The College Board says one benefit for participating in Student Search Service is connecting with scholarship opportunities. How true is this statement? Child is a very good student who targets top schools who don’t give merit based award. So the only hope for merit based scholarship is various organizations, but we don’t know where to apply.
As long as you don’t mind getting a ton of unsolicited emails that are if no interest, and you don’t want…and you can’t get off of the lists…it’s OK to do this.
Maybe it’s me, and it has been a while… it I don’t recall getting any outside scholarship information at all for either of my two kids. One definitely checked that box…and the other didn’t.
You are much better off doing the work yourself. Rather than waiting for College Board to send you scholarship ideas (that they also send to THOUSANDS of other students), search for scholarships yourself. Start with Google. Search “scholarships available in [your hometown here]” and broaden your search from there.
Does your child have anything different or interesting about them? My son is a cancer survivor - he found hundreds of cancer-related scholarships from organizations that want to help him and others. There are literally tens of millions of scholarship dollars out there waiting for applicants.
Keep in mind, the application process is not easy. There will be essays to write, letter of recommendation to ask for, transcripts to send, but the harder you work, the more fruitful your process is likely to be.
Also, make sure that whatever college your child chooses, they stay in front of the financial aid department. Many colleges and college departments, no matter how elite, reserve scholarships for upperclassmen, especially those with need.
Good luck!
Thanks for the good advice and good luck to your son too.