Juniors: open your eyes to scholarship opportunities
February 5th, 2018Shrop Ed families know that despite urban myths, most scholarship assistance is offered by colleges directly. Still, there are “external” scholarships for which students can apply, and their review processes are often highly competitive.
Most scholarship applications will be due in the fall, but there is one major scholarship deadline for juniors to pay attention to this spring: that of the Bryan Cameron Education Foundation. The Foundation limits the number of applications it will review for its Cameron Impact Scholarship and for that reason, it’s best to jump on the application well ahead of the posted May deadline. The competition for these awards is daunting, as you’ll see when you read the statistics, yet we’re thrilled to have had two seniors in the Finalist round this year, one of whom was named a Cameron Impact Scholar! Being a top student AND changing the world are important criteria for the award, and we’re thrilled to see intentional and excellent accomplishments recognized.
As we receive word of other major scholarship competitions, we’ll share information with the Shrop Ed community. In the meantime, we urge all juniors interested in scholarship funding to set up an account on Cappex, which has a scholarship search engine that will match your profile to opportunities.
Read more at Bryan Cameron Education Foundation >>
Tagged: Applications, College, Scholarship
The Purpose Challenge – scholarship competition and toolkit
October 16th, 2017Have you ever thought about your purpose in life? Studies have shown that defining your purpose can lead to a happier and more thoughtful way of living. What exactly does this mean? Novelist/humorist Leo Rosten defined it like this:
“I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be ‘happy.’ I think the purpose of life is
- To be useful
- To be responsible
- To be compassionate.
It is, above all
- To matter
- To count
- To stand for something
- To have made some difference that you lived at all.”
I recently came across The Purpose Challenge and thought it was worth sharing. The essay portion of this challenge is meant specifically for seniors working on applications – you could earn a scholarship with your purpose-driven essay! However, this is a good read for all and the site offers a toolkit that has value for high school students of all ages. I think it can help you find that inner motivation to live each day to the fullest.
Read more at The Purpose Challenge >>
Tagged: College, Essays, Personal characteristics, Scholarship
One Scholarship, Two Degrees: Academic Fast Track
January 2nd, 2017Competition for athletic scholarships is fierce. Coaches often seek high-achievers in both sports and academics. If you’re among the lucky few, why not maximize the benefits of this reward? Fordham women’s basketball coach Stephanie Gaitley encourages her athletes to do just that. While providing a premier basketball program, she also wants her players to succeed in other areas. To find out how Coach Gaitley’s women’s basketball team is being inspired to receive more than one degree while playing, read this interesting article we linked below, posted in the New York Times.
Crucial takeaway: this article has broader implications for all students seeking to maximize their college years, not just college athletes!
Article below published on December 17, 2016
Written by: Juliet Macur
When Coach Stephanie Gaitley is out recruiting for her Fordham women’s basketball team and sitting in the living rooms of potential players and their parents, she gives an unconventional spiel.
Gaitley tries to sell the teenagers on taking extra classes when they arrive on campus, to go beyond the workload of even above-average college students. Classes, classes and more classes. In basketball season and out. In summer, when their peers had gone home. Even at times that might interfere with working out.
Read more at New York Times >>Tagged: College, Scholarship
Uncovering Merit Scholarships
February 1st, 2016With college and boarding school tuitions spiraling skyward, many families are concerned about how they’ll bear the cost. Certainly a need-based financial aid package that brings billed costs within reach is a great relief when it arrives.
But where does this leave families without demonstrated financial need, yet also without sufficient assets to pay their children’s college costs in full and still maintain life as they know it (not to mention retirement as they’d like to expect it)? Help exists for many of these families, too, in the form of merit scholarships that can range from very small amounts ($500-100) to full tuition or, in certain cases, full billed costs. (Note that these are not the same as National Merit scholarships, a competition triggered by very strong PSAT results.)
Quite a few college scholarship search engines exist, and two of our favorites are:
– Cappex, https://www.cappex.com/scholarships/, and
– Fastweb, http://www.fastweb.com/college-scholarships/merit-awards/articles
Students build profiles on these sites, and the search engines suggest potential matches. A word of caution: many students feel overwhelmed by the process of gathering more information about the scholarships to determine if they’re true matches. Sifting through the information returned is an instance where parents eager for a role to play in the college search can help out.
Top students applying primarily to colleges offering only need-based financial aid, not merit scholarships, may find some interesting opportunities among potential scholarship search engine matches, including prestigious awards such as the Coca-Cola Scholarships.
However, for most students, scholarship search sites won’t yield as much as a carefully targeted college list will. In fact, identifying college matches where you’ll be a star in the applicant pool may be the best means of achieving merit scholarship funding. Why? Colleges discount tuition for students who will improve or add something to their institution, offering academic merit awards or scholarships for leadership or other talents.
Boarding schools have followed suit. Many now offer merit scholarships, intending to recruit strong students and help families who might otherwise feel that the cost of boarding school is beyond their reach. Boardingschoolreview.com maintains a list of boarding schools offering merit awards: http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/merit-scholarship-offered-boarding-schools.
If merit scholarships are crucial, look carefully at opportunities offered by schools or colleges you consider a match. Pay attention to whether an additional application is required to be considered for merit funding. And open your mind to options we consider “green light,” highly likely for admission, for the greatest opportunities. It can be difficult to readjust one’s sights, no question. But for some families, this is the most viable path to the tuition relief sought. Happily, the right school or college match can come in many forms.
Tagged: College, Scholarship
