Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware 16: Submit Applications Punctually

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

Susan sought scholarships. She started looking for them during her sophomore year of high school. She completed the profiles on three search engines. They indicated that she qualified for more than 570 scholarships and contests. She cleared the marginal ones, the surveys, and the contests. That left only 120. Unfortunately, she stopped doing anything and didn’t start applying until the last semester of her senior year. As a result, she only had 35 left on her list. The deadlines had passed on all the others.

Scholarship Application Deadlines

All scholarships list a date or deadline after which they no longer accept applications. You must apply by the deadline date. Remember the following concepts as you think of applying. Some scholarships:

• List the results from search engines by the deadline dates making it easier to remember when to apply
• Accept applications only once a year
• Accept applications multiple times a year and require a new application for each time
• Only award scholarships to students in certain years of school
• Close their web site once the deadline date passes
• Award their money on a first come, first serve basis with no deadline date

Don’t Wait Until the Last Moment

We find many people procrastinate applying for scholarships. They wait until their senior year to start applying for scholarships. You could miss earning tens of thousands of dollars by procrastinating the year you apply. For example, we have discovered more than:

• 85 scholarships that only award to sophomores in high school
• 212 scholarships that only award to juniors in high school
• 1,000s of scholarships that only award to seniors in high school

You may need money earlier than you anticipated. Most students recognize they must pay tuition at the beginning of the semester. They fail to anticipate additional costs such as housing deposits, lab fees, books, travel costs, furnishing apartments. They lack the money when they need it because they procrastinated applying when they should have applied.

Tuesday we describe the grants available to veterans and family of Iraq and Afghanistan

Reusable Materials 25: Changes for Scholarship Essays

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

Angela became very frustrated applying of scholarships. The results of her search engine profiles generated a list of 300+ possible scholarships, contests, and essays. Her excitement at the number of scholarships quickly turned to frustration as she started applying for the money. She described her frustration with the constant number of dead-ends, bogus offerings, and red herrings she constantly encountered.

Changes in Essay Topics

Scholarship committees frequently change the topics they require as part of your scholarship application. We’ve listed several topics in past blogs, but wanted to update the list with some questions we’ve seen this year. For example, the University of Georgia asks four short essay questions:

• Choose an intellectual or creative opportunity (for example, community involvement, a summer program, a unique project, travel abroad, etc.) from your high school years that you have enjoyed and highlight how you have grown personally because of the experience. Answer this question with your themes
• UGA's First Year Odyssey Program offers more than 300 seminar courses for new freshmen.  Some examples include "The History of Horseracing", "Einstein and the Theories of Relativity" and "The Zombie Plague".   If you could create your own seminar course at UGA in any subject area that interests you, what would it be? What would the course be named and what would you hope to learn?
• Tell us an interesting or amusing story about yourself that you have not already shared in your application. Answer this question with one of your themes
• Incredibly, you have just won a $100 million lottery.  To receive it, you must first earn a college degree.  How does this change your college experience?  How does it change your life after college?

Changes in Essay Requirements

We’ve seen several changes in essays:

• Another reduction in the required length of essays from 500 words to 200-350
• Most want you to paste them into a field on the application rather than post a PDF
• Continued emphasis on correct grammar, punctuation, and capitalization

Saturday we share a tip about timing for submitting your applications 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.

Sources of Money 23: Federal 529 Savings Plans for Parents and Others

Tuesday’s we review a source of financial aid to help you pay for college

Bob and Margaret wanted to ensure that their grandchildren received a good education. Wise money management allowed them to pay off their mortgage early. They decided to add the majority of their old monthly payment to their retirement. However, they also wanted to give a portion to their grandchildren. They investigated several methods from CD’s, investments, and other instruments. They decided that the 529 Savings Plan best met their needs.

Characteristics of the Federal 529 Savings Plan

The US Securities and Exchange Commission states

“A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future college costs. 529 plans, legally known as ‘qualified tuition plans,’ are sponsored by states, state agencies, or educational institutions and are authorized by Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code.”

