With student debt now topping credit card debt (see page 3 of the PDF), every penny that you can find to put toward education is wanted. We hear a lot about student loans, but not so much about scholarships as a way to pay for education. There are all kinds of scholarships, often sponsored by special-interest groups. Here are a few that Mark Kantrowitz of Finaid.org lists on his site: Scholarship for Left-Handed Students, Little People of America Scholarship (4 feet 10 inches or less), National Make It Yourself with Wool Competition (knitters, start your needles!). Many of these opportunities go begging for applicants.
Recently, Danielle Rodabaugh (who told us her reader story about her travails due to the CARD Act) contacted us so that we could share the details of a scholarship with a small-business angle that her company is offering. Here’s what Danielle told us:
I’m the director of educational outreach at SuretyBonds.com, which is a surety insurance agency based out of Columbia, Missouri. We’ve recently established our first scholarship program targeting students with small-business experience, and we’re trying to get the word out about it. I thought you might want to share it with the GRS community in some way because I’m sure many of your readers know at least one student who would be qualified for the scholarship. Maybe some readers are even small-business owners who have college-aged children looking for scholarship opportunities.
Through our Small Business Success Student Scholarship program, SuretyBonds.com hopes to hear all about the small-business experiences young entrepreneurs across the nation have gained, whether personally or from observing family members working to make a way for themselves. Three deserving individuals will win a $1,500 scholarship to use toward furthering their education at the college or university of their choice.
The SuretyBonds.com Small Business Success Student Scholarship Program is open to students in every state. All entries must be received no later than March 31, 2013, to be eligible for the contest. Applications may only be submitted online. Each student must submit a 500- to 1,000-word essay about “How small-business ownership (personal, parent, grandparent, or legal guardian) has shaped you into the person you are today.”
You can see our online scholarship program in its entirety here: http://www.suretybonds.com/scholarships
You can also read more about the program in this blog post: http://www.suretybonds.com/blog/suretybonds-com-scholarship-program-2013/4886
We hope those of you who are eligible will take advantage of the opportunity. We know many of the GRS readers are small-business owners, as Danielle said, so this could be helpful for your student. Good luck!
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Way to get the word out! Many people assume that scholarships and grants are given out strictly on a needs basis and that is not entirely true. I suggest you apply for every grant and scholarship you qualify for. Any money that you get to help pay for college is worth it.
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That’s so true, Jon. In fact, that’s why set such unique parameters for our scholarship program. In fact, here’s what Josh Kayser, founder of SuretyBonds.com, had to say about our qualifiers:
“Most scholarships are based heavily on financial need. A lot of the qualifications required to meet this criteria don’t apply to small business owners and their children simply because of the way business owners have to present their financials to remain compliant. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that affording a degree is easier or less burdensome for these types of families, so I wanted to give them an option they might not have had otherwise to help offset those costs.”
You can read more about the driving force of our scholarship program here: http://www.suretybonds.com/blog/suretybonds-com-scholarship-program-2013/4886
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This is great! Every scholarship helps to pay for college. My husband applied for numerous ones, as well as grants, and got a large portion of his state school tuition paid for.
We’re thinking that we may tell our future kids that we will pay up to a certain amount for their tuition and then match any scholarships they earn beyond that. Hopefully it will provide them some incentive to go after opportunities like this.
Good luck to everyone that applies!
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That’s a great strategy. My parents told me they’d cover my tuition and costs of living as long as I lived on campus. To save money, I worked as a peer advisor in the residential halls my sophomore and junior years, which paid for my room, board and meals and saved me at least $20,000-$25,000 in all (and all my academic scholarships were on top of that). I did choose to move into an off-campus apartment my senior year so I could live the life of a “normal,”college student, but by then I was financially stable enough to take on the costs independently.
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Thanks, Ellen, for sharing. When it comes to tuition it’s like you say, every penny is wanted.
And kudos too to SuretyBonds.com for making this available.
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Thanks! About 90% of our clients are small business owners like us, so we know how important it is to support one another
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Thanks for sharing this scholarship program. I agree that when it comes to college costs, you should try to as many scholarships as you can.
Funny thing is that most of my friends, and my dad, who worked for small family owned businesses as kids wound up hating the experience. A lot of resentment for lost weekends, evenings, and entire summer breaks.
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Unfortunately, that can happen. No matter the exact experience, valuable lessons are still learned. Perhaps children in those situations learned that they value family time over making money, or perhaps they realized the sacrifices required of those who choose to manage businesses. Not all lessons in life are enjoyable.
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I work at a small college. Little known fact: for most private schools, there is a significant discount rate–at my institution, we’re at 55%. Which means on average, the typical student pays 55% of the sticker price. So just like car shopping, know your facts and bargain!!!
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Great article and good information. What college is this you’re mentioning Ann?
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Great information. Unfortunately for me, my youngest child graduates from UNC-W in May so I won’t be able to take advantage of it. I bet she could have won the “Left-handed Students” scholarship! Gonna share on FB so at least some of my friends might be able to benefit. Thanks.
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This is great! I’m a college student, and I’m making an effort to actually track down and apply to more scholarships this year. My Dad owned a business when I was growing up, so I’ll definitely check this one out.
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