I am compiling a list of scholarships that most of the people in my class would be eligible for. I’m looking for scholarships of any amount that are not restricted by race or state? Basically, I only want the top 10% of academic students would be eligible. This includes merit and financial need.
Examples include Quest Bridge, Horatio Alger, Jack Kent Cooke, Bryan Cameron, and ELK.
They don’t have to be as big as these ones?
Do you guys have any worth-while scholarships I should check out? (Links would be greatly appreciated.)
What I mean by worthwhile are ones that I am eligible for and that aren’t just raffles or something. Essays are okay.
How would we know what you are eligible for? You have not provided us with ANY data about your stats.
The best best aid is what you get offered by the colleges where you get accepted. I would strongly suggest you look at your stats and see where you can garner merit aid,
In terms of financial need…that is determined by your family income and assets. No way to help you there either…since we don’t have that information.
Oh…and every college has a net price calculator. Some ask for things like GPA and SAT or ACT score as well as income and assets. So…run those. You could get an estimate of aid you MIGHT receive from the colleges.
Also…it sounds like you are a current HS senior. Some of the deadlines for the bigger outside scholarships have passed.
@CourtneyThurston do you have any suggestions for this student. He did not make the cut for Questbridge.
I have a 4.0 GPA. I will graduate as valedictorian and am my school’s student body president. I got a 32 on the ACT and participated in varsity tennis for the past four years.
I intentionally left this information out because I am looking for general scholarships. I am caucasian, but I want scholarships that any race is eligible for.
Basically, I am asking for any scholarships that you think would be worth applying for to anyone. This isn’t just for me. I don’t want raffles. I want scholarships that require moderate to excellent ACT/SAT scores, but that is not strict at all. I am trying to compile a list scholarships that wouldn’t be a waste to spend an hour applying. Please disregard any qualifications other than race. Also, they should be eligible for any US college/university.
What she means is that you need to go for yourself. Instead of trying to compile a list for the free world, you need to take the airplane instruction of putting on your own mask before assisting others. In other words, you need to look at schools there you can get money for your stats (4.0 and 32 ACT)
If you need merit money, then you need to target schools that will give you merit money for ** your stats **.
That is where the biggest source of scholarships are.
There very few outside scholarships for a considerable amount of money that you can receive for more than one year.
Ok…I’ll repeat myself. The best scholarships are provided by the colleges to which you are accepted. You clearly already KNOW the larger outside scholarships (like Questbridge…you applied for that).
Every student needs to look at their own stats. If they need merit aid, they need to apply to colleges where that is either guaranteed for those stats, or where those stats are at the tippy top of the applicant pool AND the school actually awards merit aid.
There are over 3000 colleges in this country…with varying criteria for awarding merit aid.
There are also tons of outside, smaller, one year scholarships that also have varying criteria in terms of whether students receive them.
Also, you say you want scholarships that ANYONE in your class can apply for…but then you say top 10%. The top 10 % wouldn’t include anyone. AND the vast vast majority of scholarships out there are not restricted by ethnicity.
In terms of need based aid…MYOB. The family finances of others in your class isn’t your business.
Could you please explain the point of your search?
And for the record…I’m in the “every penny counts” corner…so I think EVERY scholarship is worthwhile.
And lastly…look at the top of this forum under “subforums”. A bunch of outside scholarships are listed there…and one sub category is “other scholarships”. @“Erin’s Dad” already gave you that suggestion in the first response. Really, I’m not sure there is anything else to add.
It sounds like you are wanting to help your fellow students out in the search for “scholarship” money.
Honestly, the biggest favor you can do your friends is teach them about need based aid vs. merit aid and how to adopt an early strategy for either one depending on scores, etc.
Teach them to prep for their tests.
Teach them to start somewhat early in jr. year.
Teach them about debt.
Teach them to have a balanced list. Show them how to get guaranteed merit —and then let them take it from there.
It makes me crazy around here to see students piddling around for hours working on essays for little $1000-3000 scholarships and they have a 30 ACT…OMG put that essay time into PREP time and take it ONCE MORE TIME!
(sorry for the caps, but it happens all the time around here!)
But burning daylight working on local small scholarships or large majorly competitive ones that have a lottery chance of winning BEFORE you’ve optimized your test scores is just a foolish strategy.
The fall of your senior year is no time to be compiling scholarship lists for your classmates unless you have a solid list of colleges that includes at least a couple colleges that you’re sure to get into, are affordable, and that you’d be happy to attend. It doesn’t sound like you have that.
Most kids aren’t going to get enough in outside scholarships to pay direct costs (tuition, room, & board). Many colleges will deduct any outside scholarships students do get from their aid so the bottom line remains the same. You really need to focus your energy on finding colleges that you can afford.
How much can your parents pay per year? What state are you in? Are there any colleges on your list that offer guaranteed merit for a 32 ACT and 4.0 (UW?) GPA? If so, are the net costs affordable?
Since you applied to QB I assume that you have a lower family income? The best plan is to target colleges that meet full need. If your family income is under 60k you should pay next to nothing at those schools. Just google a list; you can also sweeten the pot by searching for colleges that meet full need without loans. The list will contain the most selective colleges, but with your stats you should have a good chance at many lower down the selectivity scale. What schools have you applied to?
Then target outside scholarships through your school and community. Every school district has hundreds of them, and if you can pick up a few you will have funds to cover the expenses your financial aid doesn’t.
my D - class of 16 – had your stats basically. She searched and searched for scholarship opps that were not national but local, and wrote lots and lots of essays and was interviewed. She did not qualify for any need-based or athletic type scholarships and found all of these through a state-wide database and through her school district. She was awarded $1850 for a LOT of work.
on the other hand, the college she is now attending awarded her $114K in total. That scholarship required essays and interviews; but those were well worth it. I guess i’d say focus on your schools!