Saving for College tells you

“529 plans are usually categorized as either prepaid or savings plans.

Savings Plans work much like a 401K or IRA by investing your contributions in mutual funds or similar investments. The plan will offer you several investment options from which to choose. Your account will go up or down in value based on the performance of the particular option you select.

Prepaid Plans let you pre-pay all or part of the costs of an in-state public college education. They may also be converted for use at private and out-of-state colleges. The Private College 529 Plan is a separate prepaid plan for private colleges.”

Compare state 529 plans at Savings for College.  College Savings Plans Network answers FAQ.

 

Disadvantages of a 529 Savings Plan

The American Institute of CPAs outlines 13 advantages and 8 disadvantages of a 529 plans. Disadvantages include:

• Fees and expenses for administration
• Taxed withdrawals for non educational purposes
• Limited pre-established portfolios
• Generally limited state plans
• Applies to under-graduate tuition, not other costs
• Requires all tuition credits used before the beneficiary reaches age 30
• Do not guarantee your financial returns
• Are not legally required to allow changes

Thursday we will spotlight how reusable essays have changed over the past 5 years

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 15: Doubt That You Deserve Rewards

Saturdays we share a tip or cautions to facilitate getting scholarships or avoiding problems
Becky did not excel in high school. She felt she was an average student. She ran for student body office and lost. She tried for the school choir and did not succeed. She was able to wear the national honor society stole and honors society sash at her graduation. She applied for a few scholarships, but downplayed her accomplishments in her master application. Her failure to receive any scholarships confirmed her opinion that she did not deserve any rewards.

Why We Understate Our Accomplishments

Life programs us to understate our accomplishments and contributions in life. We naturally feel uncomfortable saying good things about ourselves. We’ve prepared thousands of people to find jobs. We help them prepare value statements for their resumes, phone calls, and interviews. Then, we make them practice saying the value statements as answers to questions or in phone scripts.
They describe their feelings of discomfort when they have to say good things about themselves. We recognize that most of certain generations are programmed to hesitate saying good things about themselves. It follows them through life:

• Most parents instruct young children “Don’t brag” when they say good things about themselves
• Junior high school friends label others as “Stuck up”, “Conceited”, “Full of yourself”, and worse when  they say good things about their accomplishments
• Adults remonstrate one another with “Don’t be proud” or “Be humble”

Most Doubt Ourselves

Most of us tend to doubt that we deserve good things in life. We feel inadequate, normal, or mediocre. We can see the value in others, but discount our own value. Many of us readily feel we deserve trials in our life.
We warn you to resist the tendency to understate your accomplishments. We caution you to believe in yourself and doubt not. Allow the truth of your value statements to lift your spirits. Accept them. Own them. Say them out loud. Write them. Read them. Believe that you deserve good things. 
Tuesday we describe the federal 529 educational savings plan as a source of financial aid

Reusable Materials 24: Convince Committees You Deserve the Money

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

A nice private university admitted Harold for the fall semester as a freshman. He came to our office with just two weeks before school started. He wanted to earn some money for his first semester. We doubted the timing, but still encouraged him to apply for as many as he could. His uncle called the office after Harold left for college. The uncle told us that Harold already had received notification that he had received a scholarship. He earned it within 2 weeks of attending our group.

What Scholarship Committees Seek to Reward

Scholarship committees seek to reward two aspects of life. First, they want to reward people who affiliate with the purpose of the organization. For example, they may seek to reward people who

• Use the sponsor’s product
• Belong to the sponsoring organization
• Achieve a special rank or achievement
• Pursue a specific major that will prepare them to work in that industry
• Create a poem, composition, piece of art, music, video, or other work
• Contribute to the community through service or other donations

Committees also recognize and reward people who possess certain character traits:

• Integrity and honesty
• Hard work
• Overcoming obstacles
• Teamwork
• Perseverance
• Individual initiative
• Passion & enthusiasm
• Responsibility
• Civic duty
• Purpose
• Character

