Source of Money 28: CollegeXpress or Careers & Colleges Search Engine

Tuesdays we review a source of financial aid to help you pay for college

Ginny applied for, and was admitted to, a for-profit and proprietary college. She signed a contract that specified she would pay per hour, and did not outline the full amount to be paid. When carefully totaled, she would have to pay $48,000 for an associates degree. The college offered to help Ginny get financial aid. She discovered that very few committees offered scholarships to attend her for-profit, proprietary college. Instead, their financial aid office helped her get a few federal grants and a lot of student loans.

Characteristics of CollegeXpress

CollegeXpress used to be called Colleges & Careers. The About Us section of the web site states

“CareersAndColleges.com is the companion website for Careers & Colleges magazine and is part of the CollegeXpress network of sites. The magazine, published by Carnegie Communications, is distributed and read by millions of students every year. Each magazine is full of need-to-know admission advice and tons of great college choices, and all those articles and school profiles can be found on CollegeXpress too!”

The home page lists that members can “find scholarships in our database worth $7 billion, ..read lots of helpful articles, expert advice and blogs, join and you’ll automatically be entered to win our $10,000 scholarship.”

• You can create your free profile
• The articles were pretty good
• They share a blog & “Ask the experts” sections

Disadvantages of CollegeXpress

• You cannot see anything without creating a profile
• The site displays the following disclaimer when you begin to create your profile: 
  • “We are able to provide this free service due to the willingness of our users to be contacted by colleges and our other marketing partners. We will keep you informed of the latest scholarship opportunities; plus, you could receive FREE information about colleges and promotions from top companies. If you choose not to receive information at this time, you can opt-out. ”
• The profile only asks for contact information, so they probably sell it per the above disclaimer

Thursday we answer questions from clients about your reusable FAFSA

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware 18: Grades Matter with Scholarships

Saturdays we share a tip or cautions to facilitate getting scholarships or avoiding problems

Sam attended one of our scholarship workshops when he was in 9th grade. He decided he wanted to attend a very good state university to study mechanical engineering—and he did not want to live at home. Sam only had a 3.1 GPA, but didn’t let that stop him. He went home that night and made a chart tracking how much money he would need for tuition, books, and housing for each semester of five years of school. He worked with a friend of his mother’s to coach him for twelve months. Four years later, when he graduated from high school, he still had a 3.1 GPA. He also had enough scholarship money to pay for all but the last 3 months of college.

Students Fail to Apply Because of Doubt

Grades matter a great deal to many scholarships. They recognize achievement and merit. We get a lot of students who do not apply for scholarships because they doubt their grades will qualify. As a result, they fail to get the money they deserve. We’ve met many students who had great grades, but never applied for anything.

Sometimes, they cannot discern between grants that are awarded based on need and scholarships based on merit and achievement. So, they apply for grants which they cannot win because of income. The rejection of the grant confirms their worry that they do not deserve to win.

Some Waste Time Applying for Money They Cannot Win

We also coach a lot of students who have very low grade point averages who apply for a lot of scholarships. Unfortunately, they waste a lot of time applying for things they will never earn. A few scholarships try to reward and motivate students who try hard, but cannot bring grades up. Students should continue to try for those.

Most scholarship committees, however, require at least a GPA of 2.9 or more to merit the award. Students should carefully check the requirements before applying.

Tuesday we spotlight the funding source CollegeXpress, aka Careers and Colleges

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Reusable Materials 29: Questions About Letters of Recommendation

Thursdays we discuss how reusable materials help you WOW committees and save time

Kinsey’s mother belonged to the largest women’s service organization in the world. More than a decade ago the worldwide president of the organization asked the women to make and donate quilts to refugees from the war in Kosovo. Kinsey made 25 baby quilts. She took a picture of herself surrounded by all of the quilts before she donated them. Five years later she sent a copy of the picture with a letter to the worldwide president of the organization requesting a letter of recommendation to use with scholarships. Think of the clout her applications carried with a letter thanking her for her donation to Kosovo refugees.

Q: Can you really draft letters of recommendation for others?

A: This questioner continued by sharing how she felt uncomfortable and a little dishonest writing the letter for somebody else to sign. Most of the people you will ask to give you a letter of recommendation stay very busy. Drafting the letter for them saves them time and energy from writing it themselves. Most appreciate your efforts on their behalf. Remember, however, that you must

• Allow them to edit the letter and put it in their own words
• Recognize that they may choose to entirely rewrite the letter
• Include value statements highlighting what you did related to the letter writer
• Ask the writer’s permission to change to whom the letter is addressed

Q: What format is best for letters of recommendation?

