We found this article very informative, as with most suggestions around funding your college education you need to start early!
Finding and applying for scholarships while simultaneously completing high school coursework can be extremely stressful and overwhelming for the average 18 year old. Parental guidance and collegecounseling can not only help alleviate some of that stress but can also increase the likelihood of students being accepted to and enrolling in college.
Parents and counselors can be most effective throughout the process by serving as a rich resource rather than by forcing their opinion on students. That means ensuring students stick to the basics: applying early, completing student profiles, meeting deadlines and having proper documents available.
Here are some helpful ways in which parents and counselors can be the best resources for college-bound students.
1. Start early: Better late than never may work in some instances but not when it comes to applying for scholarships. In fact, the complete opposite is encouraged.
Students can begin competing for scholarships early by identifying their key interests and skills. Parents and counselors can assist by sitting down with students and creating profiles that highlight the students’ strong points. They can then assist the students in locating scholarship opportunities that are most aligned with the students’ individual profiles.
Parents and counselors can then help benchmark students’ progress to make sure they are on track to meet scholarship requirements. Think of this as creating a resume for a scholarship. By researching scholarships early, even high school freshmen and sophomores can take the necessary courses, earn the requisite GPA and participate in the appropriate sports and extracurricular activities to help strengthen their scholarship resume and increase their chances of securing scholarships.
Some scholarships are open to students who demonstrate an early commitment to a specific cause or activity. For example, patriotic students in ninth through 12th grade can earn up to $30,000 through theVFW Voice of Democracy Competition by recording an audio essay on the theme “My Responsibility to America.” The My Preparedness Story: Staying Healthy and Resilient Video Challenge, which is open to students ages 14-23, requires students to be active in their community and social circles, particularly regarding preparation for disasters and emergencies.
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Source: US News and World Report