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When Is the Best Time to Apply for College Scholarships?

The short answer to this question is, right now. That assumes, however, that you have children, and they are five to twenty-five years old. There might be college scholarships for children still in diapers, but I haven’t seen any so far. If you have, please let me know. Most people think they should wait until their kids are juniors in high school. Waiting increases anxiety and stress. Neither of these will lead to quality applications or interviews.

Beginning the college application process when children are in elementary school means there’s plenty of time to accumulate free money for college. Doing so has the added benefit of allowing parents to save for retirement. This is a win-win situation. If families put themselves on a schedule, there should be enough scholarship money collected to cover college without needing to take out student loans. Parents will need to find, and fill out the scholarship applications for their elementary school aged children, of course. Using the lined pages following each chapter in my book, Free College, to record data will make the process easier.

I suggest you make searching and applying for scholarships part of your routine. Pick one day each month while children are still in elementary school to sit down and complete this task. Apply for at least two scholarships each month. Use the list on this link to scholarships, or use any search engine. Type in “college scholarships for elementary aged students”, and see what pops up. Be sure to confirm the scholarships on the list I’ve provided and any you find are valid and not email spam sites, before you apply.  

As children grow, and collect letters of recommendations from teachers, coaches, and others, be sure to file them away safely. You’ll need to reference them to fill out applications. Later you may need to send copies. When children are in middle school, have them sit with you when you search and apply for scholarships for them. They will benefit from the experience, and will understand school is important to the entire family. At this age, you will want to apply for more scholarships than before. Up your schedule to twice a month, and apply for two scholarships during each session.

When children enter high school, they should be ready to take on the task themselves. You might want to set up their system, and sit with them the first few times. High school students will have easy access to scholarship information. Their school counselor, college advisor or career advisor will be able to suggest scholarships. Freshmen and sophomores should apply for at least two scholarships each week. 

Juniors and seniors should apply for at least three scholarships each week. Don’t forget to look into grants. About $2.9 billion in federal grants for college went unclaimed in 2017. This is tragic. Most people don’t think they will qualify, so they don’t apply. This is a mistake.

Some high school seniors stop looking for financial aid once they've been accepted to college. This is another error in judgment. There’s still free money to be found. Look for it, and apply. The worst that could happen is you don’t get it. So what? You might win the scholarship. It would be a pity to pass up free money. 

Once in college, even if you have earned a full-ride, keep looking. There are fees, books, plus room and board to be paid. If you keep looking, you might not need a job or any loans at all. This is also true for grad school. If you’re interested in an advanced degree, find some of the billions of dollars of free money to help pay for your higher education. Don’t join the tens of thousands of Americans with crippling college loan debt. Be among the wise who graduate from college debt free.

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.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

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What You Don’t Know Could Hurt Your Child’s Scholarship Chances

Most people are aware of several requirements for entering college and winning scholarships. High school students must take “hard” subjects (Honors, AP, IB), maintain a high GPA (grade point average), score well on the ACT and/or SAT, and satisfy the A – G graduation requirements. Nearly all parents and many students believe succeeding in these four areas will guarantee acceptance to the college of their choice and lots of free cash for college. They're wrong.

These are only the basics. The vast majority of college, scholarship and grant applicants satisfy them. Their applications make the first cut. They will not end up in the circular file (wastebasket) on the first pass. But how does a student make sure his application stands out from the tens of thousands colleges receive each year? What are the defining habits of successful college scholarship winners? Do you know them?

If not, you’re not alone. The majority of parents and students don’t know them either. They guess. Some families guess correctly, most do not. It’s frustrating to want the best for your child, but you don't know how to make it happen. 

When I saw this occur over and over in my high school classes, I did the research necessary to discover the secrets of successful scholarship winners. There are sixteen of them. Students who adopt all of these habits, in addition to meeting the four requirements listed above, earn the most scholarship money. Those who practice fewer earn less free money. What you do to help your children avoid a lifetime of soul crushing student loan debt is your choice.

You could use your retirement money, so your children don’t need to take out loans, but why? There are no grants or scholarships for retirement and a massive supply for college students. More than $46 billion in grants and scholarships are available each year. Almost $3 billion was not claimed in 2017. 

This is because students didn’t qualify, or didn’t apply. Why not learn the sixteen defining habits of successful scholarship winners and use them to help your child? They’re included in my book, Free College, which is available on Amazon, CLICK HERE.

No, the book isn’t free. But it costs far less than a college textbook. You may have seen other books about college scholarships. Most of them recount the experiences of one student or parent. My book includes a much larger sampling and was thoroughly researched. I learned in college that a random survey of 1,500 people has a confidence factor of +/- 3%. I interviewed and surveyed far more in order to be sure the information I included is valid.

There are other books available which are aimed at the last year of high school, CLICK HERE (ad). They contain a great deal of information about filling out forms and how to apply for college, grants and scholarships, but little about what to do in advance to qualify for them. 

You want to start preparing long before high school, so there is less stress, anxiety or fear. Students whose parents helped them prepare years in advance are ready. They’re not rushed, and do far better on tests as well as on application compositions and during interviews.

My book contains a step-by-step guide to help families raise children who have a better chance of going to college without needing college loans. You can pay a little now (for my book), pay a great deal later (tuition, fees, textbooks, etc.), or saddle your children with mounds of student loan debt, crippling their future. I did the work in order for you to have the information you need, so your children won’t add to the $1.2 trillion Americans owe in student loans. Now it’s up to you.

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.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

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