<p>For those of you whose children have won scholarships, grants, and contests for tuition money, which ones did they win? How many did they apply for? Based on their experiences, what would you recommend in terms of finding and applying to scholarships? Looking back, what would you/they have done differently? What did you/they do that you wouldn’t have changed? </p>
<p>I’m especially interested in smaller scholarships ($50-1000) because I assume that I’ll have a better chance of winning them than of winning mega-money awards, but I’m interested in what you have to say about your kids’ experiences. Was it worthwhile to apply for small awards vs large- or medium-sized ones? </p>
<p>(By the way, I’m currently a college junior at my state university. I’m sure that not all of your advice will apply to me, but I hope you’ll share anyway – surely it will benefit someone on this site.)</p>
<p>Thanks in advance! Feel free to brag about how fabulous your kids are. ;)</p>
<p>Several years ago the public school sent home a flyer from our state 529 college savings plan. It was a contest to draw a poster–grand prize 4 year pre-paid college scholarship (tuition and fees) for kids in grades K-9 and $36,000 investment plan for 10-12. So I forced my kids to draw a poster each…I gave them a little speech…I will pay for your college BUT you have the obligation to work hard in school and try to ease the burden by seeking scholarships…So I made them both make posters for the contest as a “lesson” with no expectation that they would win. They worked hard and produced two very nifty posters. I sent the posters and asked my mother-in-law to say a special prayer to the “virgencita” and OMG my S won the grade grand prize! 4 years paid instate tuition and fees or $36,000 to take wherever!? For a POSTER! </p>
<p>Every child in the State got the flyer and all of my friends said they had seen it but just chucked it. They expected the art teachers at school to organize the kids, but really, it comes down to parents when our kids are young. They really don’t think these things are within their grasp…they underestimate how talented they are but they also are too young to know the golden rule of gambling “You can’t win a lottery if you don’t buy the ticket!” </p>
<p>NOW as S is nearing college I still expect him to seek other merit aid. Extra essays for the colleges he applies to and, as an art student, it is particularly relevant to try to get his portfolios in good shape for merit aid at university or art school. My daughter is still 4 years away from college has entered some small local essay contests and photo contests that have yielded small monetary prizes and glory but I emphasize that she should be looking out for other opportunities. There are dozens out there particularly if you have a special interest (girl scouts, theatre) but also just good general ones offered by the local Kiwanis clubs, etc. </p>
<p>Note…I did make one mistake. My son was procastinating finishing his poster and kept moaning that it was a hopeless exercise. I said…“this is so big, if you win this I will buy you a car!” Yikes!..his response to the call from the state capital was to say…YES! CAR! So…we bought him a very, very modest old Accord with 120,000 miles on it and he putters into the senior parking lot each day. Careful about what you say as you encourage them to apply for scholarships!! I should have offered to get him a new bike.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing that very interesting story, and congratulations to you and your son! Now, I thought that most of the scholarship opportunities for college are open to students in their junior/senior year of high school only. Apparently not so! Do you know other scholarships younger students can apply for?</p>
<p>Generally, scholarships are small and infrequent for pre high school. Check with your local school system web site and school. We get little notes frpm school about the kiwanis club essay competition, VFW post (every single VFW has an essay contest with a national prompt) each year, Martin Luther King day essay for the county etc. What about the reflections contest offered each year by the PTA? My daughter has also entered in photo contests in t he magazines she subscribes to…national geo for kids, etc. Any money earned is matched by us and put into a savings account. At her age, it is more about learning to take risks and realizing that not winning is not the same as losing. Oh yes…SCIENCE FAIR…my son (the artist?) won $100 with a parachute experiment and there are scholarships to space camp, etc for the winners. I recommend, if the kid is interested, focusing on physics and aviation type things because, apparently, the professional organizations in these areas are more likely to provide some money for science fair winners in categories that are of interest to them. Try some google searches and see what pops up…but above all, pay attention to the mail sent home from school and go to PTA meetings. Our PTA provides scholarships for some summer camps/special programs for middle schoolers to attend based on merit and need.</p>
<p>My middle son is a freshman at a Top 20 LAC. He has a full-ride merit scholarship there, so he didn’t have to apply for any local scholarships (I was so glad; oldest s applied and got some, but I have issues with the process).</p>
