Why Your Child Should Continue to Apply for Scholarships

Many times students and parents will ask the best ways to win scholarships. While there are obvious ways to improve your chances of winning scholarships like earning high grades, being involved on campus, and submitting excellent applications (see the post about scholarship application advice) there are several things your child needs to remember while applying.

1. No scholarship is too small. Some students simply don’t apply for small scholarships of $100.00 to $500.00 because they only see the difference between $100.00 and their $9,000.00 tuition and fees bill. But, instead of just looking at the difference, look at what $100.00 is worth. When I see $100.00, I see some books, a couple of tanks of gas, a few weeks of groceries, and some extra cash for an emergency.
2. Always do the math. If your child is working part time to finance college, how many hours would it take him to earn $500.00 after taxes? Most college students earn minimum wage or pretty close to it. After taxes they clear about $6.10 per hour, so it would take the average student almost 82 hours to bring home $500.00. That’s a month of working 20 hours per week. Even if your child spends only two hours per week during the academic year completing and submitting scholarship applications and only wins $500.00, he still comes out ahead.
3. Scholarships are free money, but don’t treat them that way. Some students win big scholarships and think they can promptly quit their part time job, or spend the money on non-educational expenses. These are bad ideas.

• Scholarships are intended to help students afford college so the funds should always go either directly to the college or to pay for college related expenses.

• Unless the student is in his senior year and expects to graduate on time and not pursue graduate education, the money should be saved in a separate account for college related expenses. Otherwise, the student may run out of money before he finishes college.
• Scholarships are extra, unexpected funds and therefore should not be relied upon as a steady stream of financial support. Many students have lost scholarships in their junior or senior year due to low grades, missed deadlines, or changing their major to one not supported by the scholarship fund.

A Frequently Asked Question from College Parents

Even though this is a question from the parent of a college junior, I thought it was relevant enough to share with freshman parents and definitely something to remember as your child goes through college.

Q: My daughter has run out of money in her junior year. Should she take out a loan for her senior year or try to earn more money? She really wanted to graduate debt free.

A: This is a tough one and will require a lot of evaluation and planning on our daughter’s part. If she wants to graduate without debt she can, but she will probably have to take two or three years to finish her “senior year” while she works at least full time. Before she makes her final decision though, she needs to evaluate the following:

1.     How much can she earn working full time?  Minimum wage in most parts of the country is still $7.25 per hour, which may or may not be enough for her to live on and also pay for school part time.

2.     If she already has a part time job and can become a full time employee with the same employer, will she get a raise or benefits package that will make it worth her while to switch to full time?

3.     If she can’t work full time with one employer, will she be able to work two part time jobs? Will they both offer steady, year-round employment?

4.     What will her full time job prospects be upon graduation? She will need to honestly evaluate how much she can expect to earn upon graduating by researching the recent starting salaries of other students with similar GPAs and experience, from her same college and degree program. From this information she can calculate if it will be worth it for her to take two or three years to graduate while missing out on those same years of full time earnings and benefits in her chosen field.

5.     If she’s a strong student in a proven lucrative major field of study, it may be better for her to take out a federal student loan for her final year and pay it off early upon finding her first job.

6.     She also needs to make sure that switching to part time status will not force her to take required course work out of sequence, or make her ineligible for any scholarships, grants, work-study, or insurance policies she now has.

Scholarship Application Advice: From someone who’s seen a lot of scholarship applications!

Honestly, nothing bugs me more than sloppy scholarship or award applications. Considering that the organization or donor is willing to hand you hundreds or thousands of dollars in free money you need to have enough regard for yourself and the committee to put forth your best effort, so here’s my super honest advice for students about submitting scholarship applications.

1.     Make sure your application is typed and in a legible font. Applications that are handwritten or in illegible fonts WILL stand out, and then they are usually shredded without any further consideration. If you are turning the application in on paper and not electronically, make sure that the application is neat and not creased or wrinkled. If the application must be submitted electronically, follow the submission instructions, or if there are no specific instructions, submit it as a PDF, with your name and the scholarship’s name included as part of the PDF’s name.

