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Private Scholarships
When searching for sources of information in paying for college, start with the Education Resource Center – Scholarships, Grants and Loans Reference List. There's also an Education Resource Center guide to Web sources as well.
The public library and Internet are also excellent sources of information on state and private sources of financial aid. Don’t forget that many companies, as well as labor unions, have programs to help pay the cost of postsecondary education for employees, members, or their children. Many businesses and corporations offer scholarships or loans to employees' children or to students who live in the community where the company is located. Others offer aid to students majoring in fields related to the company's products or interests. Company personnel offices have application information.
Be sure to check national foundations, religious organizations, fraternities or sororities, and town or city clubs. Include community organizations and civic groups such as the American Legion, YMCA, 4-H Club, Elks, Kiwanis, Jaycees, and the Girl or Boy Scouts.
Don't overlook aid from organizations connected with a particular field of interest. Libraries have directories of scholarships offered by professional, career and trade associations in your future career or field of study. Also, ask your art or
science teachers, coaches, or bandmaster about schools looking for students with your talents. Leads may also be found listed in magazines related to your special interests or skills.
And last but not least, don’t forget support from family and friends including grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins as well as godparents and older siblings. Some families make a pack to pool monies to assist in paying for the college education of every child in the extended family. Students that benefit from the cooperative support upon graduation join their family pack and contribute money into the family fund, which goes toward assisting the younger members of the family who attend college. Family education investment packs then become a growing inter-generational education resource due to growing participation.
National Merit Scholarships
The Merit Scholarship Corporation is an independent, nonprofit organization that awards about 5,000 scholarships each year. Students compete on the basis of test scores, academic and extracurricular achievements, and school recommendations. Taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test
(PSAT/NMSQT) in the fall of the junior year in high school will enter a student in the competition. Students should meet with their high school counselor to find out more.
A Word of Caution About Scholarship Search Companies
You may receive information from scholarship companies offering to locate unused scholarships for a fee. Be very cautious about sending money to organizations making generous scholarship promises and advertising that large amounts of financial aid go unused.
Many are scams, although there are legitimate companies that offer access to a list of scholarships for a fee. Others charge a fee to compare your profile with a database of scholarship opportunities. The difference between legitimate companies and frauds are that legitimate firms never guarantee or promise scholarships or grants. Make sure that you have exhausted all the free resources first before considering a scholarship search company.
Community Service
AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is a national and community service program created by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 and administered by the Corporation of National Service. For each year of full time service in the program, participants will receive education awards to help finance their postsecondary education or pay back their student loans.
Serving full-time, usually for a term lasting 10 months to one year, you can be eligible for an educational award of up to $4,725. If you work part-time, you may be eligible for a partial award. For more information, visit
www.americorps.org and www.cns.gov.
Learn & Serve America
This national service grant program combines school curriculum and community service. Grants are used to create new programs or provide training and development to staff, faculty, and volunteers. For more details, visit the
Corporation for National Service.
The Armed Forces
The U.S. Armed Forces offer educational benefits. All branches provide tuition assistance for college courses taken while on active duty under the Montgomery GI bill.
In addition, the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps provide tuition assistance above what you may earn through the Montgomery GI bill. In some programs, you receive an education first in exchange for a service commitment. The Army and Navy also have programs that allow you to accumulate up to $50,000 for an education while completing an initial enlistment period; up to $30,000 if you're in the Marine Corps. The Army also offers loan repayment up to $65,000. For more information, contact your local Armed Forces recruiting office, or 1.800.USA.NAVY, 1-800-MARINES, and 1-800-522-0033, ex. 2091 for the
Air Force.
In the Army Reserve, you can earn up to $29,000 for college and up to $20,000 in loan repayment assistance while you’re going to college in exchange for committing one weekend a month and two weeks a year to training. All branches also offer
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarships that pay tuition, fees, and sometimes a living allowance, in exchange for a service commitment. To learn more, call 1.800.USA.ROTC - visit
www.armyrotc.com
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