Hunting Down Scholarship Money

By Michele Blandino

When it comes to financing a college education, there are a number of myths and fallacies that prevent many students from either attending the college of their choice or completing their education without incurring an enormous financial debt

One of the most common myths is that the cost of an education at a private college or university will always be more expensive than at their state run counterparts. While on the surface this may appear to be true, in reality, the cost of attending a private school can actually be equal to, or even less than, a public college.

How can this be, especially in light of the fact that the rates for tuition, room and board at private schools are typically double of those for public schools? The answer is simple: private schools usually have the benefit of large endowment funds which are used to offset the cost of tuition, room and board for many students. While some of these grants are needs based, many are awarded based on academic merit and use a combination of high school GPA and SAT and other standardized scores. Other grants are based on talents such as musical talent, artistic ability or competence at a specific form of dance.

To get an estimate of how much need-based aid a student may receive, he should file a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) early in the college application process. This form will be filed with each institution the student has applied to and the information will be used to determine how much federal and state aid he may be eligible for as well as college scholarships and other needs based programs.

Another avenue for students to consider is merit based scholarships. There are literally thousands of scholarships representing millions of dollars in scholarship money available for the taking; all that is needed is for the student to identify the scholarship and complete the application process.

As would be expected, there are several Internet sites devoted specifically to helping students identify, apply to and track scholarship programs. Most sites, such as Scholarships.com, Petersons.com, FastWeb.com and CollegeScholarships.com are free, but do require users to register. Others, like Scholarship-Experts charge a nominal fee for their services.

Regardless of the service (or services) you choose, be prepared to spend a great deal of time combing through the listings to find scholarships to which you can apply. There are scholarships earmarked for students with virtually every interest, talent and career goal. Each scholarship requires a separate application which can quickly turn your search into a time consuming and arduous process. Yet, for the determined student, the search can very well be worth the effort.