I want my child to start applying for scholarships. Because not all scholarships are legit, I wanted to create a list and help him out to avoid any scam.
I am not sure if there is any thread which lists the scholarships which are not linked to any college. What is the best way to look for valid scholarship opportunities ?
He is a senior and is already accepted via REA process. We will not get any Financial aid so trying to see if he can apply for some scholarships.
Most schools have an aggregator or like fastweb.
But save your time - the schools are the best. Sometimes your employer will have one (Mine gave me $2K and $1K for my kids) or local chambers, rotaries, etc. I know someone who is getting $500 for four years.
Any of the big national ones - don’t waste your time. Sometimes local businesses or groups have them.
But the big ones take long and i’ve never seen anyone win. The money comes from the schools - that’s where you get it. Some you know up front (they have tables based on academics) and others it’s a crap shoot.
Good luck.
I agree with @tsbna44. Outside scholarships will not make much of a dent in the $82k+/year COA at top private schools. Hopefully you were aware of the COA before applying to the REA college?
If merit money is essential you will need to seek out colleges that are known for generous merit awards.
@phemrajani you say your student does not qualify for need based aid, and was accepted REA at a school.
If the REA school is where this student plans to attend, do they even award merit scholarships? If not, searching for those at the college won’t net you anything. ETA, this looks like it was CalTech. Congratulations! This school gives no merit scholarships.
I would suggest looking at local scholarships. They tend to be smaller in amount, and most are not renewable after the first year, but every penny counts, right? Where I live, these local scholarships were posted at the HS in the guidance department, so have your student ask there. We had a lot of these in our area. Our kids each netted about $4000 for freshman year, which was very nice.
The other nice thing about local scholarships…some are awarded by people who actually KNOW your kids. I think that is a nice thing too!
The high school seniors in the non-profit I volunteer with use Scholly.com Scholly - #1 College Scholarship App - Win Free Money for College (myscholly.com)
I believe there is a fee though (the kids I work with qualify for a free membership).
Talk to your child’s guidance counselor. They are often aware of scholarships opportunities.
But these scholarships are probably a drop in the bucket compared to Caltech’s COA?
Read the fine print (i.e. the ENTIRE application process) before your son starts the essays. There are many “legit” scholarships which are merit based but ultimately awarded according to need. So a kid who does not qualify for need based aid could get a $50 token “merit scholarship” from a local organization but a kid with high need could get $500. 50 bucks is great- but its going to take a long time to whack away at the cost of college with these small scholarships.
Your first call should be to your HR department at work (or the other parents). The work sponsored scholarships tend to be merit based without a need component.
Your son should then check in with the guidance team at his HS.
After that it’s a mixed bag. Either of the parents a US Military veteran?
Definitely the best way to look for outside scholarships is through the school guidance counsellor. They should have a list of local scholarships. It’s also helpful if you know who has won these scholarships in the past. That will give your a clue if you student has a chance. If guidance doesn’t have a list, look for places like your credit union, service clubs (Kiwanis, Rotary), veteran groups (VRW, American Legion, etc). Our area also has two clearing houses of sorts. One organizes about 30-40 local scholarships. It’s similar to applying through ones through the school. It’s one MAJOR application plus additional essays for each scholarship you want to apply for. The other is another serious application, but they give good renewable scholarships if you complete the required community service hours each year.
Be sure to read the fine print of each application. Some say they will only pay on tuition AFTER all other scholarships are applied. Older S got burned on that one. His school gave him free tuition. And also see how much work is needed for what kind of award. If it’s going to take many hours and you’re looking at $200, it’s probably not worth it. OTOH, we had one local scholarship that was not well publicized. Sure, it required a 3 page technical paper, but both of my kids got $5000 out of it. For my younger S, only 3 people applied.
How much is out there also varies a lot by area. Many on here say their local scholarships are in the hundreds of dollars. My area - which is a poor/needy one - are mostly in the thousands. Both of mine were able to get $10-15K the first year and ~$5000 on average for the remaining years.
My younger S was actually more successful in scholarships despite having lower stats than his brother. We knew better which ones to target. With my eldest, he spent so many hours applying to ~25 of the national ones - all for nothing.
The parent says they don’t qualify for need based aid. This is a REA acceptance so the family can still seek merit awards elsewhere. But if CalTech is the choice…my opinion is that every penny counts…and even some money just for freshman year can ease the finances a bit for a full pay family.
Ask me how I know!
Most large scholarships offered are at the colleges offering merit. But it does not sound like that is where your child is headed.
Many outside scholarships focus on need or first generation going to college - which it does not sound like you qualify for.
For some bigger outside ones, deadlines have already passed. Like Coca-Cola Scholars, but their site has a ton of resources - Programs - Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation
College Board has a good scholarship search engine here - (looks like they make you log in now)
https://scholarships.collegeboard.org/
If your family can not afford Cal Tech, it is not too late to look at other options. There are many of us on here with kids who were accepted at top ranked universities, but are attending somewhere else on full rides. Those opportunities have deadlines that are passing as well, though. Talk to a financial advisor about your situation.
If you are just looking for a deal on Cal Tech, but can pay full price, be prepared to pay close to full price, the outside scholarships are minimal and can require more hoop jumping than the college applications for little in return. Look for any local ones that may fit in a niche for your child.
I try to think of it this way… If someone handed me $1000 right now, I would be jumping up and down for the rest of the week. Every little bit helps.
Yes I agree every bit helps. But it depends on what OP is looking for. If the $83.5k at Caltech is mostly affordable then yes, a $2k or $5k award is nice. But if OP’s budget is, say $60k, then I don’t think any outside scholarships will bridge that gap. In the latter scenario they have to give up Caltech and seek schools that are generous with merit aid (or take a large loan - not a great option).
The only outside scholarships my kids got was through the HS for community ones. Couple of my kids went to town and applies for at least 40, ended up with about 5, 2 got a rotary for $1500 a year. The rest were merit from their colleges.
When our son attended Caltech, he said that everyone would qualify for a merit scholarship there because they do have extremely good students there. He said that only one or two students, in his admitted class, received merit. This school knows people will pay to get that prestigious label.
We finally got a reduction on tuition, after the first year, based on the fact that we had two students, in school, at the same time. This school is very expensive and we had a 529 account, a ton of paperwork, from Caltech, to fill out from the registrar at our daughter’s school, but it eventually it helped to reduce his cost of tuition.
I agree that “legit” scholarships, in the local community, and the best resource for Kiwanis-type of scholarships, are the high school counselors.
I am fine to pay most of it but anywhere he can get scholarship, we want to try. I have also marked yes for work-study but given he is an athlete, not sure what are his chances to really earn any little money he can.
I am not looking for anything big, we knew before getting into REA what we are signing up for. But if there is any opportunity for him to apply for a scholarship then I want him to try.
He is a National merit semifinalist so if he wins finalist then he gets one time cash award.
Thanks for the clarification. If not looking for a lot of money, then the advice provided here about local and corporate scholarships will help. Good luck.
Not all National Merit Finalist get money. Only about half of the 15,000 finalists get anything, and the majority of those are either direct from the college or from a parent’s employer if they have a program. I don’t believe Caltech gives any NMF awards so unless your (or your spouse’s) employer has a program for NMF, don’t assume you will get a “cash award”.
My kids checked out the Sallie Mae scholarship site:
You have to register but it’s free. My DD’17 did win a national scholarship- it was for her particular major and awarded multiple so her chances were better. It was $1500/year. Otherwise I agree, don’t waste your time on national ones, unless it is more specific, like the one I described for my DD.
Otherwise my girls applied for every local one possible and made a few thousand for their freshman year.