Tag Archives: scholarships

admissions, college costs, college planning, extracurricular activities, scholarships, test prep, Uncategorized

More valuable tips and advice

For my loyal readers, I thought I would post the links to some posts I have done on other websites and blogs. All offer valuable information for parents of college bound teens.

Preparing Your Student for the Future
If your child is just starting high school, you’re probably not thinking about college yet…but should you be?

It’s Test Time!
The SATs and ACTs… Are these standardized tests striking fear and dread in your home? Suzanne Shaffer of Parents Countdown to College says the key to success is practice and she shows you where to find FREE help!

Searching for Scholarships

The best advice I can give any parent of a college-bound teen is to start the scholarship process EARLY. Don’t wait until senior year and scramble around trying to find scholarships. Here are 10 tips on searching for scholarships.

Visit these sites and gather some valuable information. Sign up and join GalTime for even more valuable parenting advice. Encourage your teen to enter Diploframe’s scholarship.

admissions, college costs, college guidance, college planning, extracurricular activities, parenting, scholarships, Uncategorized

Following the Yellow Brick Road

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yellowbrickroadI spent some time today surfing. Not at the beach (I never learned to surf after living on the Gulf for over 30 years). I was surfing around doing some “follow the yellow brick road” path. I like to call it that because one link, leads to another, leads to another and you find an Emerald City at the end! That’s the great thing about following links: you never know where they will take you and what adventures you will have along the way.
These are the jewels I found today. I couldn’t help but pass them along to all my parent readers (and fans!):

http://www.knowhow2go.org/
This is an amazing website for college planning. It’s interactive and tons of fun. It’s not your typical boring college information site. It’s a fun place to start the search for middle schoolers with schedules and tips all the way through high school. Whaz up dudes and dudettes…check this one out! (I know I’m not hip but I try)

http://www.youniversitytv.com
Wow. This is NOT your avearage college tour site. This one has moxy and some genuine off the wall creativity. There are video tours that ROCK, a message board, cool 3D maps, games, career videos and ways to connect with other college students. Check this one out and get in the “mood for college”!
http://www.savingforcollege.com/
I had to plop one in just for the parents. This is the BEST, I said BEST, site for everything you want to know about financing that college education but were afraid to ask. Remember guys: DENIAL is NOT a river in Egypt. Knowledge is power. The more you know the more prepared you will be. So take a deep breath and jump in!
http://www.theclic.net/
As my daughter would say…”cool beans”. This is a site where you can find and be found by colleges, scholarships and other college programs. A GREAT networking site and a place to connect and set up an online presence.

http://globalquad.com/
This site is Twitterific! Yes, I did say that. Keep up with college life on Twitter: students, colleges, faculty, clubs, and more. Stay on top of the latest college and student news via all the great Twitter links. And, there’s an option to “follow all” if you are so possessed. Whew…I’ll just follow…EVERYONE!

Frame My Future Scholarship Contest - Click here to go to framemyfuture.com and find out about $6,000 in scholarship awards!

No “yellow brick road” search would be complete without unearthing a scholarship. And this one is a great one. Here is how you enter to win…Submit a creation that shares with us what you want to achieve in your personal and professional life after college. Your entry can be a photograph, collage, poem, drawing, painting, graphic design piece, short typed explanation, or anything YOU can create in an image! Your entry should communicate: This is how I “Frame My Future.”

That ends my search for today. I think I can safely say I found the “Emerald City” because every one of those links can take your teen closer to their dream of a college education.

But right now, I’m OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD!

college costs, extracurricular activities, scholarships, Uncategorized

"Why I Deserve a Scholarship" Contest

dell-scholarship

Create

Submit a 1-3 minute video describing/showing/depicting “Why you deserve a scholarship”. Video must be in a compressed Quicktime, Flash or Windows Media format. Be sure to include a title and description for your video.

Upload

Post finished video at WhyIDeserveAScholarship.com. Videos must be original and created by you. Your entry means that your work is not the work of others.

Vote

Voting begins September 8, 2009 and ends September 15, 2009. Members may vote only once each day on the following criteria:

1/3 Need, 1/3 Creativity, 1/3 Originality

And that’s not all, ONE lucky voter will receive a $1000 Scholarship just for voting!

college guidance, parenting

That All-Important Counselor Connection

hs-counselorBefore or at the beginning of your teen’s freshman year, make an appointment to meet with the guidance counselor. This meeting will let the counselor know that you are an involved parent and that you will be taking an active role during your teen’s high school years. It will also serve to establish a relationship between your teen and the counselor which will benefit them in the future as they begin to require more and more help with the college application process.

Here are some questions you should ask at that meeting:

  • What basic academic courses do you recommend for students who want to go to college?
  • How many years of each academic subject does the high school require for graduation?
  • What elective courses do you recommend for college-bound students?
  • Can students who are considering college get special help or tutoring?
  • What activities can students do at home or over the summer to strengthen their preparation for college?
  • What do different colleges (liberal arts, business, technical, community) require in terms of high school grades and SAT or ACT scores?
  • What types of local scholarship opportunities are available?
  • Do you have scholarship applications available in your office for students to look through?

At this meeting you will also be able to, along with the counselor, map out a course plan for your teen. You and your teen will be able to communicate their interests and desires as it relates to college. This will cement in the counselor’s mind the fact that she is dealing with a motivated, goal-oriented teen with a parent that wants to participate in the process.

