SCHOLARSHIPS ARE ONLY A PIECE OF THE FINANCIAL PUZZLE

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SCHOLARSHIPS ARE ONLY A PIECE OF THE FINANCIAL
PUZZLE
For the great majority of students, larger pieces
of the puzzle will consist of LOANS GRANTS
WORK SAVINGS
2
MOST STUDENTS WILL NEED TO COMPLETE A FINANCIAL
AID FORM TO QUALIFY FOR GRANTS WORK STUDY
PROGRAMS LOANS
3
YOU WILL NEED TO FILE YOUR FINANCIAL AID FORM
AFTER JANUARY 1, 2008
4

• THE AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL AID YOU RECEIVE WILL
  DEPEND ON
• Your parents income
• Your income
• Your familys assets
• Your assets
• The age of your parents
• The cost of attending your school of choice
• Other factors

5
ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION
TO DETERMINE..
YOUR FAMILY CONTRIBUTION or the amount of money
the government says your family needs to come up
with for college expenses
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The Financial Aid Formula Cost minus Family
Contribution equals Need
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AN EXAMPLE
School Costly College Whatsamatta U.
Frugal Tech CO ST 31,000
15,000 6,000 E.F.C. -
7,000 - 7,000
- 7,000 NEED 24,000
8,000 0
8

• THE SCHOOL CAN MEET THE NEED AMOUNT BY OFFERING
  ANY COMBINATION OF THE FOLLOWING
• LOANS
• GRANTS
• WORK PROGRAMS
• SCHOLARSHIPS

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ONLY ONE FORM NEEDED
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FAFSA
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THE PROCESS
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GET A FORM IN GUIDANCE AND COMPLETE IT OR
COMPLETE THE FORM ON-LINE
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MAIL THE FORM TO THE PROCESSOR OR SEND IT ON-LINE
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The Processor Determines How Much Your Family Can
Afford. The Processor Sends This Information To
Your Schools Of Interest.
15
THE COLLEGES YOU ARE CONSIDERING WILL GET BACK TO
YOU WITH YOUR FINANCIAL AID PACKAGE.
16
CONFUSED?
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NEED TO KNOW MORE?
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HAVE YOUR PARENTS ATTEND THE FINANCIAL AID
MEETING DECEMBER 3, 2007 630 P.M. LARGE GROUP
INST. RM.
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• FOR MOST STUDENTS, FINANCIAL AID CONSIST MOSTLY
  OF LOANS
• 13 per month for ten years for every 1,000
  Borrowed
• For total debt of 20,000, Your payments are 260
  per month for 10 years.
• Total payments 31,200 for a 20,000 loan.

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Scholarships are gifts that dont need to be
repaid.. They will replace loans in your
financial aid package.
21
Completing your first scholarship application
will require a certain amount of work. You will
probably need to Complete a personal
statement Get recommendations Compose a
resume Complete the application
22

• AFTER YOUR FIRST APPLICATION, THE OTHERS BECOME
  MUCH EASIER BECAUSE
• You have developed a resume that can be used for
  all future scholarships.
• You have secured recommendations which can be
  used for future scholarships
• You have composed a personal statement that can
  be revised for future scholarships.

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WHERE CAN YOU FIND SCHOLARSHIPS OPPORTUNITIES?
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LOOK FIRST IN YOUR OWN YARD

• Parents employers
• Parents professional organizations
• Parents service clubs
• Parents labor unions
• Church sponsored scholarships
• Parents military organizations
• Your clubs or organizations
  P14

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Wisconsin College Based Scholarships Listed on
Pages 15-17
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SEARCH FOR SCHOLARSHIPS ON LINE p.18
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WWW.FASTWEB.COM
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Surf the Net for Other Great Sites
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See Page 18
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Go to www.waterforduhs.k12.wi.us

• The Student Services Link
• A GREAT SOURCE OF COLLEGE, CAREER AND SCHOLARSHIP
  INFORMATION

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LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS P 1 9
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Scholarship Newsletter
LOOK FOR IT EVERY MONTH
p.23
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BANG YOUR OWN DRUM
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BLOW YOUR OWN HORN
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• MOST SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS REQUIRE
• A personal statement or essay of approximately
  250 to 500 words
• Recommendations from teachers, counselors,
  clergy, etc.
• A resume
• ACT scores or possibly PSAT scores or SAT scores

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• IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU HAVE A RESUME.
• To give to those who will need to write you a
  recommendation
• To insert within an application
• To outline your activities so that you have a
  list of your achievement when you need them for a
  job resume or to use for other purposes.

