College scholarship ideas/advice?

[clintbailey]

Anyone on here have tips, pointers, tricks, etc on scholarships for soon to be graduating kiddos? I may be a SOB for it, but I have long told my kids that I won't foot their college bills, that they're smart enough to A) figure out a path that will pay for itself, and B) find most of the money needed with their grades. I have worked with guys that stayed working until 70 because they drained their retirement funds so their kids could go to a certain university/college due to the name alone...I aint that guy!

Anyways, I know in today's world full of scams and sh**ty people, I'm sure there are multiple scams for kids looking for college $$. I would love some advice on what to avoid, or at least good resources on where to go for them. TIA, hope everyone is having a good weekend!

 

[jackary]

Their school counselor should have resources along those lines. I know there were some websites that had links to multiple scholarship applications when I graduated high school. Some were just apply some required an essay or other requirements. Depending on degree program there may be some degree specific ones that they can apply for. I was given some scholarship info when I went to enroll for my first semester of college by my faculty advisor.

 

[TinkerTanker]

The VFW has one going on right now for kids in grade 9-12. What's your kiddo into? Goals? Major?

Scholarship.com is pretty good, also Unigo. Both sites will send you spam too so make sure to use a throwaway email address.

My biggest tip is to apply for scholarships that they DO NOT QUALIFY for. Some of the stupid ones are so tight in requirements that often NO ONE APPLIES and your kid will win by default.

Have a good essay that they made themselves set aside. Then change that essay to fit whatever the scholarship is asking for.

Best of luck. You can also just lie on the FAFSA like everyone else and get a full ride.

 

[hunter966]

If your kids are planning on getting into something ag related and they’re planning on going to OSU, check with your local conservation office or call the Ok. Conservation Commission as they have scholarships available.

 

[Okie4570]

4.0gpa and higher, ACT 32 or higher will pay for most of it at the majority of universities and colleges.

Depending on their end goal, a major university may not offer any more that a small university.

When applying, scholarship organizations drool over community service and involvement. If their school counselor is worth anything he/she should have dozen and dozens of scholarships to apply for.

Work/study at a university will pay for a ton of expenses.

Work 20hrs a week at Starbucks....they will pay for it all if they enroll at Arizona State, 50+ degrees available and the best part is that it's legit. Folks can cuss Starbucks all they want, but their goal is to pay for 25k graduates by 2025.

How old are they, are they athletes?

 

[1911Sooner]

Yes what grade are they in? My daughter took concurrent classes her Junior and Senior years of high school. Those classes apply toward college credits. So she had a year of college knocked out by the time she got there which saved a ton of $$. She also got an academic scholarship to SWOSU and had very little debt by the time she graduated.

 

[Chuckie]

Anyone on here have tips, pointers, tricks, etc on scholarships for soon to be graduating kiddos? I may be a SOB for it, but I have long told my kids that I won't foot their college bills, that they're smart enough to A) figure out a path that will pay for itself, and B) find most of the money needed with their grades. I have worked with guys that stayed working until 70 because they drained their retirement funds so their kids could go to a certain university/college due to the name alone...I aint that guy!

Anyways, I know in today's world full of scams and sh**ty people, I'm sure there are multiple scams for kids looking for college $$. I would love some advice on what to avoid, or at least good resources on where to go for them. TIA, hope everyone is having a good weekend!

There are several online sources that list the different types of scholarships and grants available, who qualifies for them, any caveats, and how to apply:

Scholarships - List of College Scholarships and Applications

Scholarships - Finding Scholarships has never been easier. Scholarship Applications for college, engineering, high school, nursing, and first year students are all available. The value and deadlines for each scholarship are found ...

studentscholarships.org

Freshman Scholarships - Oklahoma State University

Overview of freshman scholarships at Oklahoma State University.

go.okstate.edu

OKcollegestart - Scholarships

College advice, college admission applications, pay for college, financial aid, scholarships, apply online for admission, online applications at Xap.

www.okcollegestart.org

https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Training/find-scholarships.aspx

To name a few.

In addition, the local library also may have reference information (lists/books) on available scholarships. And of course there is also the military and major-corporation funded programs, as well as employer paid/reimbursement educations pathways and internships.

 

[clintbailey]

Thanks all so far! Daughter is a junior this year, son is a sophomore. They both pretty well carry 4.0 gpa, she took the ACT last year (10th grade) and made a 24 IIRC. And the bad news, their school is so small they don't have a counselor (great school otherwise).

 

[j99tc88]

Is there a technology center close by. I taught after military retirement for 22 years at one, high school students spent half their school day with us. Most all of our courses had college credit for a two year school. Basically if they took an accredited course and did well they would only need maybe one semester to get an associates degree. Pretty good deal, and they do have councilor’s to help with future education ideas

 

[Uncle TK]

First Step fill out FAFSA application

FAFSA - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I cannot find link at this time for application