Most of us have seen the movie Blind Side. The young man achieves his dream of a college education by receiving a full-ride athletic scholarship to the University of Mississippi. While this was indeed a true story, it is apparently a rare occurrence.
Karen Weaver, an Ivy League-educated consultant shared her expertise on the athletic recruiting process. Karen’s experience includes positions as a Director of Athletics, adjunct professor, and head coach for schools at the NCAA Division I, III, and small college levels.
STEM careers have become a national priority and students who aspire to careers in science, technology, engineering, and math will be happy to know that STEM scholarships abound.
Often, when you apply for scholarships in a specific area of interest, the competition is much less than if you apply for national scholarships with thousands of applicants. The fact there are fewer applicants improves your odds of being offered the scholarship.
STEM scholarships may be plentiful but how do you find them?
Debt from college tuition has skyrocketed over the last several years. Parents and students are weighing their ROI (return on investment) before making their college choices. As college costs have shot up, so has student debt. How can you pay for college without incurring debt?
According to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, outstanding student loan debt stood at $1.58 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2021, an $8 billion decline from the third quarter. About 5 percent of aggregate student debt was 90+ days delinquent or in default in the fourth quarter; the lower level of student debt delinquency reflects a Department of Education decision to report current status on loans eligible for CARES Act forbearances.
That’s the bad news. But if you’re a savvy consumer and research the costs before signing on the dotted line, you should be able to go to college without incurring debt. Zac Bissonnette, author of DebtFree U, is proof that it can be done. He graduated from college with zero debt.
Believe it or not, you may be able to graduate without debt if you use these 10 ways to pay for college:
In honor of International Women’s Day, here’s an extensive list of scholarships for women and girls. Once you check these out, do your own Google search and go past the 1st and 2nd pages of Google. You’ll find specific scholarsihps that might not be listed on these sites that have compiled a list.
And don’t forget to celebrate the women and girls in your life–while teaching your sons to value and treasure them!
Looking for scholarships? There’s the usual scholarship search sites and scholarship books. You can find them at your student’s counselor’s office and locally. But what about social media–specifically Instagram? It’s a great place to find out about current and future scholarship opportunities.
Sometimes there are scholarships posted on these accounts that you might not easily find in a typical search. They post lesser known scholarships, often with fewer applicants. This increases your student’s chances of winning!
WHAT: Pocket and Her Campus present The Future Connection, a writing competition which will ask entrants to answer: “What does it mean for you to come of age in a hyper-online, always connected world?”
The prize includes:
$5,000 cash prize
Having their final essay featured on Pocket to the millions of people who use the app every day
A mentorship call with a Mozilla exec
The winner will be selected by a panel of judges that includes Lindsey Shepard, Mozilla CMO; and Stephanie Kaplan Lewis, Her Campus Media co-founder, CEO & Editor-in-Chief
The deadline to enter the competition is Tuesday, July 15, 2021 by 11:59 p.m. PT
The competition winner will be announced on Wednesday, July 30, 2021.
WHERE: To learn more about the terms and conditions, as well as to enter into the Pocket and Her Campus’s The Future Connection writing competition, please visit www.hercampus.com/mozillacontest.
ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be between the ages of 18-25.
Many students neglect applying for scholarships with small awards. However, every small award your student receives means more free money to pay for college.
The RevenueZen Social Selling Scholarship is an award for any current or soon-to-be undergrad who is looking to innovate the hiring process. In an ideal world, what would hiring and applying for a job look like? How will you stand out? The RevenueZen Scholarship has a brief submission process, and applicants will be judged on their ability to convey their idea for an innovative social selling process focused on getting hired at a specific company.
Over a lifetime there’s a huge financial payoff for going to college, but how can students avoid taking out outsized student loans for their education in the short term? The key is to make your ‘out-of-pocket’ expenses as low as possible. You can do this by putting strong merit aid colleges on your list. Applying to colleges that are likely to give you merit aid is one of the best ways to make ‘financial fit’ choices and save thousands of dollars a year.
The largest pool of non-loan money available directly from colleges is merit aid scholarships. Colleges award over $8 billion dollars in merit scholarships annually. Understanding how colleges award these scholarships requires a thoughtful strategy that can result in significant savings. Merit aid awards are mostly given to applicants who show academic excellence and are in the top 25% of a college’s most recently admitted freshman class. Since many colleges offer merit scholarships, you don’t need to have straight A’s or a 1600 SAT score to be awarded merit aid. Each school has its own top quartile stats.
