<p>My student DID put in the time and "bothered’ to apply to outside scholarships, applying to over 40 outside scholarships. She had great success, earning enough to replace subsidized loans and work/study for all four years. We were very lucky that her school, USC, allowed her to use those scholarship funds for the student self-help portion of her aid package rather than reducing grants.</p>
<p>We are also middle class, but our student did “bother,” and it worked out very well for her.</p>