A: Scanning a hardcopy letter on the letter writer’s stationery remains the best format for reusable letters of recommendation. These tips will help:

• Save the scanned image using Adobe’s PDF format
• Title the file something like “Red Cross Letter of Recommendation for Kinsey Wright”

You should also ask for several hardcopy copies of the letter in sealed envelopes with their signature across the seal. A few scholarship committees still ask for confidential letters, but not many.

The least helpful version is a word processed, electronic copy.

Saturday we share a caution about when to not waste time applying for scholarships

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Source of Money 27: Leonard M. Rieser Fellowship for Science

Tuesdays we review a source of financial aid to help you pay for college

Sonia, a native of Latin America, studied at a university in the U.S. She needed additional funding to help pay for school. She met with several of our coaches to help her find scholarships and complete her master application. She struggled with a number of concepts: finding scholarships, sifting out the bad ones, copying and pasting from her master application into scholarship applications. Her confusion nearly paralyzed her ability to apply. After working with our staff several times, she started getting money for college.

Characteristics of the Leonard M. Rieser Fellowship

The family established the Leonard M. Rieser Fellowship to honor his zeal. Carleton College describes the purpose of the fellowship “Leonard M. Rieser was passionately committed to supporting the ideas and potential of young people to build a more peaceful world.
The Rieser Fellowships support undergraduate students who want to pursue projects that explore issues at the intersection of science, global security, and public policy.”

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists facilitates the fellowship:

• Any undergraduate student studying at a U.S. college or university is eligible to apply
• Students must propose projects aligned with the purpose of the fellowship

Columbia University states:

“The Rieser Fellowships provide up to two successful applicants with a one-time award of up to $4,000 to pursue projects that explore issues at the intersection of science, global security, and public policy, focusing on a significant aspect of nuclear security, climate stabilization or biotechnology.

In addition to the monetary award, each Rieser Fellow will be eligible to submit his or her fellowship project results to be considered for publication on the Bulletin's website or for use in a Bulletin program. Rieser Fellows will also be eligible to participate in the Bulletin's Annual Clock Symposium in January of their fellowship year.”

Disadvantages of the Rieser Fellowship

• Many colleges list the fellowship on their web sites
• There are only two fellowships offered each year
• There is high competition for the fellowship

Thursday we answer some of your questions about reusable letters of recommendation

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Tips to Get Money for College 12: Use Internet Search Engines to Find Funds

Saturdays we share tips or cautions to facilitate getting scholarships or avoid problems

Paulo grew up in Brazil. He traveled to the United States to study at a prestigious private university. He obtained scholarships using search engines and consulting with his college financial aid counselor. He still needed more money though. So, he used Google to identify several scholarships that paid for Brazilians studying in the United States. They gave him him an additional $15,000 each year for four years.

Tips for Using Internet Search Engines for Scholarships

Scholarship search engines specialize in finding scholarships. You may also use general Internet search engines to find scholarships and sources of financial aid. We will not enter into the war of search engines by recommending one over another. We will merely discuss how to use standard Internet search engines to find scholarships. A very few of the things we discuss will change depending on which search engine you use, but most apply to all.

A few tips will help you improve the number of results your search will generate. Rather than describe the tips in words, I will use actual examples. You may change the phrases to meet your own needs:

• “Scholarships for Brazilians studying in the USA” using quote marks generates one set of results leaving the quotes off will modify your results slightly
• Scholarships for Business Majors
• Financial aid for business majors
• Scholarships for business majors at University of Southern California
• Research grants for business majors
• Fellowships for counseling PhDs
• Financial aid for Californians studying at Boston College

These examples should give you ideas for using Internet search engines. Test you own ideas.

Be Aware

You should recognize that information found through these general search engines will include

• Millions of results that have not been screened or vetted
• Priorities based on search engine algorithms, not most applicable results
• Scams or false sources of financial aid
• Results with one or more of the words, but still unrelated to what you want
• Junk unrelated to you

Monday we share the Rieser Fellowship as a source of student financial aid for scientists

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Reusable Materials 28: Additional Questions From Our Readers

Thursdays we discuss how reusable materials help you WOW committees and save time

Andrew needed money to pay for graduate school at a very reputable private university. The school gave him a teaching assistantship with a stipend. He still needed additional money to cover the rest of his costs including housing, food, and transportation. He applied for additional financial aid and received $20,000 more money. for the two year period.

Q: Why are almost all sites selling information to 3rd parties?