Merit aid grants are unlike other forms of aid in several ways. Federal government grants like Pell are primarily targeted at low-income families and are limited in size. Private scholarships are generally not renewable and require a separate application. And loans, of course, have to be repaid with interest. Merit aid, on the other hand, is not income dependent, doesn’t require a separate application, doesn’t have to be paid back and it’s renewable.
Finding merit aid can be tricky and time-consuming. Using a college’s Common Data information will provide some information. You can find lists of colleges that give merit aid awards online, but those lists won’t show you if a particular college is likely to give you aid based on your profile. A new tool called MeritMore uses your stats to match you with colleges most likely to give you aid and shows you how generous those colleges have been to students with similar profiles. You can check to see if your top schools are likely to offer you merit aid and then compare aid offers against each other. MeritMore also finds colleges generous with merit aid that match your criteria, but may not have been on your radar. This is a great strategy for finding financial fit gems.
The best way for families who don’t qualify for need-based aid to avoid paying sticker price is through merit aid. Awards can be in the thousands and tens of thousands of dollars per year. These scholarships help make college more financially accessible and help families avoid getting caught in the student loan trap.
Do you have an average student? Do you think your student won’t qualify for any scholarships? Think again. There are no GPA requirement scholarships and average GPA requirement scholarships. If your student can fill out a form, write an essay or simply register on a website, they could win money for college.
Some of these deadlines are close, but if your student doesn’t apply this year, he or she can always bookmark the scholarship or add it to a spreadsheet for next year.
No essay, no GPA minimums, just money to cover tuition, housing, books or any education-related expenses.
Offered by Niche, a website that analyzes public data to review schools and colleges, the $2,000 scholarship is open to all high school, college and graduate students and those planning to enroll within 12 months.
All you have to do is register on their website for free and
enter. A new winner is chosen every month randomly, and you’re allowed to enter
once per month.
Deadline: The last day of every month. Available to: Students must currently attend — or within the next
12 months plan to enroll in — a high school or college, graduate school (listed
on Niche’s website) or be the parent of a student who falls into one of those
categories. The site states that one entry per person is allowed each month, so
you or your parent could apply.
As the title of the scholarship states, you don’t need to
write an essay and no GPA is specified. You must simply enter through their website.
Winners are selected via a random drawing about two weeks
after the last day of the month and will be notified by mail, telephone or
email; the winners will also be announced via Niche’s e-newsletter.
In addition, Niche provides more than 30 scholarships from
other sources on its website besides the $2,000 “No Essay” one.
The only thing required to win this $1,000 scholarship —
named after Gen and Kelly Tanabe, the award-winning authors of 14 books on
admission and scholarships — is a 250-word or less personal essay based on
questions provided on the website.
Your GPA will not be considered. You must be in high school,
or a student in college or graduate school and a legal U.S. resident.
According to the website, “the goal is to create a level field where students have complete control over their applications and are not given an advantage or disadvantage based on financial or academic circumstances.”
Deadline: There are both fall and spring
scholarships offered. Check the website for details. Available to: Ninth- to 12th-grade, college or graduate students
including adult students.
Simply fill out the answer to one of three essay questions —
why do you deserve to win this scholarship, describe your academic or career
goals or any topic of your choice — and a committee will choose the best
answers. The first place award is $1,000; you use the money for any education
expenses, including tuition, room and board and more.
Winners will be notified approximately four weeks after the
deadline.
If you wear glasses, you may be familiar with the Marvel
Optics company, but what you might not know is that its founders hold a $1,500
essay contest for full-time college students.
Applicants must submit a video or short essay on their
social media or blog page tagging or linking to Marvel Optics that answers the
following: “Helen Keller said, ‘The only thing worse than being blind is having
sight but no vision.’ What does that mean to you?”
Two scholarships are offered (fall and spring semester) and the money is sent right to the winner’s school financial aid office.
Deadline: August for the fall semester and January
for the spring semester. Available to: Any student attending a two- or four-year college.
Follow the rules on the rules on Marvel Optics scholarship
program website.
What do Arkansas, California, Texas, Missouri, Mississippi
and Louisiana have in common? They are all rice-growing states. And if you are
a graduating high school student living in one of these places, you can apply
to win up to a $4,000 scholarship, sponsored by Corteva AgriScience, from the
USA Rice Federation.
Applicants must simply make an original video (3 minutes or
less) promoting your state’s product to the sustainability of rice crops.
