As a special tribute to parents, our team compiled this list of parent-focused resources and websites to help you help your sons and daughters.   (Alert:  The Scholarship Lady is not an employee or affiliate of any of these organizations.  I am merely providing these as an informational resource.)   Check out these resources:

College Parents of America is a membership organization that provides good advice and insight into college preparation and college success strategies for families.  Go here:

http://www.collegeparents.org/cpa/index.html

This one’s a link to over 40 other links useful for parents. It includes links on financial aid/scholarships, where to find cheap textbooks, career advice, and discount deals for students.  The Scholarship Lady was interviewed for one of their articles.

http://www.wisebread.com/college/college-resources

This site offers a wealth of articles from college parents who share their experiences with other parents. It also contains short videos to watch, a blog, and a “pick of the month” link to an e-book course on money management.

http://collegetipsforparents.org/

College Parenting is a free magazine that parents can subscribe to. They can pull up an e-version of the magazine to flip through, and the site contains several links to campus life information and scholarships.

http://www.collegeparenting.com/

This is another site, geared toward parents, that offers online, specialized guides on specific universities.

http://www.universityparent.com/

A section of CollegeBoard.com is designed specifically for parents. It provides links to scholarship sites and offers a free e-newsletter to parents.

http://www.collegeboard.com/parents/

This is a mental health guide for parents to refer to while their student is in college. Parents can quickly find a doctor located near their student and may join an online discussion forum regarding college health and wellness.

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/mental-behavioral-health/college-health/parents/mental-health

This one is a section of the U.S. Department of Education site designed just for parents. It includes access to an archive of “Education News Parents Can Use,” videos dating back to 2002. In addition, the site gives links to financial aid/scholarship sites, FAQs, and tips for parents.  http://www.ed.gov/parents/landing.jhtml?src=ln

Yay for you if you will be completing the FAFSA this year (as opposed to previous years).  The Scholarship Lady is psyched about the streamlined FAFSA.  Based on the changes, I predict a long-term reduction in parent and student stress, more familial bliss, more time to spend on the better things in life and more opportunities for college-bound students.  Wait, what’s the FAFSA, you ask?  The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  If you need money for college, completing the FAFSA is in your best interest and nearly all students –98%–complete it online.  I participated in a training yesterday and here are highlights and changes of how the FAFSA has improved:

1. New url for the site:  www.fafsa.gov.  The old url still works but this is a shorter address in hopes of preventing students from going to “un”official sites that charge a fee to complete the FAFSA for you.  NEVER pay a fee to complete the FAFSA.  It’s free.

2. Color coded tabs for student and parent sections so it is clear who fills in the required information.  Parents = purple.  Students = Blue.

3. More detailed information such as graduation and retention rates of the colleges you select.  Hey, you should know what you are paying for, right?

4. Fewer questions, based on the profile you enter.  For example, if you are not married, you will not see the questions about married students.  That makes sense and saves you time.

5. More help functions that are tailored to you and how you answer the questions.

6. Removal of Veteran’s benefits questions because they no longer affect eligibility for other federal aid (could change in the future – don’t know)

7. Quick, live estimate of Pell Grant eligibility, based on the information your provide.  No matter waiting and wondering.

8. Virtual keyboard and scrambled SS# to better protect your identity.

9.  Status bars/indicators so you know where you are in the process.

10. Fewer questions about assets for low-income students…again, that makes sense.

11. Transfer (pre-population) of parent information to a sibling’s application.

12. Skip or re-direct on questions about homeless students or dependent students whose parents refuse to provide financial information.

13.  Revised definitions of homeless, degree of homelessness, independent status, dislocated workers (including dislocated homemaker, which is an extremely important job!) to identify and expand financial aid opportunities for more people.

14. Matching process through Department of Defense for additional aid for students (dependents) who had a parent killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 9/11/01.

15.  Coming in Summer 2010….drumroll please….IRS data retrieval tool to lift information from your parents’ tax forms and SAVE YOU TIME!!!

Sources:  Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corp Training and ed.gov blog http://www.edgovblogs.org/duncan/2010/01/a-simpler-application-for-student-aid/

At Scholarships 101 for NSPA in New Orleans: The Scholarship Lady, Mrs. Haynes, and Ms. Bates of the University of New Orleans Classic Upward Bound Program

A few weeks ago I was a speaker and participant at the National Scholarship Providers Conference in New Orleans.  I met scholarship judges, administrators and donors, guidance counselors, scholarship database company reps, and precollege advisors.  I’m still tired (yet inspired) from that week.

Over the next few weeks I’ll share what I learned (it’s too much for one post) but here’s a few quick pieces of scholarship advice:

(1) as scholarship providers allow online applications, the number of applications goes up (more competition) but the quality of applications, overall, seems to go down (less competition?)  Think about that when you apply online.  I’m guessing if you proofread one extra time and take greater care in answering the questions you will stand out.

