Two more – Computer Science (note that adding them to the first two words is the winner, just Comp Sci isn’t going to help you)

I don’t begrudge her the money, she worked hard and got it. My kids, WASP males, household income over $80K, 100% consumer paid, not one dollar of financial aid (loans aren’t aid, they’re loans).

@AC(8): Any scholarship money that exceeds tuition is taxable (i.e. room and board). You are, however, better off paying the tax than you are not getting the money to begin with.

Since I’m not very good at getting good grades, scholarships were largely out. What I am good at is working really hard, so my solution was to work two jobs every summer and one job while in school. This was often hectic, but it worked and I graduated debt-free.

There are a lot of temporary jobs available to students, many with very flexible hours. This is going to be more work than getting scholarships, but there are advantages too: for example, it helps you build up your resumé and widen your network.

It all comes back to JD’s quote: “Do what works for you.” If scholarships are your thing, awesome! And if not, find out what is.

I wonder if this advice can be applied to my post-college, work-a-day life? Perhaps I will look into funding my Grad school this way?

Does anyone know if there are as many options for Graduate scholarships as there are for Undergrad?

Just a thought.

Thanks again for the great article.

He also won a bunch of small scholarships where he was the only applicant! For example, one was a tech scholarship set up to specifically fund the purchase of a computer. He actually still uses the computer he bought with that scholarship today, more than 6 years later.

He also applied and got an interest-free loan via a school foundation. Not quite a scholarship, but better than paying interest.

The hardest thing is finding the scholarships. With those small ones,they don’t tend to do a lot of advertising. Pump the admissions office, financial aid office, and your academic advisor (or your major’s office) for resources.

I learned that, as a starting point, I didn’t qualify for many merit-based scholarships because my parents categorically refused to fill out a FAFSA or to provide the school with any of their tax or financial information (and no, they didn’t care if this impacted my ability to get scholarships or financial aid). I thought that this should be irrelevant for merit-based scholarships, but was told again and again that I couldn’t apply for most merit-based scholarships without this information on file.

Every time I applied for additional scholarships or tried to get help from the financial aid office, it felt like a massive waste of time. In fact, the financial aid office once advised me to drop out of college, save up some money, and return to college when I could afford it on my own.

If one of my friends or extended family had forwarded me a link to this article, I would have resented them for it. Although I did not begrudge other people their scholarships (including my future wife), some people can’t catch a break on the scholarship front.

I think if you are able to get scholarships that make a dent in your tuition (15-35%), then you are doing pretty well. If you get 50% or greater, that’s fantastic, but you should consider yourself lucky. For all of the hard-working and deserving people that get scholarships, there are also many hard-working and deserving people that get next to nothing.

It IS much more difficult for someone older applying for scholarships to go to graduate school.

But there are still scholarships out there. I went to Barnes & Noble, bought the 2008 big book of scholarships, and went line by line through all the scholarships looking at the ones I was eligable for.

Needless to say, as a priveledged white Male trying to go to business school, there’s weren’t as many scholarships as there were for disabled minority students who are children of war veterans and the first generation to attend college. BUT through perserverance I did manage to find about 10 scholarships I was eligable for (out of a book of a few thousand), and the Eastern Women’s Traffic Conference ended up paying for about 1/3 of my tuition!

So hang in there. Even if you’re not the ideal candidate for a scholarship, there are still some out there for you. It’s certainly not easy, but it is worth it in the end.

Read the fine print on things like this; my award was continued even after I changed my major from English to History, but some awards may be major-dependent.

There’s a big difference between what a well-endowed private school can offer a kid whose parents are of moderate income compared to a less-well-endowed school. Some of those ivies and top small liberal arts colleges will be free or cheaper than a state school. The difficulty is, as she said, getting in.

Finding out financial aid stats before applying can be a good thing. Some places even have calculators you can use online.

go students, apply for those scholarships!

Over £3000 ($5000) for 42 days on hormonal medication is a bargain.

My experience: Since I started back to school in 2008 for a career change, I have applied for every scholarship I’m qualified for, every single time the application periods have come around. The first two semesters I had a 4.0 GPA, and subsequent semesters my GPA has never gone below a 3.7. I have stellar recommendation letters from faculty, former co-workers/employers and people I know in the industry. I have volunteer experience in my field. I’ve read up on scholarship essays and even taken the free classes offered by the college on writing the essay. I have never, not once, been awarded a scholarship.

I should mention a couple of things: The field I’m getting my degree in graduates between about 60-70 students (in this state) each year. The businesses that are in our field are numerous, and there is a lot of financial support of students from industry organizations. So in addition to general scholarships, I’m also competing for a number of field-specific scholarships, many of which are only available to residents of my state.

I’m open to the possibility that I’ve missed something huge in all my attempts at getting a scholarship. But when I hear about who has gotten the last batch of scholarships (see above – we’re a pretty small group, so word gets around) I can’t help but wonder if I’m out of the running before I even start. I already have a B.A. (which I’m still paying off, 13 years later – so I’m not interested in taking out additional student loans). I’m married, and my husband has a better-than-average job. We’re scraping by on just his income (and my occasional income during summer and semester breaks), but I’m fully aware that we are doing better than some in this economy. We don’t have kids, so don’t have any childcare expense. (And I notice that childcare expenses are mentioned specifically. But nowhere do they ask if my husband and I are financially contributing to the support of both sets of elderly parents.)

Anyway, I’m sorry if I come off sounding like a whiner. I am glad that there are so many people who are able to fund their way through school with scholarships. I know that some of my fellow students would never be able to even consider getting a degree without some of their scholarships and grants. It’s just frustrating to always hear about all these wonderful scholarships that are out there, (“free for the application” as I heard one financial aid rep put it once), do my best to earn one, and then be continually denied despite my best efforts.

Also, don’t scammed. You don’t have to pay for these services; finaid.org is an excellent resource, for example.

I actually used my boss’s editing services to get an internal scholarship – which got me out of that office the next year .

However, winning these scholarships does not mean that I won’t apply for anymore. For the next six months, my part-time job will be to search and apply for scholarships. My goal has always been to graduate with my master’s degree debt free, even if that means my bank account registers a balance of zero dollars when I finish school. With scholarship money though, I’ll have a couple bucks left over to start my career.

My advice to anyone searching for scholarship money is not to focus on the small pool of prestigious national scholarships, but on local scholarships, scholarships given away by professional organizations in your related field, and scholarships given away by your undergraduate or graduate schools. In my experience, they give the most money, but in smaller chunks.

Joe M is right in that some scholarships, depending on how they stack up, can be taxable. I certainly ended up paying taxes on some of my awards, especially on overages. Still, most scholarships aren’t taxable, depending on how you use them. It’s certainly worth talking to a professional to make sure that you’re paying what you should in taxes.

It’s also true that some awards will be reduced once you hit full tuition plus room and board. I had a few that were reduced monetarily my senior year once all of my expenses were covered. But between previously guaranteed awards (different scholarships have all kinds on rules) and tuition reductions from working for the university. I was very, very surprised when they handed me that check and very, very lucky.