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1. Name_____________________________________ 2.Add
ress____________________________________ 3.City___
______________________State__________ 4.Extracurri
cular Activities Please See Attached____ ______
______________________________________
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Identify Your Strengths

• Make Them The Theme of Your
• Application
• Essay
• Resume
  p.26

39
Make a Complete List Of Your Accomplishments Duri
ng Your High School Years
P.27-32
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• ORGANIZE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS INTO CATEGORIES
  SUCH AS
• Academics
• Leadership
• Co-Curricular
• Employment
• Honors
• Awards
• Volunteer Activities
• Church Activities P.33

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THE SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY
You can expect to be required to write an essay
with your scholarship application. Scholarship
applicants are often very evenly matched
Therefore very often the essay becomes the
deciding
factor in determining scholarship recipients.
Most scholarships will limit your essay to 500
to 1000 words so you need to be judicious in your
use of words.
SOME TYPICAL ESSAY TOPICS
A Difficult Time In Your Life
Your Career Plans
Tell Us About Yourself
Significant Experiences That You Have Had
Your Accomplishments
Your Most Fulfilling Activity
Why Should You Get This Scholarship
Make A Personal Statement
The Person In Your Life That Has Had The Most
Impact On You
What Are Your Likes and Dislikes
P.40
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DO'S AND DON'TS IN ESSAY WRITING
DO
Do
define the strengths in your personality that
you want to convey in your essay before you
begin to write it and make this the theme of what
you write.
Do
have a clear objective pertaining to your
educational and career plans. If you are not sure
exactly what you would like to major in , pick a
broad area of interest.
Scholarship
committees are looking for recipients who have
goals and aspirations that are at
least partially defined.
Instead of saying " I at this time am unsure of
my career
direction", you may wish to say "I am a
nurturing person who
enjoys the rewarding experience of helping
others. My career
aspirations are related to the helping
professions."
OR
I enjoy the challenges and spirit of competition
associated with
the business world and my career interests are
somewhere in
in this field.
P.40
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Do
use action verbs to describe yourself, your
accomplishments, strengths, etc. Action verbs
make you and your accomplishments come to life.
They make you appear vibrant and prone to
perform and get things done. Below is a partial
list of common action verbs. Go down the list
and check those that you feel could be used in
sentences to describe your accomplishment and
plan to use them in your writing.
Created
Controlled
Instituted
Detected
Obtained
Supplied
Instructed
Reduced
Negotiated
Planned
Completed
Provided
Designed
Consulted
Evaluated
Calculated
Assembled
Served
Identified
Performed
Constructed
Improved
Organized
Perceived
Increased
Expanded
Trained
Restored
Dispensed
Delivered
Formulated
Tested
Protected
Obtained
Purchased
Arranged
Oversaw
Installed
Routed
Audited
Coordinated
Analyzed
Researched
Implemented
Presented
Recorded
Devised
Assisted
Obtained
Ordered
Processed
Represented
Conversed
Solved
Compounded
Built
Selected
Disproved
Produced
Supervised
Studied
Invented
Reviewed
Promoted
Directed
Determined
Collected
Instructed
Maintained
Recommended
Edited
Delivered
Criticized
Ordered
Examined
Prescribed
Discovered
Eliminated
Referred
Counseled
Prepared
Distributed
Wrote
Founded
Administered
Consolidated
Lectured
Chartered
Advised
Served
Do
be concise and to the point. Be economical in
your use of words don't use ten words to say
what can be said in two. People who will read
your essay will appreciate it if you are to the
point.
Do
be very careful in your use of grammar and
sentence structure. When you finish your
essay, put it aside for a few days before mailing
it. After a few days read it over again, If it
still sounds good to you give it to a respected
teacher to critique. Revise if necessary.
P.41
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DON'T
Don't
repeat information in an essay that is already
provided in the application. You need to use
the space provided in the application to convey
as much as possible about yourself. Repeating
information is a waste of valuable space.
Don't
write an essay that outlines what you did in
high school in a "laundry list narrative". You
can list your accomplishments in your personal
profile and a litany of your accomplishments in
the form of an essay is usually dull and
uninteresting. Instead use your essay to give
