<p>Does anyone have any creative ideas for getting their kids to whole-heartedly fill out college scholarship applications? </p>
<p>I have to say that I am extremely frustrated. Now that my S has received all these wonderful acceptances, he thinks that he's 'done'. That means that</p>
<p>(a) he's NOT responding to scholarship opportunities at school. I know that his guidance dept says that they are available and they announce and keep a file of opportunities.
(b) when I come across application opportunities, even if he fills them out, they aren't of any quality.
(c) he's checking out of school. First marking period was great. All the kids were high on their top choices, making good marks, having dreams of ivy league. Now that many are faced with the fact that they may be going to State U, they are all 'checking out'. Midterms were a disaster, and unbeknownst to us, the HS sends all the midterm grades to the colleges. So if they receive those prior to scholarship determination, it's certainly not going to help. </p>
<p>We could discuss the idea that he's responsible for $x of contribution each year, via scholarships or work-study or panhandling. But if you have better ideas, let me know.</p>
<p>Since my husband and I will be taking on the bulk of the financial burden, I feel entirely justified being the project manager (NAG) on the scholarship application project. My D was accepted EA to her top choice school, she is not spending massive amounts of time on schoolwork (not quite checked out but ready to graduate) and does not have a job. She has PLENTY of time to complete applications as I hand them to her. I have been gathering the opportunities, evaluating them and tracking the deadlines. I am very hands on and my D wants it that way. Your son may not be so accepting of your involvement. D is a very reasonable person and understands that she can ease parental pain by putting her enegery into getting scholarships. I'm not saying she does it happily, but she does it. D's financial aid offers have an amount that she will have to cover ("self-help"). I have explained thoroughly that if she raises that amount in scholarships, she can have the summer free. If not, she will be working. That did it for her.</p>
<p>Our son's quest for scholarships focused on merit scholarships offfered by colleges he applied to and, with one exception, required no additional work beyond the basic application. The one excepetion was for a &14,000/yr scholarship offered by The College of Wooster for a member of the PCUSA which required a letter from the pastor of our church.</p>
<p>Most of the scholarships listed by the Guidance Office were frankly not worth the effort. Most required applications + an essay and the scholarships were generally less than a one time $500 award. After getting a total of $100,000 from his college of choice these minor scholarships were better left for other diserving students in his class.</p>
<p>And realize that the competition for the large independent scholarships is fierce and even if your student manages to get one, colleges often deduct this money from there finaid offer, thus keeping your EFC the same.</p>
<p>BTW, if your student does get a local scholarship and intends on playing intercollegiate sports, make certain that the chech is made out to and sent directly to the college. If this is not done it usually violated NCAA rules and may result in the student being ineligible to compete. This happened to a friend's daughter and the only way she could resolve it quickly was to reimburse the Booster Club who sponsored the award.</p>
<p>My son applied for a few scholarships as a high school senior, but he, too, became tired of filling out applications after all his college apps., and he didn't apply for as many as he could have. So this year, as a college freshman, he has had to take out loans, and we have had to work lots of overtime to pay the bills. Consequently, he has become more serious this year and is applying for several scholarships for those already in college. However, he still never finished his essays until the night before the postmark deadline...</p>
<p>Sounds just like my son. It has been a real challenge to get him to fill applications out. I gave up on him searching for them and now just hand him applications to complete,</p>
<p>i had this same problem when i was a senior last year. i was just too tired. i was stressed after getting deferred from my ed school, i was stressed about ap/ib exams, about my future, about getting up at 5:30 a.m. and going to bed at 1 a.m. every day. when i got my acceptance in march i was happy (i slept with my letter under my pillow) and relieved, and there just wasnt enough room in my head left to think about <em>more</em> applications.
people can handle different levels of challenges and my high school was particularly rigorous. i graduated knowing i would have to take on all the loans (my parents arent paying for school at all, but fafsa doesnt know that) for my barnard education, and so in the summer i had both a sense of pride and responsibility. i applied for several scholarships then, when i had enough time and relaxation to not feel like the terror would never end. i have won about $5000 in scholarships just from ones i applied to in the summer, when you would think many deadlines had passed. $5000 isnt that much but it pays for books and food.
so i would say, let your son do this at his own pace, definitely nag him and let him know that he will have to figure out where to get that money (but dont make him feel alone or too overwhelmed).</p>
<p>In our household, we don't qualify for need-based aid & most of the GC scholarships are in that category or require an essay or talent or research. At this point, I'd just be happy if son finished his college aps & would be happy if kids who REALLY NEED the scholarships hustled & got them.
My kids are burnt out & I have trouble getting them to attend school regularly due to health issues. We have no extra energy to extend to scholarship aps beyond the merit aid the schools may want to give us. Good luck everyone in getting kids to apply.
When I was in college in the 70s, I did apply for lots of financial aid (need & merit) & got a lot of it so I graduated with a miniscule amount of debt--I always figured working hard on a few essays was better than working a LOT every week & summer during the school year.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that if you qualify for need based aid, private scholarship money may be used to reduce the aid you receive from colleges -- something to keep in mind in weighing how much effort to put into the scholarship search.</p>
<p>And if you don't qualify for need based aid -- many private scholarships are based in part or in whole on need -- so you may find that there are not that many to seriously pursue in any case.</p>
<p>The school that have (to date) sent acceptences to my son also provided generous merit scholarships. However, when it came time to applying for special larger scholarships (for full tuition, and for honors college admittances), my son dragged his feet. I nagged, he grumbled - eventually everything got done. I think he just got burned out on the whole process - and the essays required for full rides and honors colleges took a lot more effort than those required for the initial college applications. I've yet to meet a parent or student who goes through this rite of passage with joy and harmony. Just remember to nag WITH LOVE, UNDERSTANDING, AND PATIENCE.</p>
<p>You can try negotiating with the school about having any outside scholarships your child gets replace the loan portion of your child's package, but it certainly is NOT a given & will not be what the school tries 1st. It's a negotiating process, from what I've heard & read.</p>
<p>A comment on "checking out". Might be good for all of us parents of seniors to remind them that their acceptances could be rescinded based on poor performance senior year! No rest for the weary. :)</p>
<p>My S hasn't checked out yet. In fact, he achieved high honors first two terms...something he has done only once before in high school. Still taking all honor courses as well. But as far as scholarship apps go...he really has no interest in writing a 500 word essay for $500. Still, I've researched some that offer more $ for less work and it's still a struggle to get him to go for it. Oh well...I keep telling him it's more money he'll have to pay back.
Thanks Himom...I'll keep that in mind.</p>
<p>my son is also still engaged in academics - I think he realizes that if he does well on the AP tests, he can get college credit - a nice payoff for hard work. Also (I hope) that he's developed a strong work ethic - to try his best at whatever he attempts.</p>
<p>As a student who has resisted my parents attempts to make me fill out sholarships, I will offer my persepctive.</p>
<p>I recieved an oppurtunity for a full scholarship at one of my super safety schools. I had alread been admitted EA with substantial finacial aid to a school I really liked. I had absolutely no interest this university but my parents wanted me to apply to get the scholarship. I dn't want to apply becasue I felt if I got the scholarship I would be forced to attend my super safety. However, after my parents assured that I would not be required to attend if I recieved the scholarship, I applied for it. I used mostly recyled essays so it wasn't all that much work. </p>
<p>In short, If you want your children to apply for scholarships asuure them that if they recieve the scholarship they will still be allowed to go another school.</p>