Scholarships?

Question

O.K. Say I got a 24 on my ACT, I have a 3.5 GPA, I have been involved in a variety of extracurricular activities over the years, and I take Honors and AP classes. What is the greatest amount of scholarship money I could get based on this from a college that cost about 30,000 a year?

Answer 1

The answer really depends on the particular college and your family income and savings. Unfortunately, there is a slow movement away from merit scholarships with the more competitive schools. However, if you are interested in a merit scholarship from a college or university, you need to take the ACT again, but you need to prepare for it via a preparation book or software. I recommend utilizing several approaches to locating scholarships. I will include some free sources to find money for college tuition.

First, you should fill out the FAFSA form because it will tap into need based financial aid. Even if you do not believe your family qualifies for it, it is still a great idea to complete the form. It will qualify you for the Pell Grant (if the EFC is the right amount), need based scholarships from the school endowment fund, and federal student loans. There is the CSS form, for a few dollars, can also provide some scholarships possibly. This needs to be filled out each year until college graduation. This should be completed in January or early February to maximize the full amount given.

Second, the high school guidance office has a list of local scholarships for current students. This is the best chance of scholarship money.

Third, the public library has a book listing various scholarships with some not even listed on the web.

Finally, join several free membership scholarship search websites. They offer a customized search by how you filled out questions. There are scholarships for almost anything including wearing duct tape to the prom.

Good luck!