A: Most scholarship sites offer their services free of charge to students and parents. In fact, the younger generation do not pay for information these days. They find it free on the Internet. They expect information to be free.

However, it costs money to gather, maintain, and provide a web site with search and profiling capabilities. In addition, the lure to monetize a web site draws to publishers. WordPress teaches sponsors how to monetize their site with ease. Further, big corporations sponsor most of the really good scholarship search engines. They intend to make a profit, so they sell information to 3rd parties to cover the costs—and more—of the site.

Fortunately, other methods of sponsoring simple sites is emerging. More colleges provide access to scholarship lists without requiring usernames or passwords. We’re particularly excited by the emergence of scholarship wikis like www.SchoolLibrary.com. Finally, some enterprising companies are going to charge an annual fee for counselors, parents, and students to access commercial free information with no gimmicks to gather your information.

Q: Why would some sites limit offerings to just 4-6 years?

A: The Great Recession reduced the amount of money available to students. At the same time, large corporations bought a few of the more respected scholarship search engines. Many decided to reduce their market niche to the more lucrative 16-20 year-old market. Credit card and other companies pay a lot of money to get the information about young college students. This, short-sighted approach, costs these sites hundreds of thousands in subscribers.

Saturdays we will share a tip about how you can use Internet search engines to find funding

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Source of Money 26: Federally Funded TEACH Grants

Tuesdays we review a source of financial aid to help you pay for college

Becky studied English in college. She moved to California shortly after graduation and found a job as a high school English teacher. Her college education did not provide her with a teaching credential. The school district, however, paid for her to study and work on receiving her credential while she taught school.

Attributes of the TEACH Grant

The Office of the U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid page states

“A Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant is different from other federal student grants because it requires you to take certain kinds of classes in order to get the grant, and then do a certain kind of job to keep the grant from turning into a loan.”

The site lists that to receive a TEACH Grant, you must:

• “Meet basic eligibility for the federal student aid programs
• Complete a Free Application for Federal student Aid (FAFSA)
• Be enrolled as an undergraduate, post baccalaureate, or graduate student at a school that participates in the TEACH Grant Program
• Be enrolled in a TEACH-Grant-eligible program
• Meet certain academic requirements
• Receive TEACH Grant Counseling to understand the conditions of the grant
• Sign a TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve”

Obligations Incurred with the Grant

“The TEACH Grant program provides grants to students who are completing, or plan to complete, coursework needed to begin a career in teaching and agree to teach, for at least four complete academic years, in a high-need field at an elementary school, secondary school, or educational service agency that serves students from low-income families.”

The grant, like other federal programs, received cuts due to the congressional sequester. The site continues

“Awards for a TEACH Grant that is first disbursed after March 1, 2013 must be reduced by 6.0 percent from the award amount for which a recipient would otherwise have been eligible. For example, the maximum award of $4,000 is reduced by $240, resulting in a maximum award amount of $3,760.”

Thursdays we will answer more questions you have submitted about reusable materials

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Tips to Get Money for College 11: Work with Financial Aid Counselors

Saturdays we share a tip or cautions to facilitate getting scholarships or avoiding problems

Sasha was born in the Ukraine and adopted with her brother by a young American family when she was 18 months old. She grew up in a happy family that cared for and loved her. She did well in school, but not an outstanding scholar. A good private university admitted her. They offered a scholarship for students born outside the United States. She won it and used it to help pay for her schooling. Part of the money allowed her to study abroad in Europe.

High School Guidance Counselors

We maintain the highest regard for high school guidance counselors. Most are overworked and underpaid. They mean well but have to allocate their limited time and resources to far too many students.

Most high school guidance counseling offices designate at least one of the counselors to specialize in scholarships, grants, and other sources of financial aid. This counselor is usually the one who maintains the scholarship section of the high school’s web site. You may find their name on the web page. We suggest that you work specifically with that counselor on financial aid, even though you have another guidance counselor assigned to you.

College Financial Aid Counselors

Almost all colleges and universities provide financial aid counselors to potential and current students. College financial aid counselors typically will only help you with financial aid offered through the government or college itself. Generally, this internal financial aid comes from bequests by donors, alumni, and others affiliated with the school.

Private, for-profit colleges typically help you get a few federal grants and lots of student debt.

You need to impress all financial aid counselors that you will seriously work hard to earn scholarships. We recommend you tell them “I will be applying for 100-150 scholarships and would like your help. Would you be willing to help me find sources of money and prepare my reusable materials so that they are as perfect as possible?”

