Parents dream of a scholarship for their child. It is a dream that rarely comes true.
There are stories about hundreds of millions of dollars of scholarship money. First, most of the large ones are either incredibly competitive or else available only to narrowly defined students, as you will see. Your family will not qualify for them. Second, people forget: there are 15 million students enrolled in American colleges. The math doesn't offer much hope.
This man discovered the reality. Read his story here.
This is the season when anticipation grows as parents and their sons and daughters await admissions and financial aid decisions on April 1, a date full of ambiguity, particularly about the mysterious process of paying for college.
If you're like me, you submitted the FADS (Free Application For Federal Student Aid) form in January. Then, according to FM (Federal Methodology a formula created by some invisible bureaucrats) the computer instantly calculated what you can afford to pay (otherwise called "Expected Family Contribution" or RFC). . . .
This form forces you to reveal everything about your finances. You think the IRS is inquisitive. Wait until you see this form -- G.N.
It's as easy as one, two -- 43.
There is, of course, help to be had even for parents of high school seniors who did not win Intel science scholarships. There are hundreds of millions of dollars available in scholarships and grants to help defray the $35,000 to $40,000 in annual costs common at private colleges and universities.
At least, that's what the spam I just got insisted. . . .
It makes for great spam. But have you ever heard of any child who actually won one of these third-party scholarships? No. -- G.N.
Scholarships from NASA and for residents of Hawaii cover pages. Unfortunately, we are not considering the space program and do not live in Hawaii. A Shoshone Tribal Scholarship is out, as is one from the Sons of Norway Foundation. The Princess Grace Award for film, the U.S. Submarine Veterans of World War II, and the "Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Inc." don't fit either.
You name it, and a related grant exists. There is the Patrick Kerr Skateboard Scholarship Fund, the Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year Awards and the American Water Ski Educational Foundation Scholarship. My favorite remains the Parapsychology Foundation Psychic Explorers Club, which asks for letters from individuals "familiar with the applicant's work and/or studies in parapsychology."
Hope persists, yet all opportunities seem problematic in one way or another. Reading on I found, "Even with nearly $122 billion in financial aid currently made available, paying for college is indeed a major challenge for most families."
Most of this money is in the form of loans. Large, third-party, independent scholarships are rare, and only extremely bright students win them. -- G.N.
Daunted and driven by a growing fear that I served my son poorly by encouraging him to apply to expensive schools instead of focusing on trade school night courses or taking a civil service exam, I looked again at a recent e-mail. "$10,000 scholarship giveaway," it claims.
No, too good to be true. Don't open the file. But, what if ...? I recalled the advice, offered more than once, "Don't panic!"
We'll keep searching.
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