<p>Kids who need scholarships often have to apply to dozens of programs and often are awarded $1,000 from this one, $2,500 from that one, $2,000 from another. Makes for a very complicated process.</p>
<p>Programs that offer scholarships often award a lot of money -- say, $50,000, or $2,000,000, or more. But they award it in tiny increments to many many different people.</p>
<p>What a hassle.</p>
<p>Why don't programs pick just a few kids to award all their money to? Seems to me it would be easier for the kids and easier for the programs.</p>
<p>What am I missing here? That programs like to say they've helped XXX people?</p>
<p>But it would benefit fewer kids. And the large awards would go to not only the most deserving but also the neediest kids, meaning that instead of getting say $2000 the middle class kids who still the money would get $0.</p>
<p>I think it is better for private scholarships to help 20 kids a little than it is to help maybe 1 kid a lot.</p>
<p>There are TONS and TONS of scholarships out there. Industrious kids can find enough little ones to satisfy most of their needs.</p>
<p>The problem with independent scholarships is that for students with need base aid, colleges typically reduce their award by the corresponding amount so that the net out of pocket amount the family must finance is the same. The good news is that most colleges make the reduction in loans/workstudy rather that grants.</p>
<p>It is much more effective for students to concentrate their scholarship efforts toward researching the merit scholarships offered by the colleges themselves. Our ds did this and received $25k/yr in scholarships(3). He did not bother to apply for any local/state/national independent scholarships figuring there were other students who needed them far more than he.</p>
<p>More importantly he has had 3 wonderful years and is looking forward to graduate with honors in about 10 months with no student loans to repay.</p>
<p>The private scholarships run programs the ways that best please their organizers. Whether that's giving one large scholarship or many small ones is up to them and their goals, which for all we know may be connected with pleasing a lot of people through giving small amounts to many or identifying, encouraging and establishing a relationship with a potential star in a specific field, something that can happen when one large scholarship is awarded.</p>