Upload your video to Vimeo and YouTube and then submit your entry with an online form.
Deadline: All entries must be in by the end of
October. Available to: High school seniors living in one of the following
rice-producing states: Mississippi, California, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri and
Louisiana.
Make a short video about any aspect of the rice, or promote
your state’s rice production, upload it to Vimeo or YouTube and fill out
the online scholarship entry form. The USA Rice Federation will
contact you if you win one of the three scholarships: a grand prize ($4,000),
second place ($3,000) and third-place scholarship ($1,500).
Who knew your fire sprinkler could help you go to college or
a certified trade school? Yes, the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) —
a nonprofit representing fire sprinkler contractors dedicated to the
educational advancement of its members — started a scholarship program offering
10 winners $2,000 in tuition assistance.
Their mission is to also “educate the public at-large about
the life-saving properties of automatic fire sprinklers” and therefore part of
the application is to take a short quiz after reading an article about the
industry of fire sprinklers.
The selection does not take financial need, GPA or
demographics into consideration. The only requirements are that you must enroll
for classes beginning no later than the fall semester of the year you apply,
and take a short quiz.
Deadline: Spring Available to: High school seniors enrolled for a fall semester.
All you need to do to enter is go to the site and
fill in your education and contact information, and take a short quiz. A random
computer-generated drawing selects the winners.
AFSA will contact each winner by email and phone within 14 business days of contest end-date. The prize will then be sent directly to the college or university where you’ll be attending.
Are you the student who always gets told to quiet down in
class? Well, there’s a scholarship just for you. Unigo, a college and
scholarship search website, started their own scholarship where they encourage
you to speak out.
Applicants have up to 250 words to say whatever they want
creatively and memorably. The “loudest” person will win $1,500 for college
expenses.
Deadline: End of September each year. Available to: Students must be 13 years or older and currently enrolled (or enroll no later than the fall of 2026) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education
To enter, you must answer the following question in 250
words or less: If you could say one thing to the entire world at once, what
would it be and why? A qualified panel of judges will select one potential
winner based on the criteria of writing ability (25%), creativity (25%),
originality (25%) and overall excellence (25%).
The winner will be notified by email or phone toward the end
of December.
High school, college and graduate school students who are
interested in environmental issues, might check out Digital Responsibility’s
$1,000 scholarships. The grassroots company whose mission is to help create
safe internet awareness offers this scholarship each year. There are two steps
in the process.
First, applicants must fill out an online application form
including a 140-character limit answer to the question “the most important
reason to care about e-waste is …” From that pool of applicants, Digital
Responsibility will select 10 finalists, who will be asked to submit a
full-length essay (500 to 1,000 words) about e-waste.
Deadline: Earth Day (mid-April) Available to: All high school students, college students entering
or currently in college, and graduate school students. Home-schooled students
may apply as well. All applicants must be legal residents or citizens of the
U.S., but there is no age limit.
Fill out the online
application form via Digital Responsiblity’s website, and answer a
question about e-waste in 140 characters or less. If you are chosen as one of
10 finalists, you will be asked to submit a 500- to 1,000-word essay. The
winner will be chosen from that pool of 10 applicants.
Digital Responsibility will contact the winners by email
listed on the original application.
Ice-cream loving students rejoice, there is a scholarship
out there for you. In honor of national ice cream month (Juy) Unigo — which
also offers the
Shout It Out award above — is offering a $1,500 to the student who can
best explain to them what ice cream flavor best reflects your personality and
why.
Deadline: End of July
Available to: Anyone ages 13 or older planning
to go to a college, university or trade school. Simply submit a 250-word or
less online response to the scholarship portal. The winner is announced by the end
of November, and decisions are based on the decisions of a “qualified panel of
judges based on the criteria of writing ability (25%), creativity (25%),
originality (25%) and overall excellence (25%),” according to the Unigo
website.
Share your tips and photos for managing your stress, and
earn $1,000 in scholarship money from DoSomething.org and Blue Shield. In the
past six years, DoSomething.org has awarded $1.2 million in scholarships to
over 300 winners.
You might win cash and your suggestions may go into a guide
for students by students on how to help young adults manage stress.
Deadline: End of May Available to: Anyone in the U.S. or Canada under age 26. Become a
member of DoSomething.org and then fill out the simple scholarship
application, which takes an average of five minutes, according to its website.
