What are Scholarships?

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.