the reader
a glimpse of who you are. Choose an interesting
opening sentence to grab your readers attention.
A few examples
My friends all say that I am......................
...
Little did I realize it when ...............that
this experience would be important in
shaping my life.
Nothing is more important to me
than..................
As I approach graduation, my years of school have
helped me to understand that.......
Anyone who gets to know me well understands that
I..................
My approach to life can be summed up in the
expression............
The person who has had the greatest influence on
my life is.........because.........
I positively hate it when someone says I can't do
something...............
Looking back at my life I can see.................
......
.................has had an enormous impact on me
because.........
As a small child, I can remember and incident
that changed me forever................
Try to be creative and compose an essay that will
give the reader insight into the real you--
your personality, values, ambitions.
P.41
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Don't
expound in detail on a wide variety of
achievements or personality strengths in your
essay but instead concentrate on a few that are
your most outstanding.
Don't
mention shortcomings or personality flaws that
have not been springboards to subsequent
success. A recent essay that I have read stated
the following
"Although I am a poor athlete and an average
student, I am an excellent musician."
It would have been infinitely better if the
applicant would have concentrated on what he did
well
and not mentioned the rest.
Don't
lie, exaggerate or misrepresent yourself in any
way. You will probably be discovered
which is not only embarrassing but will probably
lead to your disqualification and possibly even
criminal proceedings against you.
Don't
assume the reader knows what you are talking
about when you speak of local clubs,
organizations, awards, etc. If you list your
membership in a local club or organization,
briefly
describe the purpose of the club or organization.
Don't
abbreviate names of organizations, clubs, etc.
Don't
make spelling, punctuation, sentence structure
and usage errors. Scholarships
committees are looking for reasons to throw out
applications and making such errors casts
serious doubts on your candidacy.
P.42
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DO'S AND DON'TS IN COMPLETING AN
APPLICATION
DO
Do
be exceptionally neat. Try to type instead of
write or print. Be careful. If you can't type
well ask someone to help you. If typing is out
of the question do your very best printing or
writing and if you make a mistake, don't cross
out but use "white out" or start over on a new
application.
Do
give those writing recommendations for you a
copy of personal data sheet.
Do
seek recommendations from people whose comments
will enhance your position. If you are
trying to get an engineering scholarship, seek
recommendations from a math or science teacher.
If you are seeking a journalism scholarship, seek
a recommendation from an English teacher.
Do
explain to those writing recommendations for you
what you are trying to convey in your
application i.e. the personality strengths that
are the theme of your application. Any
reinforcement you receive for your position in
the form of recommendations will do a great deal
to enhance your credibility.
Do
make things as painless and convenient for those
who will write recommendations for you.
Don't ask for a recommendation a day before your
application must be postmarked--give your
recommenders at least two weeks notice. Also
give your recommenders a copy of your personal
data sheet and give them a clear idea of what you
would like included in their recommendation.
Do
include a copy of your personal data sheet with
the application
P42
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DON'T
D
on
't
send more recommendations than are requested.
Remember, those reviewing
applications may have to read several hundred
will not read more of an application then what is
necessary. They may discard your application if
you do not follow their directions or at the
least think less of you for not following their
directions.
Don't
expound in detail on a wide variety of
achievements or personality strengths in your
essay but instead concentrate on a few that are
your most outstanding.
Don't
lie, exaggerate or misrepresent yourself in any
way. You will probably be discovered
which is not only embarrassing but will probably
lead to your disqualification and possibly even
criminal proceedings against you.
Don't
abbreviate names of organizations, clubs, etc.
Don't
make spelling, punctuation, sentence structure
and usage errors. Scholarships
committees are looking for reasons to throw out
applications and making such errors casts