Winners are announced via text message or email in late
June, and there is no GPA or essay required to win. Simply share your
strategies for dealing with stress. In addition, DoSomething.org offers other
simple entry scholarships to young people worth checking out.
Of course, a website dedicated to helping students afford
college and pay back student loan debt has a scholarship for the typical
student.
Yes, Student Loan Hero awards two $5,000
scholarships each semester to help alleviate educational costs and no
minimum GPA is required.
Deadline: Early October Available to: Participants must be 18 years of age or older and
enrolled at an eligible educational institution.
To enter, go to our
scholarship page and submit an essay in 500-700 words answering this
question: What financial challenges have you overcome growing up? How have they
shaped your goals and career aspirations?
A panel consisting of four personal finance professionals
will judge the essays. Each essay will receive a score based on clarity of
writing and organization, grammatical correctness, relevance to the prompt
question and creativity and thoughtfulness.
Available to: High School Seniors through College Seniors
Award Amount: $1,000
The Spirit of Giving Scholarship is available to high school
seniors and current college students. You must submit an essay of between 500
and 750 words on one of the following three topics in order to be considered
for this award: How have you advanced the spirit of giving in your community or
abroad either through service or in giving? How has the spirit of giving
affected you personally? How will your college or post-secondary education
allow you to be of service to others or give to others? Get more information on
the Spirit
of Giving Scholarship.
Available to: High School Freshmen through College
Graduate Students, Year 5
Award Amount: $1,000
The Don’t Text and Drive Scholarship is available to high
school, undergraduate or graduate students. You must be U.S. citizen or legal
resident and complete a short statement on why you pledge not to text and drive
in order to qualify for this award. Learn more about the Don’t
Text and Drive Scholarship.
The Paradigm Challenge is open to students up to the age of
18. You may work in a team or alone in creating an original and creative way to
help solve real-life problems in homes, schools, communities, and/or around the
world. Entries may come in the form of posters, videos, inventions, messages,
community events, websites, mobile apps, or anything else that will help save
lives. Additionally, you must submit a brief statement of your idea (140
characters or less) in order to qualify for this award. Learn more about the Paradigm Challenge.
Available to: High School Juniors through High School
Seniors
Award Amount: $250
The Prom Pics Contest is open to high school students. To be
eligible, you must submit a high resolution photo from your prom event. Prizes
will be awarded in each of the following categories: promposal, pre-prom, prom
dance, and post-prom. Get more information on the Prom Pics Contest.
Ages: High School Freshmen through High School
Seniors
The National High School Oratorical Contest is open to
junior high and high school students who are under the age of 20 and citizens
or lawful permanent residents of the United States. You must prepare an oration
on some aspect of the U.S. Constitution, with some emphasis on the duties and
obligations of citizens to our government. A complete list of topics are
available on the Legion’s Web site. Each individual state winner certified into
and participating in the first round of the national contest receives an
additional $1,500 scholarship. Get more information on the American Legion National
High School Oratorical Contest.
The Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest is available to high school seniors who demonstrate talent in duck calling. You must participate in a duck calling contest in Stuttgart, Arkansas to be considered for this award. Get more information on the Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest.
Just one of the many scholarships without essays offered by
Niche, you can enter for a shot at this $1,000 scholarship by creating a free
account and reviewing your school. A new winner is drawn each month.
The Live Bearded team are focused on lending a hand to those
building their future through higher education. While the company Live Bearded
focuses on grooming products for men, this scholarship opportunity is open to
males, females, high school students, college students, undergraduate, and
graduate students. Send a 90-second video sharing your goals, facts about
yourself, and why you deserve the scholarship. Upload your video to a social
media platform, fill out your application with a link to your video, and you’re
good to go!
In order to ease the pain of paying for college,
SuperCollege offers a monthly drawing for a $1,000 scholarship. All you need to
be eligible is to fill out the exceptionally short application form and you’re
good to go!
Customized Girl prints bold statements on customized shirts.
Naturally, they know an eye-catching quote when they see one. To apply, post
your statement as a caption on Instagram to be chosen as one of two winners,
and your statement may be featured on a customized shirt! Check out past
winners on the scholarship page for inspiration.
While this scholarship technically has an essay, it’s only a
short 150 words, so we’re adding it in! To apply, just fill out the super short
application form and write a mini-essay about the goals you have for your university
education.
