$47 billion in college aid

Ebony, June, 1996 by Lisa Jones Townsel

The good news for parents and students is that almost $47 billion in scholarships and grants was available last year from federal, state and institutional sources and that billions more were provided by private donors and corporate sources. The not-so-good news is that an increasingly large percentage of the federal aid is available only in the form of loans that have to be paid back, a disturbing trend that is not likely to change any time soon.

Despite these and other problems, scholarship funds are still plentiful. In fact, according to the National Scholarship Research Service in Santa Rosa, Calif., more than $2 billion in private money lay unclaimed last year.

Those interested in getting a piece of the college money pie-in any form--should start their search early, high school and college officials say. A concerted effort on the part of both parents and students, they say, tends to render the best results.

Although some parents may not have the opportunity to plan a financial strategy while their children are in diapers, experts say they will be sorry if they don't begin to save until their children graduate from high school. Putting away as little $25 or as much as $100 a month early on, experts say, can add up. But with college tuition rising at about 6 percent annually and campus room and board expenses not trailing far behind, not even that is expected to put a significant dent in the total cost of a college education.

College-bound students can help their own cause by conferring with their high school guidance counselors as early as their freshman year for leads on various financial aid opportunities, including scholarships. Their first step will be to fill out the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to assess how much their families are able to contribute toward their college education.

Students are also urged to go to local public libraries and dig, dig, dig for college cost-busters, which can be found in the many volumes on scholarships, grants, fellowships and more.

Who is more likely to get their hands on these lucrative dollars? At one time, scholarship recipients were judged only on the basis of high grade-point averages and exceptional test scores. A strong academic record continues to catch the eye of scholarship judges. But today, many other factors are considered, including applicants' active involvement in their communities. The bottom line is that good grades plus proven leadership equal an almost surefire formula for success in the scholarship market.

"Young people should understand that most scholarships are for exactly what [the word suggests]: scholarship," says Rebecca Bennett, assistant educational services director for the United Negro College Fund, which provided more than $1.7 million in scholarships last year. "Donors are looking for those students who, they think, will achieve highly during their college years."

But beware, Bennett says. Errors and sloppy mistakes can rob you of valuable college cash. "The primary problem I've run across," says B. Dundee Holt, vice president of program development and management for the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, "is that the scholarship application isn't always complete. It isn't always together. Students really need to make sure that everything that we ask for is in the packet. If we request two letters of recommendation, there have to be two letters of recommendation."

Holt says students should approach the scholarship application process the same way they approach a job interview or even a job. Says Holt: "You don't want to do anything that's going to take away from someone seeing how good you are."

Students can stay ahead of the competition, Holt adds, by following a few elementary steps. First of all, he says, students should choose classes wisely now to ensure greater opportunities in the future. "[Students should] take courses that allow them to make choices. We're particularly concerned that students not opt out of math and science classes," he says. "If you persist through algebra, geometry and calculus, the whole world is open to you. You can choose to become a premed student or an engineering or English major. But if you opt out and don't go beyond pre-algebra, that cuts you off from pursuing technical fields where there is a lot of growth. That's the most important thing to us, that a student really persists."

Persistence and self-confidence will enable students to find the money they need to finance their college education, Holt and others say. And college cash can be found just about anywhere. Some churches dole it out. Fraternal organizations also give away cash. In exchange for committed service, even the military offers handsome sums, as do many colleges and universities. So check with military recruiters or the college of your choice for more details.

Students should also look for scholarships off the beaten path. Surprisingly, scholarship dollars are available to students who live in certain cities, who are left-handed, who were born on certain dates or who have particular last names. Although these offbeat finds make up a small fraction of all the available college cash, they, too, experts say, are worth exploring.