serious doubts on your candidacy.
P.43
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1.
THE WRITER WAS ASKED TO RESPOND TO THE PROMPT
EXPLAIN AN OBSTACLE
YOU HAVE HAD TO OVERCOME
They shouldn't have said that I wasn't capable of
getting an "A" in AP
Calculus. The minute they said it I knew I would
make them see how wrong they
were. I worked extremely hard that year in quest
of that "A sometimes three
or four hours a night. I coerced my frugal
parents into hiring a tutor for me
named Margaret. I practically drove her over the
edge with my calls for help
at 1030 p.m. or 600 a.m. Ol' Maggie really
earned her money that year and I
admire her for not taking the phone off the hook
more often. I have heard
that Margaret has never tutored another student
since.
In the end I achieve my goal and was the only
student in my class to receive
an "A". That achievement sums up my
determination to meet a challenge and my
determination to meet a challenge is a main
reason that I want to pursue a
career in business management. I have dreams of
starting on the bottom rung
of a corporation that is struggling in the face
of global competition and
being integral to its resurgence. In my dream I
see myself becoming president
of that corporation and making it a dominant
force in the market place. This
is only a dream but I have no doubt that I will
someday accomplish it---
especially if someone tells me I am incapable of
doing so.
P.44
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2.
THE WRITER WAS ASKED TO RESPOND TO THE PROMPT
EXPLAIN WHY YOU HAVE
CHOSEN YOUR CAREER PATH
My friends just don't understand why I want to be
a social worker. One told me
matter of factly, "social workers don't make
diddly." while another said
"social workers have to talk to really creepy
people." Even though I know my
friends are entitled to their opinion, I just
don't see it their way.
Every since I was a child I got a sense of
accomplishment in helping others.
Some of my first memories are of the times I
would pretend my dog, Bowser, was
an injured car accident victim. I would spend
hours bandaging Bowser up and
healing his many "injuries". It got so whenever
I got near him he would run
off in terror. He had a whole different opinion
of my attempts to cure his
make believe ailments.
As I have matured, I have become increasingly
interested in the plight of the
poor and unfortunate. I have been actively
involved in church, school and
community charity programs. It is sort of family
joke but in church, when the
collection basket for the poor is passed, my dad
always pulls a paltry one
dollar bill out of his billfold. I always deftly
reach in and grab a ten or a
five out of his billfold and quickly place it in
the collection basket before
he has a chance to respond. My dad claims that
the reason he doesn't have a
fishing boat is because of my stealthy collection
basket antics. My retort is
that the world can probably do without another
fishing boat and it can surely
do without another starving child.
My conviction to help others as a social worker
is deep-seated and a part of
me. The time for making dogs "all better" and
rescuing funds from my father's
wallet on Sunday are through. I want to make
social work my life's work and
know my dedication and ability will make me very
good at this profession.
P.44
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THE WRITER RESPONDS TO THE PROMPT TELLS US ABOUT
YOUR
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
HANDS
My father has always said that I have "brain
surgeon hands," probably because
they're rather large with fingers so long and
thin that my school ring has to
be held on with making tape. Those who knew less
about my ambitions tend to
call them "basketball player hands." Of course
there is always that small
minority that persists in calling them "ballet
hands." (Although I danced for
nine years, I no longer harbor dreams of
Nutcrackers and Swan Lakes.) Under
it all, I am primarily a writer writing has
allowed me to express my thoughts
and ideas in every discipline, and in the words
of Carl Van Vechten, "An
author doesn't write with his mind, he writes
with his hands."
Often, when I have a free moment, I find myself
looking bemusedly at these
hands of mine, and reflecting on the many things
they have done. When I was a
child, these hands curled themselves around a
crayon to scrawl my first
letters they clutched at the handles of a
bicycle, refusing to trust my
training wheels they arched delicately over my
head in pirouettes and slid,
wriggling, into softball gloves. Later, they
held a pen ready to express all
the ideas and questions and answers that bloomed
in my mind. These hands once
plunged deep into the pinafore pockets of my
candy striping uniform, emerging
to write messages and lab orders, punch telephone
numbers, steady syringes--