 2.     Make sure your application is complete, and follow the instructions to the letter. If it specifies that an official transcript be attached, then attach an official transcript. Not a copy, not an unofficial transcript, not a screen shot of one from your phone, but an official transcript.

 3.     Submit the application on time. I’m sure that everyone has legitimate excuses for why they miss deadlines, but as a scholarship administrator I’m more concerned with scoring the already huge stack of applications that were submitted on time.

 4.     Proofread your application, then have a professor, tutor, or a trusted friend proofread it, then proofread it again. Remember, we want to give you free money; the least you can do is proof your work.

 5.     Tell your story. Usually, the selection committee only has about 3-10 application pages to figure out who you are and why we should give you the award. Tell your story honestly and as thoroughly as possible. Don’t dismiss activities as unimportant because you think they’re not grand enough to impress us. We are just as impressed by students who volunteer to read to preschoolers as we are by those who write research grants.

I have scored numerous scholarships over the past two decades and I can tell you that the students who get scholarships are the ones who submit clean, completed applications, before the deadline, and who take the time to have their applications reviewed for errors. Students who put forth the extra 10% of effort to submit well-prepared applications are usually the ones who win the awards, and the best thing is, once you’ve completed a few scholarship applications, they get easier and easier to submit.

Students need to look at scholarship applications from the selection committee’s perspective. The committee is usually comprised of volunteers who are already extremely busy and each person on it only has a few sheets of paper in your application to decide whether or not to give you a $1,000.00 or more, so make a good impression!

 After you receive the scholarship send at brief thank you note or letter thanking the committee and giving us an update on how the scholarship will help you attain your educational goals. We do remember these letters and we may even score another one of your applications or remember you when we serve on another committee.

Student Loans - Use with Caution

Loans should be your child’s responsibility and only when absolutely necessary. It would be great if your child could graduate without any student loan debt, but sometimes life happens over the course of four years.  As parents, we all know that only one accident, lost job, or trip to the emergency room can crater even the most well planned college finance strategy. If your child has to take out a loan to finish his college education, it’s certainly not the end of the world.  And just because your child graduates with debt doesn’t mean that he will be sentenced to a lifetime of poverty. Every generation has had to start small and pay its dues. We did too, and we’re doing fine. You can always help your child pay off loans later if your family budget allows.

Contrary to sensational news coverage of students with six-figure debt, the current average amount of student loan debt for students who do take out loans is about $26,000.00. Considering the typically low interest rates of 3.4%-6.8% and usual 10-year payment period, students who graduate with that amount in loans will pay a very manageable $250.00 to $300.00 per month.

In fact, if you’ve been paying bills on the school’s monthly payment plan for the past four years, and your child has to borrow in the last year, just keep paying as usual during the final year and then pay the same amount toward the loans after graduation. This will greatly reduce the total interest paid and pay off the loan early. If you agreed to pay for a portion or all of your child’s college expenses, this can probably be considered part of that commitment as well.

I am a big fan of having the student take out a Federal loan first and then only resort to parent or PLUS loans under extreme circumstances. There are a few reasons for this. First of all this is your child’s education and he should be responsible for it. Just like you wouldn’t expect to attend classes and take tests for him you shouldn’t be expected to borrow money when other loans are available.

Secondly, if your child hasn’t established a credit record by his junior year, he needs to consider ways to do that. A federal student loan for a modest amount can establish a good credit history. And third, there’s absolutely nothing keeping you from helping him pay his loans after graduation. Many parents and grandparents help pay off college loans as birthday and holiday gifts and even more are paying off a portion of their child’s loans as a way to give an inheritance before it is gobbled up by long term care expenses.

Student loan calculators

Are wonderful tools that can give you and your child a realistic look at what borrowing various amounts will cost in the long run. Just insert hypothetical amounts to be borrowed and the terms to see what loans will cost. Some of these calculators even estimate a minimum salary to make these payments. A helpful tool when planning majors and estimating starting salaries. I like the one at http://www.bankrate.com .

Tuition . . . And Fees

Depending on how your child’s college compiles bills, you may be surprised to notice that “fees” sometimes cost more than tuition. So, what exactly are these “fees” and why do they cost so much?

