It has been said that the best defense is a good offense. This adage applies directly to you if you are attempting to finance you college education. You must plan your strategy to show scholarship recommendation boards and Financial Aid Officers that you deserve the available funds. All of the following tips will help you increase your chances of winning financial assistance.
Begin financial planning early. If you are a high school senior you’re already late out of the starting blocks in the race for the available money. Do not wait until you have selected a school, you may not be able to afford the school that is you first choice unless they come through with a sufficient Financial Aid Package. Review the availability of scholarships and financial aid programs at each school in which you are interested.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate for more. If you are accepted at a school you can’t afford, TELL THEM YOUR SITUATION. They want you to go to their school, or you wouldn’t have been accepted by them.
Parents: If you have a child who is still quite young, you may want to investigate the Florida Pre-Paid Tuition Program, which allows you to freeze tuition costs and pay them in advance.
Check the Internet. Check the web sites of every college that you find interesting (college web sites end in “.edu”). Then look up other sources of financial aid. Use your school’ s computers if you don’t have access at home. Use every search engine available, each one finds a different mix of web sites. You can more likely get the latest information from a recently updated web site than from a book that has been in pre-publication for a year.
Understand the Application forms. Read over each form you must complete before you start filling in the blanks. ( If in doubt, make a photocopy of the form for a worksheet.) If you do not understand something ask the agency what type of answer is expected. Many scholarship applications are denied merely because the forms were improperly filled out. By the time you can resubmit the package, the available funds may have been awarded or the deadline may have passed. You high school Guidance Counselor or the college’s Financial Aid Advisor may be able to assist you.
File all the necessary forms. The required paperwork can be very complicated. Often multiple forms are required for the federal government, the state government, the college, or a private program. Make sure you read the instructions carefully and complete all of the required documents. If in doubt, always ask your financial aid advisor to be sure that you have not overlooked anything.
Keep copies of all applications and forms filed. While this may seem obvious, it is often overlooked. It only takes a few minutes to make file copies of your applications. It would take a great deal of time to recreate an application form in the event that it is lost or needs to be amended. This is a peace of mind step. Also, because most financial aid forms ask for the same data over and over ( if in slightly different formats) you can reuse information you have already researched…never reinvent the wheel.
Know your deadlines. Many assistance programs have open application periods; applications are date and time stamped as received and are reviewed in the order received. Plan to submit you completed application on the earliest date permitted.
Improve your writing skills. Many financial aid applications require an attached demonstration of your writing skills. While you can sometimes reuse that essay you got top marks on, some will require that you write on a specific topic. Be sure you address the subject completely, in a logical smooth-flowing format. Be concise and complete. Run you computer’s ’spellchecker’ and ‘grammarchecker’ programs and THEN ALWAYS let someone else proofread your work before you submit it. Keep copies of these essays too, with your application file copies. Sometimes you may get lucky and be able to recycle one of them. Keep hardcopy or softcopy on a floppy disc.
Write to the evaluators. Whether you are applying to the local Masonic Lodge for a scholarship, or to the financial aid administrators at a school, learn to present you financial picture in a manner that will leave the evaluators with a clear picture of your need for financial assistance. Your cover letter on your application can make all the difference.
Apply for every financial aid program for which you are eligible. Millions of dollars of financial aid goes unawarded every year, because no one applied for it! Discipline-based scholarships are plentiful, and are often overlooked. Check with the department of your major at every school to find out which specialized financial aid may be available at that institution.
Capitalize on you special abilities. You don’t have to have a 1600 SAT or a 4.0 GPA to win a scholarship. Academic scholarships are available for everything from art to zoology. If you have a special talent in public speaking ( Do you do the Flower Talk or the Ceremony of Light ?) or if you have musical skills find out if your schools offer special assistance based on these skills. Some colleges are desperately looking for tuba players in their music department.
Make the most of your family and social connections. Opportunities for scholarships and grants may be as close as a telephone call to your local fraternal, military or civic organization. Is Uncle Bob in the VFW ? Ask him to check on scholarships that they sponsor, both locally and nationally. Religious groups and denominations offer a great number of scholarships.
Sail into a scholarship. Or spike. Or swing. Or dive. Many schools award athletic scholarships for sports ranging from sailing to golf to gymnastics to soccer. You need not be a world class athlete to qualify for a partial athletic scholarship, which might stretch your Financial Aid Package enough to go to the school of your choice. If you participate in several sports, make sure the college’s coaches in all these sports are aware that you are interested in their school, and that they all know that you a multi-sport person. Coaches like to get more bang for their bucks by recruiting people who will play several sports for one scholarship or even a partial scholarship. Athletic Departments have budgets too.
Take advantage of your ethnic background and/or your sex. Members of minority groups and women often qualify for awards that are restricted to these groups. Local chapters of ethnic organizations and women’s business associations often provide restricted programs to members of their families, or to a target group of high school students.
Keep your grades up. Most financial assistance programs have minimum academic requirements. It is your responsibility to maintain you academic standing within the administering agency’s requirements. Know what these are.
Choose your major carefully. If you have chosen a popular major, there may be more financial aid programs available, but there is also more competition. You might want to consider a minor in an area that doesn’t have as many students, and thus increase you eligibility for assistance to more than one discipline.
Don’t estimate your financial information. It is tempting to estimate financial information because of the complexity of the forms. Don’t do it. It is important to be accurate. Keep a file of documentation to back up you financial statements if it should be needed.
Remember to apply each year. Your freshman year is not the only year to search for scholarships. You should reapply every year. Even programs that turned you down before, may reassess you in light of a proven college “track record”. Changes in your financial status, GPA, and available funds may make the difference. Again, apply early, especially if you applied late before.
