<p>Hello,
I created an account on FastWeb but it seemed like all of the scholarships were not for me.
I just finished my junior year and will graduate in 2013, which is what i said in my profile. And yet all of my matches had the deadlines in the summer of 2012... I am guessing that these are for the people who graduated in 2012. Did i start my search too soon? And if so when should i start to look for outside scholarships? Any other (better) websites?</p>
<p>We didn’t have much luck at all finding scholarship matches via Fastweb. Our offspring both landed some scholarships through very local opportunities (think your local Garden club if you are going to be a botany major or your high school or your Rotary, etc). </p>
<p>Keep in mind that a huge proportion of scholarships are award through the college system. So you won’t know that you’re getting the Happy College Bessie Best scholarship for left handed tuba players until you 1) apply to Happy College, 2) fill out the FAFSA (the way you say “money, please” to a college); 3) are accepted and 4) happen to be a student who qualifies in the left handed tuba playing pool. </p>
<p>So what you can concentrate on right now is being the best “you” you can be. Whatever classes you take, work hard at them. Whatever your hobbies, extracurriculars or service activities, work to excel. Don’t shy away from leadership spots. </p>
<p>Target, don’t broadcast. It’s far better to think "I’m a red headed basketball player of Romanian descent who wants to major in ceramics, so what is there for a) red heads; b) basketball players; c) Romanian heritage students and d) ceramics majors. </p>
<p>Too many students chase after a handful of “big” scholarships. The $10K+ deals are brutally competitive. If you have a tip top GPA, and killer EC’s, you still may get your best scholarships through the college application/FAFSA route. </p>
<p>Instead of looking for a giant scholarship that covers everything, most students succeed by building a patchwork of scholarships, work and loans. </p>
<p>Good for you for starting now. The details are huge in this part of college life. Don’t bother putting in for things that don’t “match” you. Get a copy of “How to pay for college without going broke” and learn the details of the FAFSA. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, check with your state’s board of higher education and see if they have a website for your state’s residents. That may be more tailored to you than Fastweb.</p>
<p>Maybe there are people who have succeeded with Fastweb. I just haven’t met any!</p>
<p>Here’s the site for WA state: [theWashBoard.org</a> | Login](<a href=“theWashBoard.org | Login”>theWashBoard.org | Login)</p>
<p>See if your state has a counterpart. Good luck!</p>
<p>Fastweb and other similar sites are largely a waste of time. The scholarships are often very hard to get, for small amounts AND ONLY for FRESHMAN year. So, they really don’t pay for college.</p>
<p>If you need scholarships, then apply to the SCHOOLS that give them…those are usually for larger amounts and for ALL FOUR YEARS.</p>
<p>A reality is that if you NEED scholarship or financial aid money you are much better off looking for colleges that can and do provide substantial aid for someone with your statistics and interests. You could spend 200 hours on Fastweb applying for dozens of small scholarships, and be quite likely to not end up with more than a thousand bucks – maybe less. And, if your eventual college gives you financial aid that includes grants, that thousand bucks may not even help you in the end the way that colleges adjust aid. </p>
<p>Figuring out the very best college list for you given whatever financial constraints you have, and then getting applications in very early is the best way to maximize your merit and financial aid offers. Truly. </p>
<p>It gets frustrating seeing good students spend an inordinate amount of time chasing small or highly unlikely scholarships when they could be spending that time researching schools, which is where most of the money is to be found. Fastweb is, by and large, a waste of time. A small, small handful of students end up with large scholarships – what Fastweb is really doing is selling access to you to lots and lots and lots of advertisers.</p>
<p>Take a good look at their privacy policy:
[Privacy</a> Policy - Fastweb](<a href=“http://www.fastweb.com/privacy]Privacy”>Privacy Policy | Fastweb) particularly the part of section three that says, “If you give your permission to allow third parties to contact you, personal information about you (such as your contact information and other information collected during your visit to Fastweb) may be shared with colleges, universities, potential employers, recruiters/headhunters, data aggregators, marketers (possibly in the form of list rental), and other organizations.”</p>
<p>They’re not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. It is a subsidiary of Monster.com, and all those advertisers are just salivating at a chance to find another new prospect.</p>
<p>Thank you for your replies and suggestions. I guess I am just anxious and trying to get every last penny, but yeah, i am starting to realize that all of those “McDonalds” scholarships are a waste of time. I am not really sure how much i will be able to get locally but i will definitely ask my councilor. I have my list and its very ambitious but hopefully with good preparation, research and essays I will get into at least one of them with an acceptable package. Thanks. :)</p>
<p>If you have the time, fill em out. You never know what you can get. I got 20k through a national scholarship I found on Fastweb. I was also a finalist for a few other large ones.</p>
<p>I know people say they’re a waste of time, and largely they are, BUT that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try because you just never know.</p>
<p>Hmm. I would have typed “Counselor” as a “councilor” is a member of a council (such as a city councilor). I’m being picky (perhaps you have a Counselor who is also a councilor!) but now is a good time to get it right, whatever your situation. </p>
<p>Good luck. I very much hope you can find a strong path forward.</p>