Almost every college charges some kind of fees and they cost so much because they cover so many things. Fees usually cover the nuts and bolts of the university. Obviously, a college has physical structures to maintain, utilities to pay, water to treat, lawns to mow, and custodians to pay, these are usually lumped into something called facilities fees.

Other fees may cover technology including hardware maintenance, software licenses, print stations, the IT folks who make the computers and servers work. Still more fees may cover all the student events and activities that keep your child engaged in fun, positive activities instead some of the rather unhealthy activities that some students enjoy in bars and nightclubs.  In short, fees cover most of the non-academic foundations of the university and make it a nice, safe place to live and learn. At community, technical, and online colleges, these fees are much lower, but also cover fewer amenities, so where your child attends college will make a big difference in his fee requirements.

Here's another way to look at fees - Consider all of the things that your child spent money on all through high school.  There were probably several small fees for several events, activities, sports teams, and field trips that you paid each month as the need arose, and if you ever kept a running total you'd easily see a figure between $600.00 to $6000.00 per year. But, now that your child is in college, those expenses are rolled into a lump sum called "activity fees".

Having said that, it is absolutely essential that you and your child know exactly where your fee money goes. Students who pay fees for a recreation center need to use that center unless they are interested in throwing away their money. Students whose fees include usage of the campus bus system can save thousands by taking the bus, that they’ve already paid for, instead of using a car.

More Ways for Freshmen to Save

Suggest he use the floor fridge or microwave - Almost any dorm or residence hall floor has a shared fridge and microwave. If you avoid buying these appliances for your child you will save about $240.00. Instead, check to see if his residence hall or even his floor has a shared fridge and microwave. Using these to store food and cook will keep him from using meal plan dollars for food that he can easily prepare on his own.

Skip the soda at the fountain - Switching to water instead of soda pop will save money and calories. Soft drinks cost anywhere from .99 to $2.50 or more per meal. Over a semester that can add about $400.00 in meal plan usage and 45,000 empty calories.

Leave the car at home - If given the choice between living at the college of their choice without a car or living at home, attending the local college and keeping the car, most students will opt for the former. Owning and maintaining a car is expensive even if it’s paid off. Added up over four years, just the cost to fuel, insure and maintain a car is easily in the thousands or tens of thousands. That is probably equivalent to the cost of at least a semester or two of tuition. Unless your child absolutely needs his own car on campus ask him to decide between the car or living at home. He can always swap the car for a bike, scooter, or prepaid bus pass.

How to get a new set of dishes for you own home - Having kids at home means that your once complete set of dishes, glasses, or flatware has become a partial set of chipped, bent, and mismatched items that you’ve come to resent. Conveniently, at about the same time that you really want to get a new set of dishes, your child needs to take a couple of dishes to college. You see where I’m going with this right?

Avoid the dorm décor hype - Big box stores and online college dorm room outfitters will heavily advertise complete, coordinated dorm room décor sets and small appliances expressly for the college bound set. While these are really nice, new and coordinated, if you buy into the hype advertised on the glossy advertisements every June through September you can usually kiss more than $900.00 of your textbook money goodbye just to decorate a single room.

I know that your child wants new towels, dishes, shelves, lamps, chairs, and a coffee pot in the school’s colors for his room, but I’ll bet you already have most of this stuff at home and if you don’t, maybe some family members or friends do. My advice on these items is, save your money and if you still want to buy dishes with it get them for your family home instead. You’ll take better care of them anyway.

Thrift shopping - I have known college students who arrive on campus with practically nothing and within a couple of weeks their room is completely furnished all for about $47.50. By their nature, college towns have mobile populations, and college students are always arriving, leaving, or moving among dorms and apartments.  Thrift stores in these towns are great places to find cheap useful items.

On my campus, a thrift store is opened each fall semester where students can buy items donated or left on campus by students the previous spring, and the proceeds benefit charity. Thrift stores on campus or in the community offer win-win solutions for college kids who need to get rid of stuff and buy stuff cheap. 

* Yes, he should absolutely inspect any piece of furniture or fabric for bed bugs!