- lesscollegestress
- Jul 28
People often talk about scholarships as money that’s just there for the taking. That’s an oversimplification.
The main (and most reliable) source of funding comes from the colleges themselves. Institutional grants represent 33% of total undergraduate aid. Scholarships (private and/or institutional), merit, and grant aid, refers to money that does not need to be paid back. The best way to reduce college cost is to apply to institutions that offer generous merit-based financial aid.
Second, private scholarships are awarded by corporations, civic organizations and other external groups to provide additional financial support. This money is far more elusive. Things to remember about private scholarships:
These account for only about 7% of total undergraduate student aid.
High value scholarships are very competitive-chances of receiving these are low.
Smaller scholarships are slightly “easier” to obtain, but it takes many of them to significantly reduce the cost of attendance and most are awarded for one year only (you must reapply). They average around $1000.
Some colleges won’t stack these on top of their own merit aid, rather they reduce their institutional financial aid by the amount of the private scholarship. *This is a good question to ask at college visits - are outside scholarships stackable with your institution’s scholarships?
Applying for these is time consuming, requiring essays, applications and letters of recommendation. It is an intense process (for little payout).
They generate a lot of spam, since some search engines sell your information to third parties. Set up a separate email.
Some advertised scholarships may not even exist.
This is not to say that you should not apply for private scholarships. My recommendations:
Create a completely different email account so it is not to clog your current email with spam.
Recycle essays that you have already written. Find the scholarship to match (i.e., if you’ve written an essay about driving, search for safe driving scholarships).
Apply for local scholarships that have less competition. Ask your school counselor.
Do targeted Google searches in your major or career field. Check any professional organizations that you or your family is affiliated with to see if they offer specific scholarships.
- lesscollegestress
- Jul 21
Beginning this admissions season, colleges like the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Vanderbilt University, Columbia University, Colby College, Northwestern University, and Washington University will begin accepting "Dialogues" from Schoolhouse.world, a platform co-founded by Sal Khan.
I appreciate the pros and cons of this. First, the con: don’t students have enough hoops to jump through? But I get the pro, too:
Why would colleges do this?
Grade Inflation: When so many students have perfect or near-perfect GPA’s, even with high rigor, colleges need to see beyond the numbers. That’s why essays matter…however…
AI Essay Concerns: With artificial intelligence tools making it difficult to determine if essays authentically reflect a student's voice and abilities, Dialogues offers a way to observe students' real-time thinking and communication skills during live conversations.
How does it work?
Authentic Interaction Assessment: The platform connects high school students worldwide for one-on-one video conversations about important topics like climate change, immigration, and artificial intelligence. This allows admissions officers to witness how students navigate differing viewpoints with curiosity and open-mindedness in real-time situations.
Should we expect elite college applicants be informed enough to discuss real-world problems? Should they be able to communicate effectively about them? No one is asking them to solve the problems.
Colleges have always valued strong communication skills. Perhaps these institutions are using Dialogues to dissuade students who apply because of the schools' prestige, but are not academically serious enough to engage in thoughtful, civil conversations with peers. That might make admissions' job of finding best-fit students easier.
- lesscollegestress
- Jun 30
We engage with images and videos every day. Nothing has as much value as getting and keeping attention. Every year, I look forward to helping my students craft Common App essays that tell stories that reveal the personality traits colleges seek. What makes an essay powerful? Grabbing and holding a reader's attention.
Engage admissions readers by drawing them in with drama, description, details, and dialogue. Stories of your your actions and interactions with others show colleges how you behave and the choices you make in all kinds of situations. Conversely, an essay that's mostly a revelation of your deep thoughts and feelings with no action or conflict may be an great journal entry, but can cause the reader to lose focus and begin scanning because the words are too abstract--and they have so many essays to read.
Admissions officers claim to read every essay with positive intentions to admit rather than deny. That being said, a generic essay or one that’s trying too hard to be different doesn’t help a student’s application. Students never have to write a boring or contrived essay once they understand the essay’s purpose and the best way to approach it. The purpose is always to demonstrate how you will become part of a college community if admitted. Many of the images that catch your eye and hold your attention tell stories. Think of how they accomplish that while writing your essays.