Reusable Materials 40: More Answers to Questions About Reusable Materials

Thursdays we discuss how reusable materials can WOW committees and save time

Wendy struggled with using computers. She wanted to go to college in her 50’s. Her lack of education and high paying skills kept her in poverty. She did not own a computer. She used computers at community organizations and programs. As a result, the concept of a reusable master application confused her. She could not comprehend using Google Drive or other cloud-based documents. Our staff taught her how to email her master application to herself to keep it on the cloud.

Q: How safe is it to keep my master application on the cloud?

A: Good question. Any system remains vulnerable to hacking or cyber attacks. Identify theft thrives because most people list personal information on Internet sites and online applications. Determined hackers can access your personal information everywhere. You should worry more about your Facebook and other social media accounts for safety. We encourage you to carefully study the terms of agreement outlined on your email, social media, online banking, and other Internet accounts.

Having said that, Google drive and most email accounts will give adequate protection to your reusable master application, essays, FAFSA, and letters of recommendation.

Q: Can I defer my scholarships if I stop attending school?

Most scholarship committees, but not all of them, will defer your payments depending on the reason for the deferment. For example, many committees will defer your payments if you take time off from school to:

• Donate time for local, domestic, or international humanitarian service
• Handle a family illness, crisis, or death
• Serve an apprenticeship, internship, or service learning opportunity

Scholarship sponsors typically will only defer scholarships for short-term for the following reasons:

• Go on a vacation, travel, rock climbing, or other high-adventure activities
• Just drop out with no plans for returning
• Leaving school because your grades do not meet the standard requirements
• Serving time in a correctional facility

Your description of the reason for the deferment affects how they respond to your request for deferment.

Saturday we share a tip about enhancing the number of scholarships you 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.

Sources of Money 40: Search Google & Other Engines to Find Scholarships

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

Beatriz immigrated from Brazil to study in the United States. She used several scholarship search engines to find scholarships. She also worked with financial aid counselors at the university that admitted her. The results of her efforts disappointed her, nor did they raise the funds she needed. One of our staff showed her how to use Google, Chrome, and other general search engines to find scholarship from Brazil for students studying in the US, as well as scholarships from the US for students studying from Brazil.

Characteristics of Using General Search Engines

We do not need to teach you how to use search engines. You use them everyday. We can, however, suggest phrases and techniques that may generate lists that will help.

• “Scholarships for students studying…”
  • …in your state
  • …your major
  • …at your university
  • …in another country
• “Scholarships for students that are…”
  • …your nationality
  • …your ethnic group
  • …your gender
  • …your marital status
  • …members of a certain club, community, or service organization
  • …members of a certain faith, congregation, or religion
• “Scholarships for students that graduated…”
  • …from your high school
  • …from your city
  • …with your grade point average
• “Scholarships for students involved in…”
  • …football, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, basketball, track, or other athletics
  • …drama, dance, choirs, cheer, band, orchestra, or video production
  • …poetry, photography, painting, journalism, composition, or writing
  • …community activism, service, environmentalism, or humanitarian causes
  • …leadership at church, in your school, at work, or in your community

Disadvantages of Using General Search Engines

You will encounter several disadvantages using general search engines. They include:

• No system to verify valid scholarships from scams, contests, or surveys
• No profile to verify that you qualify for the listed scholarships
• Algorithms creating the list of scholarships rank them differently than you want
• No method for saving or storing possible scholarships for later applications  
• Creating a manual system for monitoring which scholarship applications you submit
• Listing millions of scholarships most of which will waste your time
• Competing with a lot of people

Thursday we answer questions about various reusable materials to find 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.

Tips to Get Money for College 15: How to Find More Scholarships

Saturday’s we share tips or cautions to facilitate getting scholarships or avoid problems

Pamela was returning to college after her divorce. She worked with several community programs to identify sources of financial aid. She received a Pell Grant. She received a scholarship from an organization working with single mothers. We worked with her to identify 76 other possible scholarships from one search engine. She also used five other search engines. While most of the search engines duplicated some of the scholarships, they each located some that were unique. Her lists of scholarships totaled more than 179 scholarships.

Click It If You Did It

Many scholarship search engines require you to complete a personal profile to match you to scholarships listed within their database. As a result, they include questions in the profile that link to specific scholarships. When you click an option it adds a scholarship to your list. The more things you click, the more scholarships appear on your list.

The profile will ask for information about certain categories. Each category will have 40-50 different activities listed. You click on the ones that apply to you. The search engines do not ask that you have professional or extensive experience. They merely ask if had any involvement.

