Scholarships
 

Does anyone have any ideas or sugestions for getting scholarships?
And does anyone have any input on claiming yourself when you are going through college for the first time?
Obviously it's real expensive and not everyone can just pay for it that easily... and I head about claiming myself... but I'm not sure it's such a great idea.

Thanks-

I would say two things would be important. <p>
First, do well on your SAT and emphasize any activities participated in high school or in the community.
Second, search for some sample letters, etc. online to touch up on any essay writing. You'll definitely want to have your intro letter or essay to look very polished.

Go on the website for the college you are going to. They will probably have a place where you can see scholorships offered. Also, ask the financial aid office there for info.

You can use something like Fastweb to find scholorships too.

You have to spend your whole high school career earning scholarships. If you get to college application time and you haven't done anything to make you look good, it may be already too late for scholarships. If that is the case, take out some student loans.

go to your college center. they will have lists and lists of all sorts of scholarships for you and proven ways of helping. the resource is there, just make an appointment or stop on in.

For those who have not planned ahead, here is the best option by far; community college.

And before anyone starts sneering, consider that community colleges are now regulated by the same governing and accreditation bodies as the "real" universities, and the first two years of college are identical no matter what you major in or where you go.

And community colleges have TONS of scholarships that they practically give away like candy.

And if your state is like most others, all courses taken at your local community college are transferable by law to any major public university within your state.

No sneering here. I went to community college. Definately a good value for the dollar.

Do very well on your SATs. Retake them as many times as you feel is needed. Don't be afraid to apply for scholarships that seem like a long shot. You can bet on others feeling the same way you do and not applying. There are millions if not billions of dollars that goes unclaimed every year. Another thing, stay very active in school. Community service is a big win right now for scholarships.

Oh and don't worry if you don't get alot now. You can keep applying for scholarships while in college. A month ago I sent in my scholarship packet for my uni. Hopfully I will pick up a few extra bucks. :D

I applied for a motherlode of scholarships; didn't get any of them. My best tip: don't get discouraged if you don't get any. There are loans out there.

My GPA in high school was 4.1
SATs were decent (around 1200 or so)
Excellent participation, etc.
Graduated 20th out of 201

Didn't get a damn thing. They look at your parent's income. My parents can be considered rich (but they don't share it) so I get nothing both ways.

There are scholarships out there for everything, various clubs that you may have participated in, sports, ethnic background (I got one from the Irish American Club in town), everything -- they may not offer a lot of money, and you will probably not get your entire education paid for, but 500 bucks will pay for books.

State schools, if you are an in state resident are a better bargain than private schools, programs like Teach for America and the like offer money for school for a short term committment after graduation. School loans aren't that hard to get, and you have 10 years after final graduation to pay them off.

Check with your guidance office (they still have those, right?), do some web searching. Don't get sucked into the places that charge you money to find you scholarships, you shouldn't have to pay for that assistance. Check with the schools that you want to apply to.