Convince Committees You Deserve the Money

You must convince the committees that you meet their qualifications and deserve the money. That remains the purpose of your reusable materials. Your materials provide the committees with the evidence they need to select you to receive their award. Once again, we have dissected each one of the reusable materials multiple times over the past six months. Let us summarize what they are again:

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
• Master application
  • Part A: Answers to questions on scholarship applications
  • Part B: Lists of awards, performances, competitions, transcripts, and more
  • Part C: Themes divided into 3 categories with 3 value statements for each category
• 5-6 Reusable essays
• Reusable letters of recommendation

Saturday we share a caution and warning about doubts you may have about your worth

Source of Money 22: A Better Chance Especially for Minority Students

Tuesday’s we review a source of financial aid to help you pay for college

Melvin represents hundreds of thousands of minority students each year who get to attend college because of scholarships. Education has not been equally available to all Americans. Melvin worked very hard in high school, but his inner city school lacked excellent teachers. Instead, he learned from good people who worked in extremely difficult situations for less pay than they deserved. Gangs and other influences conspired to prevent Melvin from graduating, let alone going to college. Yet, he graduated well and earned enough scholarships to allow him to attend a respectable state college. He received a good education thanks to the generosity of those who donate to scholarship funds.

History of A Better Chance

The web site www.abetterchance.org describes A Better Chance history and demographics as

“In 1963 at the height of the civil rights movement, 23 headmasters of selective independent schools made a mutual commitment to change the profiles and compositions of their student bodies.  Through A Better Chance, they would broaden their enrollment to include students of color who were economically disadvantaged but academically able.  Chosen for their motivation and demonstrated achievement, 55 students from low-income families were selected to complete their secondary education at these founding independent schools.

A Better Chance Scholars are a racially diverse group.  Approximately 65% are African-American; 20% Latino; 6% Asian American; about 1% Native American; and 8% describe themselves as multi-racial or other.  Approximately one-third live at or below the federal poverty line, and virtually all come from working class families.  More than 65% of our Scholars come from single-parent households.  A Better Chance has grown from 55 students enrolled at nine schools to nearly 1,900 students enrolled in 2008/2009 school year.”

Offerings from the Web Site

The web site offers:

• Application information
• A list of participating schools
• A PDF Resource Guide
• List of organizations that assist young children and their families, another for high school, and another for college students
• Ability to donate to the fund

Thursday we review how reusable materials describe why you deserve the scholarships

Caveat Emptor or Buyer Beware 14: Reduced Opportunities for Money

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

Frank has been coaching people to find scholarships for seven years. He noticed that, in the last three years, the results from search engine profiles had reduced significantly. People who usually found 250-350 solid scholarship opportunities were finding only 38-50. In addition, he found an increased number contests, surveys, and other typical wastes of time. He contacted several of the search engines with unsatisfactory responses or results.

Fewer Good Results and More Scams

As outlined in the Frank’s story above, we see fewer positive actions occurring with scholarships lately. At first, we ascribed the reductions to the recession and less money in the economy. We’re now wondering if less money is entering the process for student financial aid.

We sense that that monetizing scholarship web sites to maintain free services led to less results for the students and more money for the web sites. More opportunities that appear as scholarships are actually

• Contests that offer very small rewards ($1,000 a week) to gather your name and email which the sell to other organizations
• Surveys which gather your personal information and sell it to companies sponsoring the surveys
• Short (3 sentence) scholarship applications which ask for your name, email address, and an answer to a short question like
  • “Rate how well your school  educates and prepares you for the college”
  • “Whose face would you add to the four on Mount Rushmore and why?”
  • “How are you more than a test score?”
• Offers more information about a variety of subjects which then authorize the web site to sell your information to “providers, vendors, or others” (fine print in the terms of agreement)

Less Effectiveness of Reusable Materials

We find that reliable scholarships still require a more detailed application process. Your master application will help you complete longer applications faster.

However, scholarships are also adapting to a younger generation more used to texting rather than writing. They expect shorter, easier applications. We will keep you informed.

Tuesdays we review A Better Chance as source of financial aid for minorities