Some of the general categories listed in the profile will include:

• Athletic involvement
• Performing or creative achievements
• Membership in Clubs or Organizations
• Parents Membership and Activities
• Ethnic background

I suggest that you click it if you did it. Click on basketball if you played basketball in a county or church league. I’m not saying that you should click on things that have no relation or bearing on what you have done. That would fill your list with scholarships that would waste your time. However, if you did the activities, then click them.

Click It and Then Do It

You may also click something in the profile, and then do it. For example,

• Click a club and join it
• Click an activity and do it
• Click a creative endeavor then do it

Monday we share using Google searches as a source to find 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.

Reusable Materials 39: Questions About Various Reusable Materials

Thursdays we discuss how reusable materials can WOW committees and save time

Michael, age 52, came to us seeking help with getting scholarships. He wanted to earn an associates degree because he could no longer hang dry wall. He worried that he would not qualify for any scholarships. He did not feel that he had done anything in his life that was worthy of receiving scholarship awards. We helped him identify 4 themes with 3 categories for each theme. We also assisted him to identify 3 home run or value statements for each category. He left feeling much more confident and hopeful.

Q: Do letters of recommendation expire, or become too old?

A: You can use letters of recommendation that have older dates on them, if you also can supply letters with new dates. In fact, we find that letters with dates spread over several years can imply a true trend of the theme. For example, letters from 3 different

• Community organizations over a four year period strengthen your claim of service
• Dance teachers mentioning recital performance over 12 years highlight dancing talent
• Coaches describing your athletic prowess in junior high, high school, and college validate your athletic ability

However, you should gather new letters each year as you act on your themes. Your age should not reduce your ability to gather new letters of recommendation. You may still gather letters from one of five sources: supervisors at work, community leaders, church leaders, school leaders or coaches, and influential people you know.

Q: How often should I update my master application?

A: We recommend you add new events, addresses, schools, jobs, championships, and recitals as you do them. You should also update your master application at least once every six months with additional value statements from your life.

Q: How much time does it take to complete a real application?

A: Copying and pasting answers from your master application into a real scholarship application typically requires 30-60 minutes including uploading or pasting essays and letters of recommendation.

Saturday we share a tip about enhancing the number of scholarships you 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.

Sources of Money 39: StudentAwards Your Student Platform for Canadians

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

Alyson came to the United States from her home in Calgary, Canada. She introduced our staff to StudentAwards. She earned more than $39,000 in scholarships and other awards from the site. The site only provides money to Canadian students, which we will deal with later in this post. She was able to use much of the money from Canada for her education in the United States.

Characteristics of StudentAwards

The web site for StudentAwards explains

“StudentAwards helps Canadian high school, college and university students get ahead. We offer Canada’s leading student platform, providing the money, support and connections they need to better manage student life. StudentAwards partners with top organizations who share our passion of helping make the lives of students better.

With $78 million in financial awards available to StudentAwards members, students from across Canada come to us to find money for school. We have scholarships, bursaries, contests, specialized student offers, giveaways and other financial assistance to help students win, earn and save the money they need for their education.”

The site offers

• A search engine for scholarships, grants, and other sources of financial aid
• Articles with some of the following titles
  • 5 Tips for Students Living Away From Home
  • Beating the February Blahs on A Budget
  • 10 Ways to Get “Geared Up” for School
  • Questions to Ask College/University Reps
  • How Do I Pay for University/College?
  • Tips for Negotiating Bank Loans
  • How Do I Estimate My University/College Costs?
• Newsfeeds containing announcements about new offerings, deadlines, and more
• A blog or chat site called Conversations
• An online store selling textbooks, and funny shirts (yes, funny shirts!?)

 

Disadvantages of StudentAwards

The most obvious disadvantage remains the restriction to only Canadians. Others include:

• The site encourages students to participate in contests, surveys, and other
• It also sells email addresses and other information
• You cannot access very many of the resources without registering and creating a free account
• Read the privacy contract carefully especially their ability to share your information

Thursday we answer general questions about several 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 25: Avoid Overspending Financial Aid

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

Laurel went to college on a combination of financial aid. She received a partial tuition scholarship, worked a summer job, and took out federal loans. Her middle-class parents also helped support her with money for school. Unfortunately, Laurel (like many college students) let the surplus of money confuse necessities and luxuries while in school. She insisted on living in a very upscale apartment with only one roommate. She also bought a new car. She, her roommate, and friends would eat at restaurants and take out rather than cook their own meals. She bought new clothes each month. As a result, she increased her student debt by $40,000 more than she needed to spend.

Basic Costs of Education Rise

Media stories frequently highlight the increase in the cost of higher education. Essential costs have risen in the past few years, and will continue to rise in the future. On August 26, 2013 Michelle Jamrisko and Ilan Kolet of Bloomberg reported:

“The cost of higher education has surged more than 500 percent since 1985…tuition expenses have increased 538 percent in the 28-year period, compared with a 286 percent jump in medical costs and a 121 percent gain in the consumer price index. The ballooning charges have generated swelling demand for educational loans while threatening to make college unaffordable for domestic and international students.”