<p>Middle son did get some scholarships through the American Legion, though, which he won before he knew he was getting the full ride. He was a Boys State delegate, and because he was elected to one of the “Big Three” offices (Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General), he got a $500 scholarship for that. The other way he got some money was through the American Legion Oratorical Contest. He won at the local level ($200 cash), regional level ($200 check made out to him), and then was runner-up at the state level ($600 scholarship).</p>
<p>It won’t help the OP, but for others, I second the idea of looking into scholarships when the child is young There’s a group in our county that gives a decent sized scholarship to an 8th grader. I never remember it until I see an announcement that a local kid has won it, but I bet there are a lot fewer 8th grade applicants than if it was offered to Seniors.</p>
<p>My son is an Eagle Scout and I had heard about some scholarships available to Eagles…the ones I found out about were either need based, or were given by the colleges but only in the amount of $500. But check this out!</p>
<p>D won a scholarship from a local credit union (you have to be a member) for 5K. This was based on scholarship and community service. So look into things like that in your area.</p>
<p>check with your college but also with local public school district! A very close friend from HS just passed away. She was a gifted teacher in bilingual education. So her parents set up a scholarship fund in her name to help students intending to get an education degree attend the local community college. Our high school class (almost 25 years!) has been donating substantial sums to the scholarship fund–we have done surprisingly well professionally, but most of us came from middle class homes and remember those early struggles. Hopefully, several students at the community college will benefit each year. The fund is managed by the local school board and there are several scholarships for students from our old school district–some depend on the high school you graduate from, some on the student’s major, some on community involvement, but…what the hay…see if you fit any of the categories…good luck!</p>
<p>I think the kids who end up winning most of the local scholarships are the ones with high tolerance levels and/or parents who absoutely force them to complete the applications. All of the elem school PTAs give an annual $250-$500 scholarship to a graduating senior who went to that school. I made Son get an application for his old elem school’s scholarship…the form called for more essays and more letters of recommendation than were required for any of the eight colleges to which Son applied. Both Son and I rolled our eyes and I didn’t make him pursue it.</p>
<p>It has been the experience at our house that the small local scholarships are the easiest to win. Many high school students here do not bother to apply. D1 applied for several national contest that she found on Fastweb but won none of those. She did win a $1000 for a state award in which her school selected one person to apply and another state award for $500 which was given to her because of class rank. Of 12 local scholarships she applied for she won one. After her experience, I strongly encouraged (ok badgered) my 2 younger D’s to apply for at least 10 local scholarships with the promise that after ten I would say no more. D2 won $500 and $350 which paid for most of her freshman year books. D3 won $500, $2000, and a $1000 renewable. They were very careful about reviewing the basis upon which the scholarships were awarded and also we tried to find out who locally had been awarded these scholarships in the past to determine if their profiles lined up with past awardees. If a scholarship required more than an essay or two or another recommendation besides what they had used for college applications, they did not pursue it. Many times they could use an old essay with a few modifications. In D3’s case, the $500 scholarship was one both of her sisters had applied for from their high school where applicants had to select one of 3 separate categories in which to be considered for a scholarship. By the 3rd time, I had finally realized which category D3 was most likely to win and I was right. D1 as a grad student last year won 1 of 3 scholarships she applied for- it was awarded ($500) by a local organization who announced the application in a local paper. She also applied for a national one awarded by her sorority which had received only 17 applications in the previous year for 3 scholarships. The # of applicants quadrupled in the 2008-2009 school year and she did not win. She found it very stressful to be applying for scholarships while carrying a heavy academic load.<br>
By far for us, the majority of scholarship money obtained was merit aid awarded by the colleges that my D’s attend which, for all 3 together, exceeds $45,000 a year.</p>
<p>My D was given a grant-scholarship by the First National Bank of Dad that covered all reasonable expenses, including instrumental music lessons, not covered by other financial aid, minus an approximately 10 percent co-payment she obtained through her own student loans.</p>