(2) in scholarships that are based on hardships or challenges, your survival of the hardship is not the primary criteria on which you are judged it’s how you overcame the hardship and went on to thrive afterwards that is more compelling to a judge (at least the ones I talked to).

Right on the heels of meeting scholarship providers I was also a speaker at College Explosion, a half-day event that was held at Marquette University.  About 500 students attended and my session had 100 people.  Even though I was the speaker, I learned a lot from the audience:

(1) ask questions and press for answers until it makes sense to you.  If no one else in your family went to college, a lot of the terminology that people use could be difficult for you to comprehend.  It’s OKAY to ask people to explain, especially when a scholarship (f r e e money) is involved.

(2) it’s okay to share your private pain.  Some students approached me afterward with very personal issues about cancer, disabilities, etc. wondering if there are scholarships available related to those issues.  The answer is YES!  You can find them on national and local search engines or through word-of-mouth in your community.

More later…

I’ve been thinking a lot about the debate around merit-based vs. need-based scholarships.  For centuries, students have been rewarded with scholarships based on attaining high levels of academic achievement.  Sure, colleges and sponsors would help  the “less fortunate,” but as of 2007, the majority of private scholarships (about 75%) used “merit” as their main qualification.  However, as more college access programs have opened the doors of academia to a broader population, students of modest means have had a chance that historically was reserved for people with money.  Should these cash-strapped students pay their own way like their more-advantaged counterparts or should some of this “merit” money be re-directed to the people who actually need it?  What if you are an exemplary student but you’re not considered low-income?  Should the money that would have been allocated to you go to someone who doesn’t possess 4.0 gpa but they are only held back my limited financial resources? 

I’m already noticing a shift among people that would probably not have considered themselves “low-income” a year ago but may consider it now based on how they have fared during the recession.

What do you think?

Busy month.  In the last few weeks I have done boot camps for girl scouts, Stein scholars, and Cardinal Stritch’s ACT prep group.  So, what did I learn from these students? 

1. The quiet students in the back that I thought might be texting were really absorbed in the class and listening.

2. That the new “thanks-a-lot” Girl Scout cookies are really yummy and kept me sugared up during boot camps. Thanks girls!

3.  That students who have guts and creativity are all around…Check this out:  A young man in one of my boot camps completed the “Dream Letter” assignment that is part of the scholarship boot camp.  (Learn more in Scholarships 101.) Instead of writing the letter to himself or to someone he loves, he wrote the letter to the mayor and the common council.  His letter described his dream of going to college, his lack of funds and how HE is important to the economy as a future college graduate…Apparently, they were wowed because he is going to meet with some big wigs down at City Hall to talk about his ideas and his aspirations.  We’ll see what happens from here but I can guarantee that this student is going to have an excellent story to tell on college and scholarship applications because he took this assignment seriously and added his own twist. 

Sometimes students only look at “extra” assignments or out-of-school studying as more work instead of looking at it as an opportunity.  The students who took the ACT prep class on a Saturday were definitely doing more work but their higher scores are going to translate to more opportunity.  Opportunities to be considered by more selective colleges, opportunities to qualify for more merit-based scholarships, opportunities to meet other college-bound students, etc. etc. The same goes for all of the students I met this month who are taking the extra steps to improve their future.  Good luck!

When I hear about scholarship “promotions” I always ask extra questions and this time I’m glad I did!  Over at Zinch.com, registered users can win a matching scholarship if they submit news of their winnings to Zinch and FOLLOW all of the rules, of course.  Did the capital letters stand out there?  Here are the rules.

I point that out because less-savvy students might get caught up in the hype and not pay attention to the process by which they must make their claims.  Stay sharp, stay focused, follow the rules and you could be doubling your money!  Good luck,

The Scholarship Lady

Last week on The Scholarship Lady Show I was able to interview Kevin Ladd of Scholarships.com.  It was a great interview with tips on how to use Scholarships.com to improve your odds of finding scholarships.  Kevin also announced that they will again sponsor the Resolve to Evolve Essay scholarship competition (starts in May).  I asked him for tips on winning scholarships and here’s a few pieces of advice:

1.  Realize that everything gets noticed.  Everything.  Your spelling, language, neatness, etc.

2.   Your effort is evident.  If you throw it together at the last minute just know that you are competing with students who spent a great deal of time perfecting their applications.

3.  Be genuine.  You need to stand out and using cliches or generic essay material won’t put you ahead of the competition.  (Being genuine and memorable will)

Listen now or download the podcast to hear trends in the scholarship world and the advice Kevin gives to students:  Inside Scoop from Scholarships.com

Since this is peak season, I’m providing this uber-rich resource reminder.  Some of THE BEST scholarship advice is provided at my Blogtalkradio show in interviews with the experts.  It’s all free for download or you can listen to the archives. 

