Exploring Scholarship Aid

Most students have heard about scholarships, and how they can provide a significant amount of aid to put towards educational expenses.

This is in-fact true, as scholarship aid can alone provide up to the cost of attendance is some cases, such as with the majority of Presidential Scholarships, and full athletic scholarships.

On average however most scholarships don’t have such large payouts, and are relatively similar to Federal Stafford Loans with regard to their loan amounts.

Regardless, it is still critical that students understand what scholarship aid is in a nutshell, as it is one of the primary forms of financial aid that I recommend to students, along with grants and federal student loans.

Quick Facts About Scholarship Aid

While it is common knowledge that scholarships are like educational grants in that they don’t have to be paid back, there are other basic points that should be understood:

• Aid doesn’t have to be paid back under normal circumstances
• Considered to be merit-based aid
• Scholarships aren’t part of the federal student aid program
• Award amounts can range from a few hundred dollars, up to the CoA
• Aid comes from certain organizations—the college, past employers, civic organizations, etc.
• At times can be obtained without applying independently —athletic scholarships, some academic scholarships
• At times require an independent application
• There are thousands of specific scholarships in existence today

While scholarship aid can be a bit elusive, it should at least be taken into consideration by most students who plan on attending, or are attending a postsecondary institution, as there is scholarship aid available for almost every demographic of student.

You don’t necessarily have to be star athlete, get a perfect SAT score, or have a 4.0 GPA to get a quality scholarship, as the majority of scholarships are given out to students who are affiliated with certain organizations for some reason or another.

Acquiring a Scholarship

While there are thousands of specific scholarships in existence, it is important to have a firm grip on how you would go about identifying certain awards that you may be able to qualify for.

There are two ways that students typically receive scholarship aid:

• The scholarship aid comes to them
• They must identify and apply for the aid themselves

Certain types of scholarships will find you as long as you apply to college in an appropriate manner.

Common examples I often use are athletic, and academic scholarship awards, as very seldom does the student have to apply independently for such aid, and rather they are simply notified that they may given such funding.

Other kinds of scholarships require some effort on your end, as they require a separate application that must be completed by a specific deadline.

As a student, you will have to locate these awards on your own, and the best way I recommend you go about doing this it or review your academic profile in order to identify any particular area you may stand out in.

Common areas that may warrant an application for a scholarship include:

• Academic performance
• Career field
• Past employers
• Secondary school
• The state and town you’re from
• Specific extracurricular activities
• Volunteer work
• Talents and abilities
• Corporate and local business entities

These are just some of the areas where students can find reason to apply for a scholarship. There are probably countless more if you review your own profile.

Again, the key is to identify any particular areas that you may have achieved in, or can exhibit some kind of unique quality.

Conclusions

Once you have applied for, and have been awarded a particular scholarship, the proceeds may be given to you directly, or sent to your school—this typically happens at the beginning of each semester.

Regardless of which method is appropriate for your specific scholarship, it is critical that you inform you school’s financial aid department about your award, so that they can modify your financial aid package accordingly.

The bottom line is that you should try and apply for as many scholarships as possible if you have the need, as they can provide funding that does not have to be paid back