Too Much Money May Lead to Overspending

Just because you, or your children, get all the extra financial aid for college does not mean that you have to spend it on extravagancies. You may reduce the amount of student debt in several ways:

• Live with parents or less expensive student housing rather than units with tanning salons, spas, sprawling pools, and more
• Cook your own food rather than eating out everyday
• Reduce consumption of alcohol, drugs, and other recreational wants
• Travel to domestic rather than exotic or international vacation locations
• Use public transportation or buy a used car rather than a new one

Tuesday we share Student Awards as a source of financial aid for college

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 38: Questions About Reusable Scholarship Essays

Thursdays we discuss how reusable materials can WOW committees and save time

Jasmine decided to go to college, at the age of 43. She could not use essays she wrote in high school or the first two years of college. She had to prepare 5-6 essays from scratch. We helped her identify essay topics and outlines. The staff also reviewed and edited her compositions.

Q: How do I outline reusable essays for scholarships?

A: We recommend a simple outline for your essays. We show heading titles for the outline in this example:

• Introductory Paragraph
  • Opening story highlighting the theme of your essay
  • Thesis sentence that outlines the three key points of your essay
• Key point 1 using an anecdote, quote, or statistic to emphasize the point
• Key point 2 using an anecdote, quote, or statistic to emphasize the point
• Key point 3 using an anecdote, quote, or statistic to emphasize the point
• Closing Paragraph
  • Summary of the three key points
  • Statement relating back to the story used in the introductory paragraph

You may find stories, quotes, and statistics on the Internet, books, and scholarly articles. However, you should avoid shallow, cliché, or overused sources. Your essay must exhibit the following characteristics:

• Interesting reading that presents a clear case or theme
• Quotes from reputable authors or articles, not Facebook posts or signs
• Verifiable statistics from scholarly sources and research
• Applicable graphics, charts, and use of color
• Clear, neat, good grammar, accurate spelling, and good use of headings and color

Q: How do I modify or adapt an essay for different scholarships?

You can customize reusable essays using a variety of techniques:

• Leave places in the essay to add words that cater your message to the sponsoring organization.
  • For example, you can leave a place to insert
    • The name of the sponsoring organization
    • The mission or purpose of the sponsoring organization
    • A catch phrase, value, or tag line associated with the sponsor
  • Build special letter combinations (like XX, YY, ZZ) and use the find and replace feature of your word processor

Saturday we share cautions about overspending because of student 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.

Sources of Money 38: ShopSlueth Ultimate Scholarship Resource Guide

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

Inez, an immigrant to the United States, graduated from a US high school after attending American schools for 5 years. Her parents, undocumented aliens, owned a small landscaping business. They paid income, business, and property taxes for the entire time they lived in the US. The state legislature passed a law determining that all children of undocumented aliens had to pay tuition as if they were international students. The cost of her tuition increased from $1,300 a semester to $6,000 a semester.

Characteristics of the Ultimate Scholarship Resource Guide

ShopSlueth is a web site that specializes in tips for shopping. They provide information about malls and outlets around the country. The site’s structure is very simple and basic. 

ShopSlueth also publishes the Ultimate Scholarship Resource Guide in the Resources section of their web site. They begin their guide with the following paragraph:

“College today costs a lot more than it did even a generation ago. Unless you happen to be financially well off or fortunate enough to have an ample college fund at your disposal, paying for school can be a real challenge. It’s important to know that scholarships are not as few and far between as it may seem – and they are not just available for the straight-A student or star athlete. In fact, there are a great many opportunities out there for students of all kinds if you know where to look. Use the links below to find trustworthy information and real opportunities to help you achieve your educational goals.”

The sites groups their financial aid sources and provides an explanations for each source:

• General Scholarship Search Resources
• Special Circumstances Scholarships
• Scholarships Based on a Field of Study
• Other Specialized Scholarships

Disadvantages of the Ultimate Scholarship Resource Guide

• Many of the scholarship resources listed duplicate those listed on other sites
• The site only provides lists of resources but does not offer it’s own search profiler
• You must evaluate each resource individually using the explanations provided

Thursday we answer questions about reusable scholarship essays

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 24: More Hurdles to Getting Financial Aid

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

Hattie wanted to earn enough scholarships to completely pay for her nursing degree through a private proprietary college. She met with the school’s financial aid counselor multiple times. The counselor helped her apply for a Pell Grant and Stafford Loan. The counselor evaded commitments about Hattie earning scholarships, but continued to push the benefits of going in to debt for an education. Unfortunately, the counselor convinced Hattie to borrow enough money to pay for the entire education totaling $98,000. After signing the contract, Hattie discovered that no one would give scholarships for a private, for-profit, proprietary school.