Tuesday we share the federal TEACH grant as a source of funding for future educators

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Reusable Materials 27: Questions About Reusable Materials & More

Thursdays we discuss how reusable materials help you WOW committees and save time
Nellie tried to keep up with our encouragement to apply for 10 scholarships a month. She rejected the concept of a master application. As a result, she gathered information separately for every application she completed. Consequently, she only submitted 2-4 applications a month. In addition, her applications occasionally included small mistakes and typos. She felt that creating a master application would waste her time. She lost more time collecting information for each application than creating a master application.

Q: I’m going to law school. How can I get money to pay for it?

A: The cost of law school is one way to reduce the supply of lawyers and keep salaries higher. We found very few scholarships for law school. Lately, we found a few resources that may help. We already highlighted two of them in this blog: Equal Justice Works and LSAC have  sections on paying for law school. We recently talked to the global president of a law society about financing law school. She had heard very few educational reimbursements for law students working in law firms. Her comment, “There are so many lawyers working for very little. Law firms don’t need to pay for someone to go to law school unless they really like them already.”

Q: How do themes and home run statements fit in applications?

A: You copy themes and home run statements as answers to the following questions:

• Describe your extracurricular activities
• Give some examples of your leadership experience
• Explain your involvement in sports and athletics
• What have you done to make the world a better place?

Typically, scholarship committees provide larger fields to answer these question. You can add topic sentences to set up your home run statements. For example, you may write:
“I find great satisfaction in serving my community, my school, and my church. For example…”
“My extracurricular activities involve expressing my creative talents through choirs, bands, and acting…”
Then, add statements.
Saturday we share a tip to help you increase the number of scholarships you can find
This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Source of Money 25: Nationally Coveted College…Awards

Tuesdays we review a source of financial aid to help you pay for college

Bernadette was entering a doctoral program. They gave her a nice assistantship which paid thousands of dollars. She still needed more money, however. She did not find too many scholarships for doctoral students. She did find some fellowships that provided additional funding to pay for school. She also found some research grants through her sponsors that she received an additional stipend for assisting them. She found $30,000 more to pay for incidentals of her program.

Description of NCSGFPA

Francisco A Tomei Torres maintains the web site Nationally Coveted Scholarships, Graduate Fellowships & Postdoctoral Awards (http://scholarships.fatomei.com) This fairly straight forward states that it offers

“Highly competitive and prestigious undergraduate college scholarships, graduate fellowships, education grants, summer jobs & research internships, awards for high school seniors & students, women, minorities, Hispanics, African Americans, nurses, engineers, teachers studying math, science & engineering and health professions from national & international foundations. Free financial aid, student loans, prizes, stipends.”

Features of The Web Site

The landing page consists of four main parts:

• An RSS feed that rotates through deadlines for various scholarships
• Four columns of links to search scholarships for certain groups
  • A yellow box that lists “Deadlines” and “Updates”
    • Deadlines for application
    • Updates of changes
• Ad Choices links (These have not been screened and generate revenue for the site)
• The actual list of scholarships with titles and brief explanations.
  • Each scholarship shows an icon indicating who may apply for the award
    • Brown diamonds indicate good for K-12 (yes, scholarships to attend basic education)
    • Green hearts indicate college scholarships
    • Yellow clubs indicate graduate fellowships
    • Red clovers indicate postgraduate awards
  • Clicking on the title of the scholarship or award links you directly to the sponsoring page for the scholarship and award

Disadvantages of the Nationally Coveted…Awards

• It requires a lot of reading to sift through all the information on the web site
• Contains ads that do not look like ads
• Created in 1998 and updated it in 2009, contains some old information

Wednesday we answer some of your questions about reusable materials

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware 17: Student Loan Interest Rates to Double

Saturdays we share a tip or cautions to facilitate getting scholarships or avoiding problems

Danielle graduated from a fine liberal arts college with a BA in Art History. She added to her academic work by volunteering as a docent at the small museum of art in her community for three years. Even so, her liberal arts degree and volunteer experience failed to land her a job upon graduation. Unfortunately, she maintained her ability to volunteer so much by financing her degree with $200,000 worth of student loans. O*Net states that the average museum technician or conservator earns $38,220 annually. A total of 12,000 people are employed in the field. 64% have a master’s degree. So, Danielle incurred a $200,000 student debt to prepare for a $38,220 a year job.

Congress Inaction Doubles Interest Rates

Last year, as part of an education reform package, Congress doubled interest rates on loans to attend graduate school. At the time, they also planned to double undergraduate rates. Social media across the country screamed “Don’t double my rate”. Congress responded by delaying the undergraduate rate increase to July 1, 2013. The increase would only apply to new subsidized loans taken out after July 1.