<p>I have a 9th grader so I am particularly interested in the merit-based scholarships that are open to freshmen/sophomores in high school. From what I read here (thank you all for sharing!), I gather Fastweb is where you find national or state (?) awards. Where is the best source to find the local scholarships?</p>
<p>PAParent, some of them are hard to find. I’ll read an announcement in our local paper about a kid winning this or that and I’ll wonder how the heck they knew about it. If you’ve ever got some free time with the computer, google whatever categories your 9th grader falls into (Eagle Scout, volunteer, DAR, autistic, deaf, skateboarder, the name of your county or town, your religious denomination, your status as a veteran, nationality of family origin even if way back, etc etc) plus “scholarship” and see what comes up. There are a lot of very specific scholarships out there.</p>
<p>Once your child has been admitted to a school, dig through the web site for very specific scholarships…ones for which alums can recommend them, ones based on your state or county, ones based on your religious denomination. It can be a lot of work because we found that some of those had January 15th or Feb 1st application deadlines, so you have to be admitted and leaning toward the school to know to apply.</p>
<p>You have to do a little bit more legwork to find local scholarships, but your chances of getting one will be higher (not as much competition for them as for the national merit awards). Look for organizations with money. Many local banks, especially credit unions, have small ($1K - $3K) scholarships. A good resource for finding local scholarships is the HS scholarship web pages (our SD updates its lists of local scholarships monthly). DD’s books are covered by one of those bank-awarded scholarships.</p>
<p>^^Yes, S1 got a very nice departmental scholarship for his major. It was not highly publicized. There was a small link labeled “scholarships” on his major’s department page.
He clicked on it and found out there was a four year renewable scholarship he could apply for that covered the cost of tution at his state sch. The app. process was very simple, fill out a form,write an essay (short) and send h.s transcript. I wondered how many kids actually applied since it was so easy to miss.</p>
<p>Scour all department homepages that pertain to you and follow links even if they don’t look like much.
S1 ended up getting $18,000 over four years from that little scholarship link.</p>
<p>Well I strongly recommend combing your local area, state for ANY scholarships. Yes, it takes some work - letters of recommnedations, essays. But once you win one - figure out your hourly wage! If you win a $500 scholarship and spend 5 hours on it (and likely a bit less) you’ve just made $100 an hour!</p>
<p>My D won several - as little as $200, as much as $2000 each year for 4 years - these are in addition to the merit aid through her college. One of the local scholarships tells the kids to resubmit after the first year they won - my D did and the 2nd and 3rd year they even INCREASED their award!</p>
<p>Check out local credit unions, unions if a parent belongs, service clubs, school district foundations, your local community foundation, local newspaper, etc. </p>
<p>The deal I have with my kids is that their job is to check the scholarship board in the guidance counselors office . I look online and everywhere for other opportunities. I keep a calendar of when things are due and they complete the work to get it ready - filling out stuff, getting recommendations (you can often use recs more than once - ask for a few signed copies when you get them from a teacher), and of course any questions/essays. I will help if needed, getting them mailed at the post office.</p>
<p>Don’t stop once you get in college either. One credit union offered a scholarship my D didn’t get during her senior year. She reapplied for her sophomore year and received $1000!</p>
<p>I promise, after you win one, you will find it all worth it. :)</p>
<p>I’ll brag on this one. My D1 won more scholarships than anyone in her graduating class. 7 or 9, I can’t remember. But 5 are for all 4 yrs. She applied for some and was just awarded for others based on her gpa and sat’s.</p>
<p>Her scholarships meant she did not have to take out any loans for undergrad education. They did not cover full costs. But scholarships, financial aid and mom and dad contributions covered it all.</p>
<p>There are actually good chances that you can find a scholarship in your area of interest or major. Fine and performing arts is chock full of them…offered by professional organizations (graphic artists, video and sound producers, etc). One incredibly useful scholarship that I was awarded (and they tell me it still exists) is for students majoring in an “exotic” language. It was a national, state department/defense department award and the program was started during the Cold War but has continued. I was an agricultural econ student studying dairy herds in Wisconsin and already fluent in Spanish. Nevertheless, all fees and and stipend were mine if I took intensified Portuguese (2 year grant) and then Quechua (1 year). I am not a language whiz so Quechua was a bit of a disaster. At the time I wasn’t even a US citizen–I just had a green card. To those who have kids who want to learn an unusual language or skill…there are definitely funds out there and they should contact the college and department.</p>