Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have also been hearing that many colleges are looking for students who are involved in clubs and show committment to volunteering in their community.
That for the most part is true, however, colleges don't want to see little involvement in a ton of projects; instead colleges prefer to see heavy involvement and maybe leadership in a few activites whether its a sport, a community group, a job, etc. colleges use this criteria to find "well rounded" students.
I know you have posted links but there are scholarships that go unclaimed every year, some common, some obscure. Some of the obscure ones go unclaimed because they are hard to find. There are many common scholarships that are awarded that go unclaimed because a student decides to attend another school. 3 of the 5 full tuition scholarships at the school our D is attending next year went unclaimed because the students chose other schools. Several schools our D looked at did not award a full compliment of sports scholarships because they didn't have people to fill rosters. It's more common than you think.
Myth 1: Billions of college scholarship dollars go unclaimed
This one has been around since the word "scholarship" was invented. "I can't get a handle on where it comes from," says Carmichael. "It certainly is not from college financial aid offices." As for Clemson, Carmichael says they seldom have university scholarships that aren't awarded, and if they do, it's usually because of timing or highly restrictive eligibility requirements.
That story, with no data to back it up, is talking about institutional dollars. The unawarded dollars that most people talk about are private scholarships from various businesses, fraternal organizational, etc. I know one scholarship our D is applying for goes unawarded as often as not because people just don't apply for it--they don't know about it and/or are not qualified for it. It's a local scholarship with semi-strict requirements but there are at least 100 girls I know that could qualify for it---not that I'm telling them until AFTER D gets it .
That story, with no data to back it up, is talking about institutional dollars. The unawarded dollars that most people talk about are private scholarships from various businesses, fraternal organizational, etc. I know one scholarship our D is applying for goes unawarded as often as not because people just don't apply for it--they don't know about it and/or are not qualified for it. It's a local scholarship with semi-strict requirements but there are at least 100 girls I know that could qualify for it---not that I'm telling them until AFTER D gets it .
I would also suggest that when filling out the FAFSA you say your child wants work study whether you think you will qualify or not.
Our son didn't get it at first because of our income. But..... He got a job in the IT department on campus and they eventually gave it to him because so many kids who qualified ended up turning it down. Guess they didn't want to work. Departments on campus have "x" amount to pay in work study dollars so he was able to add on more hours once he got into the work study slot. But that only happened because he said "yes" to work study on the FAFSA.
I know you have posted links but there are scholarships that go unclaimed every year, some common, some obscure. Some of the obscure ones go unclaimed because they are hard to find. There are many common scholarships that are awarded that go unclaimed because a student decides to attend another school. 3 of the 5 full tuition scholarships at the school our D is attending next year went unclaimed because the students chose other schools. Several schools our D looked at did not award a full compliment of sports scholarships because they didn't have people to fill rosters. It's more common than you think.
Yes, there are scholarships that are unclaimed b/c the recipient decides to go to another school. On awards night at high schools all over the country, there are kids who have scholarships from several colleges. There are even kids who get appointments at the service academies (all free) who don't go. However, colleges know not everyone is going to accept. I don't work in financial aid, so I can't say for sure, but my educated guess is that the colleges award a few more than they actually can fund b/c of just that. I have never heard of sports teams not awarding their full allotment of scholarships for the reason you gave, certainly not at the big D-1 schools. I'm not saying your experience didn't happen, I'm just saying it seems unusual.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BLUEDIAMOND64
I have also been hearing that many colleges are looking for students who are involved in clubs and show committment to volunteering in their community.
Don't think that alone will get your kid a scholarship. Most kids in contention for merit aid are involved in clubs and do volunteer work. You have to do something to stand out, and the wild card is that you have to do what the admissions committee is looking for, and you don't always know that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by golfgal
That story, with no data to back it up, is talking about institutional dollars. The unawarded dollars that most people talk about are private scholarships from various businesses, fraternal organizational, etc. I know one scholarship our D is applying for goes unawarded as often as not because people just don't apply for it--they don't know about it and/or are not qualified for it. It's a local scholarship with semi-strict requirements but there are at least 100 girls I know that could qualify for it---not that I'm telling them until AFTER D gets it .
It's not an unsourced story, it's from a reliable college guide. If a business or fraternal organization or whoever wants to give out a scholarship, all they have to do is let the local high school guidance counselors know and in my experience, hordes of kids will apply. Your one anecdotal experience is not evidence that this is a widespread issue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jkcoop
I would also suggest that when filling out the FAFSA you say your child wants work study whether you think you will qualify or not.
Our son didn't get it at first because of our income. But..... He got a job in the IT department on campus and they eventually gave it to him because so many kids who qualified ended up turning it down. Guess they didn't want to work. Departments on campus have "x" amount to pay in work study dollars so he was able to add on more hours once he got into the work study slot. But that only happened because he said "yes" to work study on the FAFSA.
I don't even recall that question on the FAFSA. Maybe it's changed since my kids applied to college. I do know that at my oldest DD's college, work-study jobs were available only to people on other forms of federal financial aid, and at the two my second attended did allow other kids to work the work-study jobs. These are great jobs to have, b/c they can be flexed around the student's schedule more easily than off-campus jobs.
Work study jobs are partially funded by the federal government and partially funded by the colleges. It's in the colleges best interest to fill the work study jobs with students that qualify since they pay only a portion of the salary, with the government picking up the rest. If a student is getting a job that was first offered as work study and no one that was eligible applied, they would have to change the status of it, because they simply cannot pay a student that doesn't qualify with federal funds. Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program
^^Well, perhaps my younger DD went to colleges that had a lot of other jobs available. One of them was the same college that jkcoop's son is currently attending.
I have been listening to many Moms and Dads who have their children applying for college. The one thing I hear is that schloarships are based on "financial need". So, what does that mean? What about the middle class family that planned ahead and put money away. Are they not entitled? Do schools look at grades and base schloarships on academic merit? Thanks in advance!
There are two types of scholarships: institutional and private. Institutional scholarships are generally based on merit, some are given and some require an application. There are some institutional scholarships for financial need, and require FAFSA. Institutional scholarships are more abundant at private universities and are generally not as competitive vs. a State university.
Private scholarships require an application, can be extremely competitive, may or may not use GPA and/or finances as criteria, range from $100 to a full ride, and are available based on numerous topics: there are scholarships for students of a specific ethnicity, gender, sexuality, nationality, race, location, where one of their parents work, the social organization parents belong to, clubs the student used to belong, mothers, single mothers, and so on. Then there the scholarships that are not based on anything, the student simply needs to apply.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BLUEDIAMOND64
I have also been hearing that many colleges are looking for students who are involved in clubs and show committment to volunteering in their community.
Many are, sure, and have been. It largely depends on the competitiveness of the school, but in general all "Tier 1" and most, if not all "Tier 2" universities will want to see them. However, it is not the length of the list, but the quality of the EC. An applicant should only list 5 or so really solid ECs; avoid giving a laundry list of everything you did during high school. It is also typical for the university to disregard clubs unless the applicant held position as an officer in those clubs. When a university sees a laundry list of ECs they know the applicant is attempting to game admissions and will probably not participate in many ECs, if any all, if they were to be accepted.
Universities like to see ECs, but for reasons most are not aware of. Basically, it is because of this: Students who are active on campus tend to have a higher opinion of the institution, even if it is a "lowly ranked" institution. Students with higher opinions tend to give more positive, and accurate, reviews. And the most important: students who participate on campus are more-likely to become a donating alum than a student who does not do ECs.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
