My niece, Kendalynne Hohe, a kindergarten teacher in Independence, Mo., is an expert at finding free money for college. She not only paid for four years of college using nothing but grants and scholarships, but also walked away with an extra $5,000 when she graduated last spring with a degree in elementary education.
Here are her strategies for finding free money for college:
- Apply for grants. Unlike student loans, grants are money that doesnât have to be repaid. Some are based on financial need; others may be based on things like talent, field of study, grades, gender or geographic location. Ask your college financial aid advisor for a list of grants for which you might be eligible. After submitting the free Application for Federal Student Aid, Hohe received a federal Pell grant and an Access Missouri grant each year she was in college.
- Enlist help. âMy high school counselor was a wealth of knowledge in helping me find scholarships that were offered by my school districtâs foundation,â Hohe says. âMy dad helped me navigate through my universityâs financial aid web page and find scholarships for which I was qualified.â
- Get good grades. âThe largest scholarship I received was a merit scholarship from my university,â says Hohe. âThe amount I earned was based on my high school GPA and my ACT score. My ACT score and choice of an approved college also made me eligible to receive the Bright Flight scholarship from the Missouri Department of Higher Education.â
- Make your application stand out. âTo get your application to stand out, it has to be â3Dâ,â Hohe says. â3D stands for direction, drive and determination, qualities you should showcase in your application. To show direction, let the scholarship committee know what youâll be working toward in college and, ultimately, in your future career. Even if you havenât decided on a major, let them know what fields youâre considering and why you believe itâs important to get a college degree. For drive, tell the committee about any extracurricular activities youâre involved in, especially any leadership positions. Talk about your goals, why theyâre important to you and, most important, what you plan to actively do to reach them. Showing determination can be tricky. Some applications will ask for an example of how youâve overcome an obstacle in your life. If you canât think of a good example, find a way to highlight your ability to persevere when things arenât easy.â
- Pay attention to details. âDecide on a school very carefully,â says Hohe. âMost colleges offer more money to freshmen as an incentive for them to apply. Most of that money is not available to students who transfer in from community colleges or other institutions. Also, look for scholarships that are renewable for more than one semester. Itâs the gift that keeps on giving.” Then make sure you meet the requirements to keep those scholarships, such as maintaining a certain grade point average or taking a certain number of credit hours.
- Keep track of deadlines. âI found that many merit-based scholarship applications have to be submitted before the new calendar year, frequently by the first of December,” Hohe says. “A lot of high school foundation scholarship applications are due in late winter or early spring. Make a list of the deadlines for each scholarship for which youâre planning to apply to help you keep track.â
- Go for the longshots. âApply for any and every scholarship, even if you just barely qualify,â says Hohe. âSome scholarships will state a preference for applicants with certain skills, characteristics or career paths. But the key word here is preference. If nobody with the preferred skills, characteristics, or career path applies, the scholarship will be open to other applicants.â
Here are two sites you want to bookmark as you seek college aid:
- Your university’s financial aid webpage, where you will find grants and scholarships available only to people in your state, city or school.
- FinAid.org, the top online site for information about financial aid and scholarhips.
LOTC tip: Don’t assume that all scholarships are listed online. Contact churches and civic groups in your community to see what scholarships they offer.
I absolutely LOVE this, “3D stands for direction, drive and determination”. What great qualities to focus on when applying for college scholarships! Excellent article and tips!! :)
Great article Julie!! I need all the help I can get!!! Student loans are so confusing to me and it seems no one really wants to help explain it to you??