Last Friday, June 28, Congress recessed for the July 4 break. Proposals in both the House and Senate failed to garner support. One faction wanted to link student loans to treasury rates plus 9.3% another plus 3.4% As a result, Congress recessed without delaying the rate increases allowing millions of future student loans to increase from 3.4 %to 6.8%.

Possible Solutions to Prevent the Rate Hike

Congress may pursue a few options when they return by voting to:

• Delay rate increases for another year
• Adopt one of the proposals presented in the Senate
• Conference to reconcile Senate and House versions
• Deal with student loans as part of the comprehensive rewrite of the law governing all colleges and universities in September
• Do nothing and allow interest rates to double

Congress must identify how to pay for the options that forestall rate increases.

Tuesday we describe Nationally Coveted…as a source of financial aid 

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Reusable Materials 26: Develop Relationships for Recommendations

Thursdays we discuss how reusable materials help you WOW committees and save time

Brad was a Boy Scout as a boy. One day his scoutmaster took the troop on an activity in his new van. The troop had a great time at the activity. The scoutmaster treated them to dinner at a fast food restaurant afterward. Brad thought it would be fun to pull a trick on the scoutmaster. He put two fingers down his throat and forced himself to vomit in the backseat of the scoutmaster’s new van. This kind of thoughtless action was typical for Brad. Seven years later, Brad needed letters of recommendation to apply for some scholarships. What kind of letter would you write if you were the scoutmaster.

You Will Need Letters of Recommendation

Scholarship, school admission, and employers request letters of recommendation. Typically, you will need to submit them with your applications. You will usually attach them electronically. You may reuse them with multiple applications. We already discussed the following ideas in previous posts:

• Who you may ask to write you letters
• You may draft the letter yourself and ask them to edit it
• Outline of a good letter of recommendation 

Lay the Foundations in Your Youth

People who write letters of recommendation need a good reason to write it. They want to be able to recommend something you did. You need, therefore, to perform some act of service, leadership, competition, or other activity that merits recommendation.

Some activities are obvious. For example, they may recommend you because you

• Led the football team to win the regional championship
• Made baby quilts for a battered women’s shelter
• Won exceptional commendations in a music recital
• Increased participation in an organization as its president
• Devoted years of service reading to patients at a senior care center

Other letters of recommendation acknowledge character traits. So, you want to demonstrate your attributes for

• Kindness
• Responsibility
• Dependability
• Generosity
• Service
• Caring

We encourage you to develop relationships for selfless purposes, not selfish gain for your future.

Saturday we share a caution about interest rates on new students loans doubling this week

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.

Sources of Money 24: Federal Aid for Veterans of Iraq & Afghanistan

Tuesdays we review a source of financial aid to help you pay for college

Both Daniel and Rebecca, husband and wife, served in the US Army during the war in Afghanistan. He served in the rangers and she as a helicopter pilot. They left the service after 3 tours in Afghanistan. Dan left because injuries he sustained ended his career with the rangers. They both used federal grants for veterans to receive bachelors degrees that prepared them to earn good money. They are raising their family of 5 in careers that satisfy and reward them.

Several Sources of Aid for Veterans and Families

Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, lists several sources of financial aid. They list eligibility requirements, FAQs, and more information. We strongly urge you to visit their web site to learn more:

• Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant if you
  • Fail the Expected Family Contribution requirement for a Federal Pell Grant
  • Meet all the other requirements for a Federal Pell Grant
  • Have a parent or guardian in the U.S. armed forces that died as a result of post-9/11 service in Iraq or Afghanistan
  • Were under 24 years old or enrolled in college at least part-time at the time of your parent or guardian’s death

• Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarships targets students pursuing certain language and technical degrees and a wide variety of other majors
• Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Education Benefits (GI Bill) offers education benefits for veterans, their widows, and dependents
• Limited Interest Rates, No Accrual or Interest, & Deferment of Student Loans check the web site to understand the rules and restrictions
• Financial Aid Offered by Other Military Services
  • American Legion
  • AMVETS
  • Disabled American Veterans
  • Paralyzed American Veterans
  • Veterans of Foreign Wars

Disadvantages Related to Financial Aid

No amount of money can express our appreciation for what veterans and their families sacrificed and endured to preserve our freedom. We recognize that many of you continue with persistent ailments and mental and emotional scars from your service. Thank you.

Thursday we will spotlight how you develop and destroy sources for recommendations

This blog will improve as you submit comments, questions, and experiences. We will answer your questions in future blog posts. Please submit your comments and questions so we can answer them.