend on yours. Also, some graduation program guide scholarships are submitted by the students and aren’t actually scholarships.</p>
<p>Agree with beolein, don’t rely on your HS guidance office too much. I suggest you look for local scholarships that focus on your area of interest. For my son, since he knew what university he wanted to attend, he applied for and was awarded one of the merit scholarships (4 years award) given by a local alumni chapter. My husband’s employer also gives out scholarships annually, so that was also a good source for us (also 4 years). I realize not everyone has that option, but one should examine all possible options and be creative, as scholarships don’t usually seek you out, you need to go looking for them!</p>
<p>The first place to start is with a college list. Look at each college for list of merit aid and how it is determined. Note all dates…some big scholarships are aligned with early decision deadlines even if you aren’t applying early decision. It is not really too early since many early deadlines mean that if, like our school, guidance requires you to turn in forms several weeks in advance of deadlines to be sure they have time to complete their parts, you need to have stuff ready by early/mid October. </p>
<p>If you are unsure about need based aid, do the net price calculators on each school website and maybe a FAFSA estimator to see where you might stand. Just remember with need based aid, just because the calculators show you can’t afford the whole amount does not equal them giving you the balance.</p>
<p>Depending on scores, check out threads on automatic merit aid (score-based) and schools that meet full need. There are a few that these promise full need met without loans but those are not as plentiful. If you will be NMF, look for thread with list of schools with scholarships for those.</p>
<p>I think the first place to start is by looking at the threads that list scholarships…like
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-4.html</a> </p>
<p>or <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html?highlight=automatic+scholarships[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html?highlight=automatic+scholarships</a></p>
<p>If you just make up a college list, and then check, you may find that none of your schools offer merit, or they may only offer small awards or competitive awards. </p>
<p>By looking at the threads that include schools with assured merit, you may find some financial safety schools that you never considered before.</p>