In order to win one of these no essay scholarships, simply
answer a short prompt in 150 words or less, such as “How do you prepare and
study to feel confident for your final exams?” If you have more than one
college class you’d like to review, you can improve your chances by leaving as
many reviews as you’d like!
Submit: A short letter and proof of scholarship
applications
Debt.com’s mission is to give scholarships to students who
are consistently applying to scholarships. Debt.com asks you to send all the
tedious scholarship confirmation emails you received along with a short letter
about yourself. Your letter can be about how you feel about applying to so many
scholarships, or if you learned anything from the application process. Winners
are announced every two months.
Submit: A video, music, creative writing, or
graphic design
Deadline: August – November 2020
Students between 14-22 years old may apply. The contest
seeks original work about a solution and strategy regarding reckless and
distracted driving. Choose either video, music, creative writing, or artwork.
There are many submission options and contest categories, so make sure to visit
the scholarship page for details!
Share your story of dealing with migraines or light
sensitivity. All full-time students of accredited two- or four-year American
universities may apply. Choose from a video (less than 1 minute in length) or
an image (photo, drawing, etc.). To qualify, the submission must be posted on
at least one of the following social media platforms: YouTube, Facebook,
Instagram.
HeadSetPlus.Com wants to help you pay for college…no essay
needed! Be creative and create a video with a maximum length of five minutes
detailing why you deserve the scholarship and what inspired you to pursue a
degree in your field.
If you’re planning on attending a two- or four-year
Christian college, you’re eligible to enter the drawing for this $2,500
Christian College Scholarship. Simply fill out a short online survey and you’re
good to go!
Attention all students: You can be the next J.K. Rowling!
This is your chance to show off your writing skills, get published and win a
cash scholarship.
You do not have to be an advanced writer to take part. This
is an opportunity to use words in a creative and unique way.
Students who are currently studying at or have been accepted
to an accredited university may apply by publishing an essay online on the
topic, “How Companies Can Take Advantage of Digital Marketing”.
This scholarship helps students 16 or older pay for higher
education. The scholarship is a competition based on a short essay. Family
income, grades and test scores are not used in selecting a winner. The award
must be used for any education-related expenses such as tuition, fees, books
and room and board.
Have you ever had a question about college prep and there
was no one to ask? Do you wonder what other parents have done in your
situation? Is there a question about paying for college that you simply can’t
find the answer to?
Odds are, you can find most answers to your unanswered questions on Facebook (or at least a suggestion on who to ask). From parenting a teen through the college process, paying for college, financial aid, scholarships and connecting with college parents, you can find groups or pages to help.
Here’s a list of my favorite Facebook groups and pages:
This is a widely popular group for parents of both
college-bound and college students. You can connect with experts in college
prep here or get advice from other parents who have been through the process
and/or have current college students. It’s a friendly, conversational group and
if you have a question, it’s easy to post it and usually get an instant
response from another parent or expert in the group.
If you have a question about paying for college, this group
is available to help. Helpful articles are posted daily and questions are
answered quickly by experts and mentors on the page. They cover topics related
to college prep and often offer training sessions and webinars to help you with
the college admissions process.
Financial aid can certainly be confusing for parents and
students. College talk provides parents with tips and strategies related to
college financial aid.
Looking for merit scholarships? This group is devoted to
sharing merit scholarship opportunities and discussing ways to find schools generous
with financial aid and merit scholarships.
Need help searching for scholarships? Need help with
scholarship applications? Have a question about the scholarship process? You capayn
find the answer on this page, along with endless lists of scholarships
available. Check this page daily for the best in scholarship information.
This is my page and you can find the answer to any
college-related question here. I post informative articles daily and am happy
to answer any question you might have about college prep. I also frequently
post scholarship opportunities and free training opportunities as well. Check
back often to see new news about college admissions.
This is the portal for you to ask any question, raise out
any concern or get feedback from the group. This type of forum rarely exists in
the college admissions space, but it’s space for parents to expand their
network, build connections, establish relationships and form a support system in
this competitive field. This is also the place for parents and students to grow
and even enjoy their college admissions journey.
Everything you need to know about the college essay, personal statements and supplemental essays can be found on this page. From podcast episodes to essay samples to expert advice, the College Essay Guy is available to help. Your student can also join his private group page for personalized essay help: College Admission and Application Forum.
A page with over 14,000 members offering great college advice, current articles in the news, and a forum for students and parents to comment on them and ask questions. College Connections’ main objective is to have our students gain admission to the college which is their best match, and where they find happiness, success and a solid academic program.
