Scholarship Strategies
By L.A. Finneran
Published: March 10, 2008
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With $3.4 billion handed out every year, it’s never too early to start thinking about college scholarships.

In fact, Tracy Jackson, guidance instructional specialist with the Virginia Beach public schools, said students who hope to get a scholarship to college should get some experience to add to their resume months or even years before they plan to start college. That’s right. Jackson said these days many future college students are preparing resumes to include with their scholarship applications.“They include extracurricular activities, leadership positions they’ve held, other things they’ve done,” Jackson said. “Applying for scholarships is a long, thought out process.”

And the thing that scholarship evaluators are looking for these days? “Community service, philanthropy,” Jackson said. “It really helps.” It doesn’t have to be a major commitment, but could be a few hours of volunteer service during the school year, or maybe a week in the summer, she said. Probably more important than volunteer work is a student’s grades, said Lishen Ruffin, scholarship coordinator at Old Dominion University. “They look at academics, and you need to have a GPA of at least 3.0 or you’re not going to get a scholarship,” Ruffin said. With college costs continuing to increase, more and more students are looking to scholarships as a way to defray costs. According to the College Board, students and families are paying up to $1,400 more in tuition and fees this year than they did last year. On average, tuition at four-year institutions this year is $23,712 a year at private colleges and universities and $6,185 a year at public schools. Both are up more than 6 percent from the previous school year. Since application deadlines may be six months before the start of the academic year, students need to start researching scholarships to find ones they qualify for early, said Kevin Burns, financial aid director at Norfolk State University. “A lot of the deadlines for scholarships are March 15,” Burns said.

Experts say a student’s first stop should be their high school guidance office, which typically keep books or files listing many of the different scholarships available and the qualifications and applications for each. Students should also check with the college or university they plan to attend, as many have scholarships available to incoming students.

The web can be another resource, but experts warn against using fee-based scholarship search companies, since the same information is available for free elsewhere. Students should also look to their community for available scholarships, Ruffin said. “Check with local businesses or churches and find out if they offer any scholarships,” Ruffin said, adding some employers offer scholarships to the children of employees and some clubs offer scholarships to members. There are also some scholarships available specifically based on gender, race, ancestry and what major the student intends to study, Jackson said. And according to FinAid, an online resource for information about financial aid, there are a few dozen scholarships out there with very specific “unusual” requirements, like for the couple that wears outfits totally made out of Duck Brand Duct Tape to the prom, or for the female student who can sing or play the national anthem with sincerity. Once students identify the scholarships they will apply for, then the real work begins – filling out the forms, gathering the necessary paperwork and writing the dreaded essay.

According to the College Board, many scholarships require:

Experts say the final item on the list – the essay – is at this point the only requirement that the student has any control over. And it’s also what can set a student apart from the rest of the crowd. “So don’t procrastinate,” Burns said. And don’t put all your eggs in one basket. While students – and their parents – may dream of getting one scholarship that covers all the costs of going to school, the reality is that unless you are a star athlete or very top student, it’s unlikely you’ll get a full ride.

Instead, most scholarship range from $500 to $2,000, Jackson said. But students can apply for, and receive, many scholarships from different sources. “I’ve seen students apply for lots of scholarships, and those small scholarships add up,” Burns said. “We have students here who are getting scholarship money from many different sources and it ends up paying for their education.”



 
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