Summer Scholarship Strategies

Earlier I wrote about the most important thing to do over the summer to help students earn lots of scholarship money for college. It’s to take college enrichment courses. To read that article, Click Here. Students who win the most scholarships have taken many such classes.

But there’s another thing high school students and graduates need to do this summer. I’ll use my grandsons to illustrate. Last week my oldest grandson, Michael, graduated from high school. He’s already been accepted at a college nearby. He picked this college for three important reasons. It’s accredited. It offers coursework in the major he wishes to pursue. It’s the least expensive option open to him. There’s a bonus, however. It’s super close to home, which will allow him to continue sleeping in his own bed and eating his parents’ food.

This summer, he’ll work at a local restaurant and saving this money. He’s also continuing to apply for college scholarships. His minimum number is three per week. This morning I shared four with him. I found them on Twitter. I follow several people who routinely post links to scholarships. Since I don’t want him to need college loans, I send him the ones for which I believe he'll qualify.

I also gave him a tip. Scholarships for large sums of money are great, but attractive to many. Although I continue to send these to him, I suggested for every large one, he apply for two smaller ones. They're easier to win. When I was with him last week, he confessed he had made a mistake. After he was accepted at his target university, he slowed down applying for scholarships. Yikes.

I explained being accepted for college was like having food in the shopping cart at the supermarket. Very soon he would be at the checkout, and someone would ask him to pay. He’ll need the money. He understood the analogy and promised to get back to applying for at least three each week.

 A couple of days later, I cornered his younger brother, Nicolas. I asked him if he had figured out what he wants to do after high school yet. He’s still undecided. He loves drama and art, but is excellent in math. I reminded him no matter which way he goes, he’ll need education or training after high school. He told me he thought it would be smart to start collecting money to pay for it. Right.

I suggested he apply for college scholarships. Whether he decides to be an accountant or an actor, he'll need the money. He requested I send him scholarships I find online. I agreed as long as he promised to apply for at least one each week. After a few weeks, I’ll hint it would be smart to up that to two each week. Once he’s seen how easy it is, I’m sure he will.

His brother also promised to share any scholarships I send him with Nick. I let him know not to share ones he’s applying for, since his younger brother has more time than he does.

Summer is for fun, but there are enough hours in the day, days in the week, and weeks in the vacation to peel off a few hours here and there to insure financial freedom after college. More than forty million Americans owe student loans. I don’t want my grandsons to be two of them. They’re applying for college scholarships this summer. How about your kids and grandkids?

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

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