<p>My counselor used to tell me when i was a freshman/sophomore how abundant outside scholarships are. But here i am now, a few years later, struggling to find scholarships worthwhile. Fastweb scholarships are either dated, some sort of easy to enter contest that are hard to win, or i don't qualify for them. I find most scholarship websites to be a scam or ineffective. With those big scholarship books, its the same thing. Many scholarships are designed for college freshman/ sophomores on a certain career path, and im having trouble finding scholarships for seniors that are essay based or midlevel merit based (i have a 1950 SAT and a 3.84 gpa - not exactly national merit scholar material) . I'm finding it difficult to qualify for these scholarships, despite being a middle class African American female wanting to major in a science. And the few that i do qualify for are attached to some sort of need, or are seemingly too hard to win because of the odds, almost making it not worth my time to apply. Lastly, how the heck do i find these mysterious "local scholarships" that seem to be evading me? Where do i look for them? Am i just not looking hard enough? How should i search? How do i find scholarships that i actually have a decent chance of winning (so my efforts in applying aren't wasted)? Is the truth about outside scholarships that they aren't that abundant as one would think, and that they are hard to obtain in all reality and that one should expect to get few, if any at all?</p>
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You’re not alone.
See [On</a> Hunting for Scholarships, and Coming Up Empty - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/the-envelope-please-cassandra-dagostino/]On”>On Hunting for Scholarships, and Coming Up Empty - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Since you’re an AA female with good stats, you’d probably be MUCH better off finding SCHOOLS that will give you lots of aid.</p>
<p>Looking for private scholarships can be a waste of time for someone who needs money for all four years. Private scholarships are often ONLY for frosh year. So, what would pay for the other 3 years???</p>
<p>Local scholarships can be nice, but they, too, are usually only for one year.</p>
<p>Where are you applying for college? You should be applying to schools that will give you great aid. </p>
<p>You’re middle class. How much will your parents pay? </p>
<p>Keep in mind that any scholarships you get will FIRST go towards your need. They won’t reduce what your parents have to pay unless the schollies are so big that they more than cover all of your need.</p>
<p>I applied and got accepted to case western and Tulane, case western 22.5k in scholarships, Tulane 20k. (Tulane is my top choice though, and I’m not a fan of case). I wasn’t gunna say but let me be honest here–I’m taking a gap year and already went through the whole college app process last year, applied to 17 schools and Case came up to be the only school that gave me aid. It was my very last choice but because of aid, it became my only option. I was committed to going, but a lot happened (see my other posts if you are curious) and I ended up deferring enrollment for a year. Now, during my year off I applied to Tulane University that I’ve recently fallen in love with and got 20k in aid. My dad makes roughly 150k a year, mom is deceased (passed away from cancer last year) and I’m the oldest of 4. My dad is pretty stingy and I don’t know if he exaggerated or not, but he said he could only afford to 12k. When I completed the fafsa last year I qualified for no need based aid. Knowing this, now what do you recommend?</p>
<p>First, I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your beloved mother.</p>
<p>Your dad may be only able to afford that much because of costs that he now incurs with your mom gone. And, he may be thinking with 4 kids to put thru college, that he can only afford $50k for each one. And, there may be some expenses that he’s still paying for in regards to your mom’s illness and passing. </p>
<p>I don’t know where you applied last year, but if it was to a bunch of OOS publics then those wouldn’t likely work out.</p>
<p>Tulane may not end up being affordable since that $20k will likely more than cover any “need” that you have. With that income, your “family contribution” is going to be very high. </p>
<p>If Case ends up being your only affordable choice, then what will you do? What is wrong with case. If it’s true that you will be a BME Premed student, then why not Case?</p>
<p>I am sorry about your mother’s passing. Hugs to you. </p>
<p>Your family income is such that getting a substantial amount of financial aid is not going to happen, and as you have seen, outside scholarships are not at all easy to get. I would go look up that counselor at your old highschool and ask him to point out all those scholarships he was saying were available back in that day. Most money comes from the schools themselves.</p>
<p>A tip, if you want money and you are premed. Look at some Catholic schools. Loyola instead of Tulane can make a big difference and frankly, you would be better off at a nurturing school that will work with you through a demanding premed program. Case Western would NOT be a good choice for a premed unless the student is on the top of the game when it comes to science courses. I’ve seen too many promising premed students tank at name brand schools where they tend to gate keep and form a gauntlet rather than encourage and help premed get into a medical school. </p>
<p>We qualify for no aid either, but my son got a full tuition scholarship with not so great test scores and a B+ average from a local Catholic school. He did not go there, but he could have gone pretty much for free.</p>
<p>Being a female, going into science, there are scholarships available and they are not need based. I will inbox you with some info.</p>
<p>Partyof5 My D is also premed science looking for non need based $. Please also inbox me pretty please</p>
<p>can you inbox me, too, please?
thanks in advance</p>