Qualifying For Scholarships And
Grants… Let The Truth Be Told
There is a great misunderstanding when it comes to receiving scholarships or
grants to help pay for post-secondary educational expenses. There are several
groups and individuals across the United States professing to show families how
to receive thousands of dollars in scholarships.
Many of these scholarship professionals were able to receive scholarship dollars
while in college and are now using their success of getting scholarships to sell
their books, CD, and seminars. However, they are not telling the REAL story on
how they were able to amass thousands of dollars in free money. I am not
saying the information they are provided is not true, however the way they
publicize their books, CD, and seminars are giving many families false hope and
is very misleading. I will explain this further in this e-book.
One nationally known individual is Ben Kaplan. Ben Kaplan won more than two
dozen scholarships -- amassing nearly $90,000 in unrestricted college cash for
use at any school. In 1999, he graduated from Harvard debt-free, with virtually
the entire cost of his education covered by his scholarship winnings.
Mr. Kaplan is the author of How to Go to College Almost for Free and
Scholarship Seeker’s Toolbox -- the three books forming an essential payingfor-college trilogy for students of all ages. Kaplan has also written numerous
articles on winning scholarships, including columns for The New York Times
and U.S. News & World Report, that have been syndicated in publications
nationwide. He has been featured on hundreds of television and radio programs,
including appearances on Oprah, NBC, CBS, and National Public Radio.
Gen and Kelly Tanabe are also know nationally. The Ultimate Scholarship
Book 2012, professes to be the #1 bestselling scholarship guide in the United
States. Gen and Kelly are the award-winning authors of several books on paying
for college, including 1001 Ways to Pay for College. Together they were
accepted to all of the Ivy League colleges and won more than $100,000 in meritbased scholarships to graduate from Harvard debt-free. They tour nationally
speaking about college planning and have served as expert sources for USA
Today, the New York Times, CNN, and U.S. News & World Report.
They have also authored several other books on paying for college. They live in
Belmont, California.
Based on Mr. Kaplan’s and Gen and Kelly Tanabe’s information given on their
websites and bios, they seem to leave out how they were able to obtain such
large amount of scholarships (other than apply, apply, apply).
Neither author mentions what their High School GPAs were nor do they
mention what they scored on their ACT/SAT test. Neither gives any
financial and background information on their parents.
I DO NOT want to give you the impression the information in their publications is
not helpful. What I am trying to say is the information they are providing is giving
hundreds or even thousands of families FALSE hope in obtaining scholarships
and grants.
Millions of families want and many depend on scholarships and grants to help
fund their college education.
According to the College Board, Over $90 billion in grants was made available to
college students to help cover educational costs during the 2010-2011 school
year. Some of these dollars came from the federal/state governments, colleges,
corporations and other private entities. However, most of these dollars are given
out based on NEED of the student.
I wonder if Ben Kaplan had a financial need to attend Harvard? I am assuming
Gen and Kelly Tanabe got most of their scholarships based on merit, which is
mentioned in their bios, (together they were accepted to all of the Ivy League
colleges and won more than $100,000 in merit-based scholarships to graduate
from Harvard debt-free). Their scholarships DID NOT come from Harvard,
because Ivy League colleges DO NOT give out merit-based scholarships.
Many scholarships are given out based on Merit, but most of the dollars given out
by the federal/state and colleges are based on NEED. This is where families are
getting confused and are mislead about how scholarships and grants are
awarded.
Let’s look at a few FACTS… What is a scholarship/grant?
According to the IRS…
A scholarship/grant is generally an amount of money paid or allowed to, or
for the benefit of a student at an educational institution to aid in the pursuit
of studies. The student may be either an undergraduate or a graduate
student.
As I have mentioned earlier, there are millions of dollars in scholarships given out
each year. However, most families assumes or are told, there are millions of
dollars in scholarships going unclaimed each year. This myth has been
circulating for years and in most part UNTRUE!
Most unclaimed scholarships are coming from IRS code Section 127 –
educational assistance programs provided by an employer to an employee for
job-related or non-job-related courses (except those related to sports, games,
or hobbies). The employer can provide up to $5,250 a year and the benefit may
be excluded from the employees’ gross income. If the employee DOES NOT
take advantage of this benefit the scholarship goes unclaimed.
