A Word About Scholarships
Last Updated on June 20, 2023 by Jill Schwitzgebel
It’s likely that one of your very next thoughts after you see the sticker prices on colleges is that you need to research some scholarship opportunities to help cut costs. There are dozens of websites dedicated to helping students find scholarships and your student’s guidance counselor is a great resource. Some of those scholarships will be really sizeable.
Expect that many of the extremely substantial ones will go to students with incredibly impressive resumés. These are often students who have been working on research and other big projects, possibly with corporate backing, throughout high school. Or they go to students who won a Science fair at the state or national level, etc. If your student is one of those students, congratulations!
But generally, these outside scholarships are not large, relatively speaking. The PTA or Kiwanis may offer a one-time scholarship of $500 to $1000, which is nice. But, at colleges that require you to report outside scholarships, they may just serve to reduce the financial aid you will receive from the college.
One nice thing about these types of one-time scholarships is that they come with no strings attached – once your child wins the scholarship, there are no further requirements. And certainly, every single dollar helps! But be sure to consider the financial return on the work that your child will put in to apply just for a chance to receive them. Instead of spending four hours crafting an essay to compete with 1000 kids for $500, it may be better to spent that time studying to increase an ACT score or boost the GPA to win an automatic scholarship from a college.
For the best chances of receiving the maximum financial assistance though, consider these scholarship opportunities:
Automatic Academic Scholarships
Best source to find substantial scholarships? The college’s own website! Some very explicitly tell you what the GPA and test score requirements are for the scholarship. If your child meets them, they receive it automatically. (An example of that can be found here.) No extra work is required outside of the application. These awards frequently amount to thousands of dollars per year, for four years.
Others do not say directly what the minimum requirements are to get the scholarship. It depends on how their applicant pool looks and there may be additional recommendations and essays required. Often, the school will give you information about the student profiles that received that scholarship in years past, so you know if your student is a good candidate.
Typically, these kinds of scholarships are awarded to students whose GPA and scores put them in the top 25% of applicants. Often, this is referred to as merit aid rather than scholarships.
Usually, these scholarships are renewable each year, provided that the student meets their GPA requirement. Don’t overlook that aspect. Freshman year can be rocky for some kids as they adjust to college. It is especially challenging in those majors that are known to have “weed-out” classes during the first year. So be sure you research whether there is a probationary period before the student would lose the scholarship.
Arts Scholarships for Non-Arts Majors
Many families do not realize is that even if your student is NOT planning to major in music or dance, if they have participated in those activities in high school, many schools, including state universities, will offer arts scholarships in college. They are typically not as much money as an academic or athletic scholarship, but they often will be in the range of $1000-$3000 per year.
An audition may be required and the performance level required will vary. Sometimes, the student can audition via videotape, rather than in person. In return, your child may need to participate in an orchestra or ensemble or in a dance group, etc. In many cases, if that has been a big part of a student’s life in high school, it is nice for them to get to continue that in college with a group of like-minded kids.
It’s also important to note – many academic/community service/arts scholarships have deadlines that are earlier than the final deadlines to apply to the college! Don’t miss out on the chance to be considered for free money!
Athletic Scholarships
If your student is a strong athlete, particularly if they’re competing at the level to potentially qualify for a Division 1 college program, chances are that the topic of athletic scholarships has come up early in their high school careers. If this is your situation, you will want to look at the NCAA website for further information. There are often substantial scholarships in a wide range of sports available to students. If your student wants to continue their athletic career in college, this can be a great source of funding.
Division 2 schools also offer lucrative athletic scholarship opportunities. In both Division 1 and Division 2, over half of all athletes are receiving some type of athletic scholarship assistance.
And do not overlook Division 3 schools for scholarship opportunities for your athlete. While they technically do not give athletic scholarships at Division 3 schools, they do need athletes to play on their sports teams too. Therefore, Division 3 colleges will give out academic and need-based scholarships to entice athletes to attend. Over 80% of student athletes receive them!
Final Thoughts
These are by no means the only sources of scholarship funding, but they are some of the most lucrative. Other substantial scholarship assistance may come from a child participating in ROTC in exchange for military service after college. Or, sometimes your student has been fortunate enough to attend a program like Boys or Girls State that offers participants a substantial college scholarship opportunity.
Brainstorm to come up with as many sources as possible, thinking about activities your child has been involved in. Investigate whether your employer offers scholarships to children of employees. Is there a unique hobby your child or family has been engaged in? Eagle Scouts or Girls Scout Gold Award recipients often have additional sources of scholarship funding, that may not be available to everyone. But when a student’s time and energy for scholarship applications is limited, just be sure that they are applying for the types of opportunities that are likely to give your family the best returns.
See also: How Much Does College Really Cost?