—>A word of advice here: Let your teen do most of the talking. The last thing you want to do is plow ahead without anyone getting a word in edgewise. This is the perfect time for you to practice “listening”-to both the counselor and your teen. You can certainly ask questions, but don’t appear to be one of those pushy parents that “demands” attention. This will work against your teen in the long run. Let the counselor know you value their advice and guidance. Don’t pretend to have all the answers (even if you think you do). Utilize this time to gather information and begin a 4-year relationship with an invaluable educational professional.

college costs, scholarships

Scholarship Alert: Essay Contest for 2010 Seniors

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fire-logo1

FIRE’s Freedom in Academia Essay Contest

2009 Awards
One first place winner will be awarded a $5,000 college scholarship.
Two second place winners will each receive a $2,500 college scholarship.
Five runners-up will each receive a $1000 college scholarship.

Deadlines
The final day to submit an entry is November 6, 2009. The winners will be announced on December 11, 2009.

FIRE’s Mission
FIRE’s mission is to defend and sustain individual rights at America’s colleges and universities. These rights include freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience?the essential qualities of individual liberty and dignity. FIRE’s core mission is to protect the unprotected and to educate the public and communities of concerned Americans about the threats to these rights on our campuses and about the means to preserve them.

Click here for all the scholarship details!

college costs, scholarships, Uncategorized

Blade Your Ride Scholarship

If you have a college-bound teen, (entering college in the fall) or a college student (all the way through grad school), check this scholarship opportunity out. Just click the link below for details on how to apply. The deadline is June 30, 2009, so don’t procrastinate! There are some BIG BUCKS available for the environmentally conscious.

blade-your-ride-scholarship

Blade Your Ride Scholarship

admissions, college costs, college guidance, college planning, extracurricular activities, financial aid, scholarships, social networks, test prep

U.S. News & World Report-Best Colleges

This is not a commercial plug for this publication. It is however, an explanation of why I believe this is a MUST read for any college-bound teen. There are three options available for your use:

  • The print edition for $9.95
  • The online edition for $14.95
  • The combo package (print and online) for $19.95

If you don’t want to fork over the cost for either of these, you can browse their website and find a wealth of information.

It is my recommendation that you invest in at least the print version of this publication. If you’re in the process of choosing a college or even widdling down some choices, this publication will give you the needed information to make the right choice.

What does it provide?

  1. It is packed with articles about how to choose a college, how to prepare, how to get in, and how to pay for the education.
  2. It provides information about the best colleges concerning tuition, aid packages, student body, room and board cost, email addresses and website information.
  3. There is also explanation on how they determine their rankings based on several key measures of quality: academic reputation, retention, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, graduation rate performance, and alumni giving rate.
  4. It is an invaluable tool for determining past financial aid packages and will help you gauge if applying to a top-tiered college will be affordable based on alumni giving.
  5. Schools vie for the prestige of being in this publication. If a school makes the list, you can be assured that the quality of the education you receive is worth every penny you spend.

And…Since this is such an invaluable tool for college-bound teens and their parents, here’s what I’m going to do:

To qualify for a giveaway of the U.S. News and World Report 2009 Best Colleges, simply sign up for my College Tips Email and post this on Twitter:

@suzanneshaffer is giving away a FREE U.S. News and World Report-Best Colleges 2009 http://tinyurl.com/kk6zg4

I will be choosing a random winner on June 15th. Spread the word to all your friends who have teens heading off to college !

college planning

Experience from the College Trenches

 

sat stressParents always ask me, “How did you do it? How did you survive all the pre-college preparation and the barrage of forms and application deadlines?” Honestly, if you were to have asked me while I was navigating that maze I would have said I was drowning. Like most parents, those years came quickly and I thought I had all the time in the world. Not so. I think we successfully survived because we had a plan. We started early and we kept accurate records. And, we did tons and tons of research and asked a multitude of questions.

The best advice I can give a parent who has a teen thinking about attending college: START EARLY. Don’t wait until senior year. Don’t even wait until junior year. Start freshman year to get your boat headed in the college direction. It’s not easy but when those college acceptance letters come rolling in it will all be worth it.

Here’s a few simple things you can encourage your teen to do during his/her freshman year of high school:

  • Make a list of goals (academic and personal)
  • Meet with the counselor to go over the 4 year course schedule
  • Visit some of the websites of your dream colleges
  • Start your scholarship search (no, it’s not too early)
  • Find some fun volunteer activities to do during the summer and think about starting a business that might look good on a college application (starting a neighborhood newspaper or a lawn mowing business)
  • Keep a journal of your interests and jobs to guide you to the major you might be interested in at college
  • Register on some college websites (collegeboard.com has a My Organizer tool for students that helps you stay on track)

Starting early will alleviate the “panic syndrome” that so often occurs during senior year, which tends to hit right about the time “senioritis” sets in.

If you have any questions or would like some additional tips, please leave me a message here and I’d be happy to help…since I’ve already climbed out of the trenches!

scholarships

Should your college-bound student apply for scholarships?

 

There is great discussion among parents about whether or not scholarship applications are worth it. I happen to be one who believes they are. My daughter attended an expensive private university based on the scholarships she won from outside sources and from the university itself. Those scholarships allowed her to attend a school that was financially out of reach. Hence, I’m a firm believer in the value of scholarships.

Here are 3 reasons I believe ALL college-bound students should apply:

  • Scholarships help reduce the cost of college-Free money is always better than money you have to repay.
  • Many times, the effort required on your part is minimal-Numerous employers hand out money to worker’s kids without requiring much more than a one-page application. Grab that cash!
  • Your family might not qualify for need-based aid-In this case, scholarships can eliminate the need to dip into savings or retirement to fund college expenses.

Applying for scholarships, in my mind, is a no-brainer. What have you got to lose? FREE money for college. I don’t know about you, but in today’s economy, it makes even more sense.