all with growing ease and authority. They went
with me when I babysat to earn
pocket money and volunteered in my pediatrician's
office, and they touched
feverish foreheads and held smaller hands, trying
to comfort and cheer.
P.48
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They graduated to a white lab coat's pockets and
learned to inject mice and
create charts for lab data. They supported my
chin during late-night studies.
They hoisted my increasingly heavy knapsack to my
shoulders and toted it back
and forth to literary editing sessions, Spanish
dinners and council meetings.
They donned white gloves to ring handbells with
the Lambrequins, and twisted
nervously behind my back while I performed they
adjusted colored lights for
school performances and learned to pluck a
microphone from its stand with
apparent ease. They dissected pigs and worms and
cows, and thought they would
never be rid of the smell of formaldehyde, but
they survived. They endured
mouse bites, chlorinated water, chemical spills,
and poison ivy when they
needed to retreat, there was always a plush teddy
bear to cuddle.
Someday, these hands will grip forceps and
retractors, tense and slick they
will rake through my hair with fatigue as I sit
in library carrels studying
graphs and figures. Someday soon, they will hold
a daisy adorned diploma from
Lincoln School, and they will hold again, as they
have in the past, trophies
and book awards and certificates. I have
confidence that they will become the
hands of an M.D. with the power to heal and
comfort solemnly implicit, and I
have every hope that these hands will someday,
thrilled and proud, touch the
opened Van Wickle Gates of Brown University as
they enter.
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WRITER WAS ASKED TO RESPOND TO THE PROMPT ARE
THEIR ANY
SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR
ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE
REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON
I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls
and crushing ice. I have been
known to remodel train stations on my lunch
breaks, making them more efficient
in the area of heat retention. I translate
ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I
write award-winning operas, I manage time
efficiently. Occasionally, I tread
water for three days in a row. I woo women with
my sensuous and god-like
trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe
inclines with unflagging
speed, and I cook thirty-minute brownies in
twenty minutes. I am an expert in
stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.
Using only a hoe and a
large glass of water, I once single-handedley
defended a small village in the
Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants.
I play bluegrass cello. I
was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of
numerous documentaries. When I
am bored, I build large suspension bridges in my
yard. I enjoy urban hang
glidding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair
electrical appliances free of
charge. I am an abstract artist, a concrete
analyst, and a ruthless bookie.
Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of
curdoroy evening wear. I
don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I
receive fan mail. I have been
caller number nine and have won the weekend
passes. Last summer I toured New
Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force
demonstration. I bat .400. My deft
floral arrangements have earned me fame in
international botany circles.
Children trust me. I can hurl tennis rackets at
small moving objects with
deadly accuracy. I once read
Paradise Lost, Moby Dick,
and
David Copperfield
in one day and still had time to refurbish an
entire dining room that evening.
I know the exact location of every food item in
the supermarket.
P.51
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I have performed several covert operations for
the CIA. I sleep once a week
when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on
vacation in Canada, I
successfully negotiated with a group of terroists
who had seized a small
bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.
I balance, I weave, I dodge,
I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On
weekends, to let off steam, I
participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I
discovered the meaning of
life but forgot to write it down. I have made
extraordinary four-course meals
using only a fork and a toaster. I breed
prize-winning clams. I have won
bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions
in Sri Lanka, and spelling
bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I
have performed open-heart
surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis. But I
have not gone to college.
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