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Originally Posted by TX76513
There are ton's of small scholarships that she could clean up on from organizations you might have connections with, trade groups, fraternal organizations, churches, etc. We even picked up $500 from our bank. Usually the essay requirements are pretty much the same - How will this scholarship help me to be a (fill in blank) and once an essays is written it can be duplicated or slightly changed to fit the exact topic. Your competition is in the big $$ scholarships, but fairly easy to load up on the smaller ones. One note - this is really something she should have started in her Junior year.
The best ones are unrestricted meaning the money can be spent on anything connected with college.
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Her HS guidance office or counselor should have a list of local organizations and businesses that offer scholarships. Remember, these local small scholarships are usually paid after the fact and require gpa verification,etc.
Some years ago, I was treasurer of a local service organization, and I reviewed a number of applications for ours, which was 500.00 per year for 2 years. Basically, I made the call, and I looked at family income, student acheivement and cost of college, weighted in favor of need.
Our process was to collect the applications by say February 28th of the senior year and let the school know the winner(s) by June 1, and they informed the student and announced it at graduation.
One of my daughters picked up 1,000 from this organization. My other daughter picked up 1,000 from the local Realtor association.
The largest grants generally come from federal and state programs (e.g. Pell grants) and from grants & scholarships from the school itself.
It sounds like your daughter would be highly sought after. One indication of that would be how many mailings she received from top schools in her junior year.
Sticker prices generally don't mean a whole lot. If she has a handle on where she wants to go, consider early acceptance. Some schools will adjust cost downward if you commit to early acceptance.
Public is cheaper than private.
In state is cheaper than out of state.
Don't overlook combining the two! (see below)
Some years ago I met a fellow who was then with XXXX, a national accounting firm at a Harley Owners Group event. He was a CPA and an attorney. He had gone two years to a state university, then transferred to Boston College for his last two years, so he picked up a "pedigree" degree on the cheap. Got hired by XXXX and they sent him to law school at NYU. No cost to him. No long term employment committment either, according to him.
Good luck to you and your daughter.
