<p>My mom doesnt want to list her employer on my scholarship apps for personal reasons. Will this impede my chances?</p>
<p>I am relatively new to these forums, but I absolutely love some of these questions.</p>
<p>I guess it COULD impede your chances of receiving a schollie if you do not fill in all of the information.</p>
<p>OK heres an example. I am the Director of the Puritan Civic Council and am offering a $2000 Scholarship. Since not too many people are even aware of the Puritan Civic Council I have gotten exactly 4 apps. The essays are all good excellent in fact. Now I look at the applications. Ones mother is a homemaker, one sells shoes, one is a stripper, and one didnt fill out the information I requested. Who gets the Schollie.</p>
<p>Look at it another way. I have 20,000 apps and essays in front of me. NO WAY CAN I READ 20,000 essays. How do I weed it down to a more manageable number. Look at the apps, if everything is filled out it goes in pile A. If information that I requested is not filled out, or if the printing is sloppy, or if my uncle (whose name was Siegfried and beat me as a child) perhaps every app from someone named Siegfried.... goes into the circular file.</p>
<p>Get my drift?</p>
<p>The message is, making strange choices for personal reasons will impede you in life when you are depending on the kindness of strangers. Not always, but often.</p>
<p>On that same topic of "personal information"...</p>
<p>We indicated, both on financial aid forms and our tax return, that we have relatively high medical expenses.</p>
<p>Just received a letter asking us if we could give more detail about the conidtions that led to the high medical expenses.</p>
<p>uhhhh, no.</p>
<p>They are not being nosy, they are trying to weed out the cheaters.
Maybe your medical expenses were for liposuction or a facelift.</p>
<p>Decisions, decisions. I agree wholeheartedly with dt123 above.</p>
<p>You decide what information to give, to what degree you (can/will) financially support your kids, etc...</p>
<p>College financial aid offices and admissions decide who they will admit, and how much aid they will give. Understand that the decision (answer of "no", to a request for additional information), will spurr a decision on the other end. Nothing more....nothing less.</p>
<p>And although I'm no tax expert, I have itemized my returns for years, and I do not have relatively large medical expenses <knocking on="" wood="">, I don't ever recall seeing on a tax return the requirement for a statement that I have high medical expenses....The Schedule just asks for a number.</knocking></p>