Scholarships and Financial Aid

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Scholarships and Financial Aid

• October 26, 2005
• Presented by Tawnya Shelton

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Tonights presentation

• We will briefly discuss each grade
• We will discuss scholarship opportunities and
  financial aid
• Information is empowering!

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9th and 10th grade Parents

• Some things your child should be doing now that
  can earn them scholarship money in the future
• Begin taking practice ACTs and SATs
• Take the PSAT/NMSQT to get them practice for
  their junior year (when the test counts)
• College bound students need a rigorous curriculum
  (which needs to include some AP coursework)

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9th and 10th grade continued

• Extracurricular activities are very important
• Highly selective colleges typically have reading
  lists, so college bound students wanting to get
  into highly selective colleges need to search out
  book lists and begin reading. Even if not
  planning to attend a highly selective University,
  reading books with high lexile scores (which
  include several classic novels) improves college
  entrance exam scores
• Community service is essential for many college
  scholarships

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9th and 10th grade students should

• Be looking at a variety of colleges and variety
  of career choices
• Some essay contests and scholarship contests are
  out there for students as young as the 9th grade.
  
• Essay contests are work, but they are also good
  experience and could earn your child money!
• Have your child spend time looking for
  information on scholarships and colleges

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11th grade parents

• It is time to get serious about choices of
  colleges (narrow down 3-5 top choices)
• ACT/SAT scores need to be a top priority this
  year. Students need to take the test several
  times to get accustomed to the format.
• Chad Cargill took the ACT eighteen times. He went
  from a 19 to a 32 on his ACT (as the old adage
  goes, Practice makes perfect)

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ACT/SAT Test Prep

• Check Tasseltime for links to tried and true
  test prep materials
• AHS offers a four week CPEP course during the
  summer free of charge for students
• Other test prep materials are available from the
  testing companies some are listed in the
  information booklet
• There are some scholarship opportunities for
  juniors, they need to do scholarship searches and
  enter essay contests

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My child is finally graduating!
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Senior parents

• Many colleges award scholarships on a first come,
  first serve basis so apply early!
• Finding and filling out scholarship applications
  will be time consuming but worth it!
• Students have already been given a lot of
  information about finding scholarships.

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Scholarship Tips

• Dont depend on others to seek you out for a
  scholarship opportunity. The money awarded will
  go to the student so the person who should be
  doing the majority of the work should be the
  student.
• Too many students do not finish filling out
  applications (and therefore dont get the
  scholarship) because they will not take the time
  to complete the essay portion of the application

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How am I going to pay for college?

• Scholarships
• Importance of ACT/SAT score
• Scholarship search engines such as
• www.arkansasscholarshipconnection.org
• www.fastweb.com
• Other websites are listed at www.tasseltime.com
• Usernameairedale12 (or whichever grade)
• Password pawprint12 (no spaces)

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Scholarships FYI

• Academic scholarships awarded by colleges are not
  transferable this is very important so make
  sure that your child understands that the school
  he or she chooses and attends in some ways hold
  the key to his or her scholarships
• There is a stacking limit for each college based
  on the cost of attendance (cost of attendance is
  different than tuition and fees)

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Cost of attendance vs. Tuition and fees

• Cost of attendance includes room, board, travel
  expenses, fees (such as parking, activity, and
  technology fees), clothing, and miscellaneous
  costs
• Example cost of attendance at UA Fort Smith is
  significantly higher than tuition and fees

• Tuition scholarships might only cover the cost of
  classes, with no other expenses included

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Example of UA Fort Smith

• The tuition for 15 hours for lower level in-state
  classes is 1415 per semester or 2,830 for
  fall/spring. This includes most fees.
• Book fees range from 250-500 per semester.

• The cost of attendance for lower division
  (freshman/sophomore)-off campus is 12,500
• Lower division (freshman/sophomore)-Sebastian
  Commons is 12,090
• lower division (freshman/sophomore)-living with
  parents is 8,560.

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The point of the story

• Apply for more than you think you need. Too many
  students stop applying for scholarships too
  early, under the faulty assumption that tuition
  and books are paid so Im good!
• Try to earn more money than just tuition and fees
  because there are additional expenses in college
  room and board, books, supplies, long distance
  phone calls, membership dues, parking permits,
  parking tickets, money to get home, etc.
  expenses that are not listed anywhere.
• It is much better to have too much than too
  little you can turn down scholarship money if
  you have reached your stacking limit but you
  cannot receive money that you didnt apply for!