Ninety Nine (99%) of all the scholarships are awarded from the federal/state
governments and colleges. That only leaves 1% coming from other sources
(such as educational assistance programs, small awards from churches, clubs,
business groups and off-the- wall scholarships and grants).
Since most scholarships and grants are given out by colleges, federal and state
governments based on need, how does a student qualify for scholarship funds if
they DO NOT have a financial need?
The answer to this question is qualifying for MERIT scholarships.
Students that are given scholarship monies based on merit, do not have to show
financial need. Therefore, merit scholarships are given to students that show
academic excellent, exceptional talent (drama, music, art, etc) or shows athletic
ability to compete at the post-secondary level.
UNDERSTANDING HOW SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AWARD
First, state supported college DO NOT have a substantial amount of scholarship
dollars available for merit scholarships, (excluding athletic scholarships). Most
scholarships and grants that are given out by state supported colleges come in
the form of NEED. These dollars are drawn from the Federal and State
governmental entities.
That is not to say scholarship dollars are not available to high academic students.
There maybe dollars available from special scholarships funds that were
established from past alumni or major contributors of the college.
Second, private colleges play a different game. Normally private colleges cost
two to three times more than state supported colleges. The reason for this is, the
private college receive little or no financial support from state governments.
Therefore they have to charge more for the education. Since the cost is higher to
attend a private college or university, a family that DID NOT show a financial
need at a public college, may qualify for need-based aid at a private college,
because of the higher cost.
Another factor that needs to be taken into consideration when dealing with
private colleges is, they need to compete with state colleges for students.
Therefore, to entice students to attend private colleges, many (if not most, except
Ivy League colleges) will normally offer what I call College Incentive
Scholarships.
College Incentive Scholarships are awards that are given to students from the
college’s own resources. However, in most situations it is not REAL money.
These scholarships are normally a reduction or discount in the cost of attending.
Most colleges will refute what you just read.
However, I have seen and been told personally that discounting the cost of
attending a private college is very common. The amount of the scholarship will
vary and depends on several factors.
Third, out-side scholarships are given out based on competition (essays, etc) or
comparing students to students based on academic and/or need standpoints
among students that are applying. The scholarships may be given out based on
community involvement or extracurricular activities. Some scholarships are
given out to student that have parents that are involved in a club or group (union,
VFW, Rotary, churches, etc.). One thing to keep in mind is that most of the outside scholarships are given out based on a combination of NEED and MERIT.
Let me be as clear and truthful as possible.
Students and their parents have NO control over whether or not they will receive
any form of financial aid and this includes getting scholarships and grants.
Anyone telling you differently is not being honest.
The only person controlling whether or not the student will receive financial aid
and/or scholarships/grants is the FINANCIAL AID OFFICER at a college. This is
true even IF the student qualifies for financial assistance.
Now, what can the student do to increase their possibility of receiving a
scholarship/grant.
GPA - Keep the student’s GPA above 3.0 (taking advanced courses when
available) all the way through high school.
Get Involved - Student should get involved in extracurricular activities in and out
of the high school environment
Get Organized - Learning organizational skills will make studying and learning
much easier.
Start Looking Early - Student should start looking at potential colleges as early
as the sophomore year in high school. Things to consider are academic
programs, social atmosphere, location, student body, etc. In other words select
colleges that are a right fit for the student.
ACT/SAT - Scoring high on either of these two tests are very important when it
comes to getting admitted into the student’s selected college, as well as
positioning the student for scholarships.
IMPORTANCE OF GPA AND ACT/SAT TEST SCORES
Before I conclude this publication, I want to cover the importance of a student’s
GPA and ACT/SAT test scores in relation to getting a scholarship.
Students that just take the core curriculum in high school just to get a high GPA
is a big mistake. College are looking for high academic students to give
scholarships to. In many situations a student with a 3.0 GPA that has taken
several AP courses may be offered a merit scholarship over a student that has a
4.0 GPA that just took core high school course.
How about ACT/SAT test scores?