Impact of Government Shutdown and Financial Aid

Existing Pell Grants, Student Loans, and other financial reimbursement—except educational assistance to veterans—is authorized as 2012 budget money. As a result, you should not have any delays or problems related to existing loans or grants.

In addition, you should repay loans on schedule or face penalties or additional interest. The myth that the government shutdown cannot process payments is false. Automated, electronic student repayment programs do not require workers to process.

Students needing help or guidance from Department of Education counselors or specialists cannot provide services during the shutdown. We invite you to read the White House’s contingency plan on student aid.

US System of Student Aid Flawed

The Brookings Institute released a study on October 3, 2013 beginning with:

“The U.S. system of federal student aid is badly in need of reform.  Students are borrowing more than ever before to pay the rapidly rising costs of higher education, while at the same time questioning the value of the degrees they are earning.  There are real problems to be solved in our nation’s system of higher education, including: limited access for students from low income households; disappointing graduation rates; students defaulting on loans; and rapid tuition inflation across the industry.  The first step in creating solutions to these problems is to reform the system of financial aid.”

Please, read the report.

Tuesday we share ShopSleuth Ultimate Scholarship Resource Guide of student 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 37: Questions About Reusable Applications

Thursdays we discuss how reusable materials can WOW committees and save time

Janie applied for scholarships using a master application in her Google drive. She loved the ability to access her master application everywhere she accessed the Internet. It helped that all of the scholarship applications were also online on the Internet. She continually updated her master application as she found new questions on applications. She also added new home run or value statements as she expanded her service, leadership, academics, and creative talents. She saved lots of time applying because of her master application and earned $123,000 in scholarships.

Q: Why create so many answers when applications use pop-ups?

A: Good question! We agree that you will encounter more pop-up answers than in the past. We also perceive the trend will increase as web technology evolves. Typically, pop-ups simplify processing applications for the scholarship committees. They allow committees to sort and use more information than a simple text field.

You will find pop-ups in the questions involving

• Dates: birthday, school dates, employment dates, and other dates
• Institutions are increasingly used in a pop-up for high schools and colleges, even elementary schools
• Majors and minors in school
• States and countries also appear in pop-ups

Q: Am I giving personal information to someone who will sell it?

A: Legitimate scholarship applications will protect your information with all their security.

• Most online applications will use solid encryption software to protect your information
• Information given directly to schools are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Schools may not divulge or share the information.
• Unfortunately, many scholarship scams will embed a privacy release in the terms of use. You may give away some of your protections if you do not read the releases carefully.
• We still recommend clicking “No Thanks” every time you see it on an application or they will sell your information
• Consult with your high school or college financial aid counselor, or previous scholarship winners, if you have doubts

Saturday we share a warning about changes we see coming in financial aid for college

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 37: Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Assoc.

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

Travis, a military officer with 15 years in the US Army Signal Corps, decided to enroll in a computer science graduate program to work on cyber security. The financial obligations would have seriously affected his family of six. Travis applied for several financial aid programs. Among them, he received a $5,000 award from the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association Cyber Security Scholarship.

Characteristics of AFCEA Financial Aid

The Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA) sponsors an educational foundations whose web site proclaims:

“The AFCEA Educational Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing educational incentives, opportunities and assistance for people engaged in information management, communications and intelligence efforts and fostering excellence in education particularly in the "hard science" disciplines related to C4ISR.

The mission of the Foundation is to support development of engineers and technical personnel through selective training, scholarships, awards, prizes and grants for educational activities of unique and high value and professional educational programs.

The Foundation actively promotes opportunities for persons from groups under-represented in the fields of its interests.”

The AFCEA offers a variety of scholarships, grants, and tuition assistance in communications, electronics, intelligence, and information technology. They provide help for aspiring

• Engineers
• Programmers
• Technicians
• Military personnel
• Government officials

They also reward people who contributed outstanding support to the Association. They provide an easy link to identify if you live, or will study, in one of their chapter locations.

 

Disadvantages of AFCEA Financial Aid

Once again we share general requirements from their web site:

• “Applicants must be college sophomores or juniors at the time of application -- minimum second-year college students ONLY please.”
• “Please apply for one scholarship only.”
• “Graduate students must be currently enrolled in at least two semester-equivalent classes at an accredited U.S. college or university.”
• “A minimum overall GPA of 3.0 (or equivalent) is required.”
• Chapters do not cover all states in the US: seems to exclude much of the intermountain and Midwestern states

Thursday we answer additional questions about reusable and scholarship applications

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.