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Scholarship Applications

• Some applications are on-line and others may
  prefer a hard copy.
• Make sure all information is filled out and
  correct
• Place n/a on any questions that do not apply
• Pay close attention to deadlines!
• Keep scholarship correspondence organized and
  easily accessible
• Know criteria for renewal
• Transcripts will be requested through the
  Counseling Office

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The scholarship search continues

• Most schools have scholarships that are
  specifically designated for CURRENT students
  therefore, apply for scholarships every year.
  Some scholarships are even specifically for
  junior or senior level students
• Most scholarships will require verification or
  proof of enrollment it may take some time and
  extra effort, but it is worth it!

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Arkansas Academic Challenge

• This is a scholarship available to every student
  in Arkansas who has met eligibility criteria.
• Main points of eligibility include two years of
  foreign language and four years of math (the four
  years may include 8th grade Algebra if your child
  was on the advanced track and took Algebra I in
  the 8th grade)
• Other requirements include ACT score, GPA, and
  family income. More specific information can be
  found at www.arkansaschallenge.com

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Financial Aid

• Financial aid is offered in the form of grants,
  loans, and work study programs.
• FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
  is fastest if applied for on-line
• There is a Financial Aid Estimator on
  www.tasseltime.com if you take last years
  income taxes, it will give you an estimate of the
  amount of aid for which you may be eligible.

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Students responsibility

• Finding and filling out scholarship applications
• Requesting recommendation letters in a courteous
  and timely manner
• Sending off materials prior to scholarship
  deadlines
• Making sure all required documents accompany
  scholarship applications

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Counselors responsibility

• Passing along information about scholarships
  received through the Counseling Office this
  will be done in the form of the Counselors
  Announcements and Scholarship Book which will be
  posted on the school website - www.almasd.net/hs
• Filling out counselor information requests
• Discussing scholarship opportunities with students

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Scholarship Scams

• Be very weary of scholarship organizations who
  make promises about getting your child
  scholarships. Most are search agencies who charge
  between 250 - 1,000 and do not provide results
  which benefit you or your child. Most make claims
  to get your child a 1,000 scholarship however,
  the scholarship may not be to a school your child
  would ever attend.

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Updates to scholarship book

• 2006 Sam Walton Community Scholarship
• Interested graduating high school seniors need to
  logon to www.walmartfoundation.org for more
  information. Students will apply for the Sam
  Walton Community Scholarship on-line at
  www.scholarshipadministrators.net Applicants must
  use the access code (SWCS) to complete the
  application. Deadline is January 20, 2006

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Unique Scholarship Opportunity

• Duck Tape is offering a 5,000 (2,500 each)
  scholarship to the high school couple who has the
  most unique prom outfits made out of duck tape.
  For official rules, previous winners, and entry
  requirements visit http//www.ducktapeclub.com/con
  tests/prom/default.asp . Last years winners were
  from Forest City, Arkansas!!!

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Essay contest for 9th -12th grades

• Ayn Rand Essay Contest Opportunity is open for
  students in grades 9 12. Requirements for 9th
  and 10th grade require reading Ayn Rands Anthem
  and then responding to one of the three topics
  (more information is at www.aynrand.org/contests).
  
• Prizes range from 2,000 to 30. 11th and 12th
  graders must read Ayn Rands The Fountainhead and
  respond to one of three topics (more information
  at www.aynrand.org/contests ).
• Prizes for 11th and 12th grade range from 50 to
  10,000. A total of 472 prizes will be awarded.

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Discover and College Steps

• Discover Colleges provides a FREE private college
  information service as well as 2,500 private
  college scholarship drawing. Log onto
  www.discovercolleges.com to request information
  and you will automatically be entered in the
  2,500 scholarship drawing.
• The CollegeSTEPS Program 2005-2006 Scholarship
  Sweepstakes
• This is a sweepstakes type of drawing for 100
  1000 scholarships. In order to enter, students
  need to log on to wellsfargo.com/collegesteps No
  purchase is necessary to win however an e-mail
  address must be submitted.

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Final two updates

• www.scholarships.com Free scholarship search
  engine
• Information about the Discover Card Tribute Award
  Scholarship (which are scholarships for juniors
  in high school) will be out soon on this web
  address
• www.discoverfinancial.com/data/philanthropy/tribut
  e.shtml

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Thanks for your time and attention!