According to the ACT, Inc., the ACT, originally abbreviation of American
College Testing) is a standardized test for high school achievement and
college admissions in the United States. It was first administered in 1959 to
compete with the College Board’s Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Many
students that perform poorly on the SAT find they score better on the ACT. The
ACT test has historically consisted of four tests: English, Math, Reading, and
Science reasoning. In February 2005, an optional writing test was added to the
ACT, mirroring changes to the SAT that took place later in March of the same
year. All four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. accept the ACT, but
different institutions place different emphases on standardized tests such as the
ACT, compared to other factors of evaluation such as class rank, GPA and
extracurricular activities.
ACT, Inc. says that the ACT assessment measures high school students'
general educational development and their capability to complete collegelevel work. ACT, Inc., states that its scores provide an indicator of "college
readiness", and that scores in each of the subtests correspond to skills in entrylevel college courses in English, algebra, social science, humanities, and biology.
According to the College Board, the SAT Reasoning Test (formerly Scholastic
Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test) is a standardized admission
test for college admissions in the United States. The College Board developed
the SAT and the Educational Testing Service administers the exams. The
College Board claims that the SAT can determine whether or not a person is
ready for college. The current SAT Reasoning Test takes three hours and forty-
five minutes and costs $45 ($71 International), excluding late fees. Since the
SAT's introduction in 1901, its name and scoring has changed several times. In
2005, the test was renamed to the "SAT Reasoning Test" with possible scores
from 600 to 2400 combining test results from three 800-point sections (math,
critical reading, and writing), along with other subsections scored separately.
The College Board states that the SAT measures literacy, numeracy, and
writing skills that are needed for academic success in college. They state
that the SAT assesses how well the test takers analyze and solve
problems—skills they learned in school that they will need in college.
The SAT is typically taken by high school juniors and seniors. Specifically, the
College Board states that use of the SAT in combination with high school
grade point average (GPA) provides a better indicator of success in college
than high school grades alone, as measured by college freshman GPA.
Various studies conducted over the lifetime of the SAT show a statistically
significant increase in correlation of high school grades and freshman grades
when the SAT is factored in.
Colleges and Universities are looking to attract high academic qualified students.
The higher the academic quality of the student, the more colleges are willing to
provide scholarships.
For Example: If you were a college administrator, which one of these students
would you give a scholarship to:
Student A had a GPA of 3.2 (with AP courses) and scored a 32 on the ACT
(2110 to 2180 score on the SAT).
Student B had a GPA of 4.0 (core courses no AP) and scored a 21 on the
ACT (1470 to 1520 score on the SAT).
Since Student A showed a much higher college readiness (even with a lower
GPA) they would be the one college administrators would be willing to give
scholarship monies to. College administrators know that Student A has a much
higher chance of graduating from college than Student B. Therefore, they are
more willing to invest into the students college education by providing a
scholarship.
Conclusion
If the student will not qualify for need-based scholarships or grants, the best way
to obtain a scholarship is to make sure the student selects a college in which the
student is in the top 25% (academically) of all admitted students, are involved in
extracurricular activities, obtain a minimum of a 3.0 GPA (with advanced
courses) and score a minimum of 28 on the ACT or 1860 to 1910 on the SAT.
Also remember, the only person that can dictate whether or not a scholarship
could be earned, based on merit, is the STUDENT - Period!
Should families purchase scholarship books, CD, etc.? It all depends on the
family. I am sure they are special techniques that students may learn from
publications that they are not aware of, that could be helpful. However,
seasoned high school guidance counselors could provide the same information.
There are also a lot of FREE scholarship information available (state, federal and
colleges) through the high school guidance counselors office as well.
MOST SCHOLARSHIPS ARE GIVEN OUT BASED ON NEED! Unless you are
a low income family or a middle-income family that has an average student that
will be attending a high price private college – don’t expect to receive ANY
scholarships base on need.
However, if you have a high academic student, high talented student (drama,
art, music, etc.), or a student the has the ability to play college athletics, you
could be lucky like Ben Kaplan or Gen and Kelly Tanabe and receive
thousands of scholarship dollars that can be used to pay for your student’s
Harvard education.