Past Shows: (click on the link)

Summer of Scholarships – how to use your summer to become scholarship-worthy - “Between the beach and the ball field is there any time left for preparing for college?”  Advice direct from The Scholarship Lady

Surfing for Scholarships with Guest Christopher Penn  – Learn how you can use Google to maximize or enhance your scholarship search. Guest is a financial aid expert, blogger, podcaster and representative from the Student Loan Network

Opportunity Knocking -   Joe Tavares from Center for Student Opportunity talks about their new book for low-income, minority, and first-generation students and which colleges treat them well.

Getting in without freaking out -  Stop the Stress!  get tips from Arlene Mathews, college planning consultant, about the admissions process

Free Help with Finanical Aid – Filling out the FAFSA – Director of College Goals Sunday shares her advice and places you can go to get help

College Matchmakers:  Zinch.com – Why wait for colleges to respond?  Get recruited by colleges that are looking for students exactly like you.  Here about this new free service for students.

Coming up – Interview with Kevin Ladd of Scholarships.com – Mark your calendar for Tuesday, February 17th at 3 pm CST at my radio show.

Do you want to know how to blow past your competition on the scholarship trail?  Go beyond the Internet!Last night I co-presented a Scholarships 101 workshop for parents and I shared my four strategies for scholarship searches:  online, in print, word-of-mouth, and self-promotion. 

Most students will look at a few websites or log into a scholarship search site, perhaps even tack on a trip to the counselor’s office to grab “the list of scholarships” but that’s it.  The problem with that approach is that all of your competition is doing the exact same thing.

Yes, start on the Internet but to craft a better list of matching scholarships, you should do extensive keywords searches in multiple categories.  For instance, yesterday I found eight scholarships awarded by restaurants.  (see my post at the blog www.morethanatestscore.com) You could also search department stores, sports teams, etc.  Think of any major retail segment and chances are they award scholarships.  Think beyond the Internet, though.

Next, really look at printed resources.  Why?  Because your competition isn’t!  Have you dug up last year’s graduation bulletin?  Sometimes they list which students won which scholarships.  Have you read the local newspaper?  That’s where small civic groups will make their application announcements and showcase picutres from their fundraisers.  Those fundraisers are often for scholarship programs! The small local scholarships aren’t likely to appear on the evening news and they aren’t on MySpace, Facebook or Twitter.  Check newspapers, graduation bulletins, old school newsletters, community boards at the library or grocery store, etc.  Paper is your scholarship friend.

Don’t stop there, we’re just getting started! Did you ever “hear about” that scholarship for grocery store workers?  Caddies?  Duck calling?  Word-of-mouth can be a very powerful tool in opening up opportunities that are specific to your personal profile and experiences.  Most parents like to brag about their kids so this would be a good time to let folks know that you need money for college.  In my former job I helped research more than 700 local scholarships and today, even though I thought we uncovered them all, I still hear about new ones.  The only problem with word-of-mouth is consistency and quality of information.  Did you hear about that scholarship for the children of left-handed authors with brown eyes who are scholarship experts?  For real.  Sara’s mom’s trainer told her about it…    With word-of-mouth always find the original source!

Yes, I gave you permission to brag but as I mention in my book, do so with a dose of humility – especially if you are going to engage in blatant self-promotion.  Self-promotion means that you are actively providing your teachers, mentors, coaches, neighbors, employers, family members, friends, and faith leaders with your scholarship resume so they can be aware of your scholarship-worthiness.   You might think that everyone knows how fabulous you are but maybe they don’t.  Or maybe they don’t have specifics.  If they know a little bit more about you, they are more likely to help you or think of you if they are connected to scholarship sources or information.

Searching for scholarships can be time consuming but contrast that with how long you might be paying off student loans and those hours are a bargain!  More later.  Happy searching,

The Scholarship Lady

P.S.  Get all my tips here: Scholarships 101:  The Real-World Guide to Getting Cash for College

Do you want to know what breaks my heart?  When highly qualified students contact me  – in a panic – in August and ask me if I know of any scholarships because their tuition is due in a week.  ugh.  I can feel the pain.

If you are not aware, NOW is the time to apply for most scholarships if you need money for fall college enrollment.  January, February and March have more scholarship deadlines than other times of the year.  Why?  Because the scholarship providers need time to review the applications and make their decisions before school’s out.  Students want to know before they head off to college how much money they have to help pay the bills.  This timing also coincides with preferred financial aid deadlines at many colleges.

If you haven’t started applying for scholarships yet, don’t wait or you will miss out on the money!

If you need a tool to help you, please get my book, Scholarships 101:  The Real-World Guide to Getting Cash for College.  It’s full of street-smart advice, organizational tools and time-saving tips.  C’mon, all the cool kids are doing it.