Get Free Cash for College : Secrets to Winning Scholarships

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9781617600050
• ISBN10: 1617600059
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2012-07-01
• Publisher: Supercollege, Llc

Summary

The secrets, tips, and strategies used by actual students to win millions of dollars in financial aid and scholarships are revealed in this completely revised guide for parents and high school, college, and graduate students. Every step of the scholarship process is examined, with advice on finding the right scholarships, crafting applications, writing exceptional essays, and asking the college for a financial aid reassessment. Profiles of scholarship judges give potential applicants insight into the scholarship selection process and the qualities that judges seek in selecting the winners. A fully updated scholarship directory contains the top 150 scholarships that anyone can win with awards worth more than $100 million; examples of winning scholarship applications, essays, and interview questions and answers are also included.

Author Biography

Gen Tanabe and Kelly Tanabe are the authors of 1001 Ways to Pay for College, Accepted! 50 Successful Business School Admission Essays, Accepted! 50 Successful College Admission Essays, Adult Students, Get Free Cash for College, Get into Any College, How to Write a Winning Scholarship Essay, and Sallie Mae How to Pay for College. They live in Belmont, California.

Table of Contents

How to Get Free Cash for College	p. 15
Scholarships are not just for superstars	p. 17
Why most scholarship books and websites can be so frustrating	p. 17
The mind-boggling cost of a good education	p. 19
Seven scholarship myths busted	p. 20
Advice from a scholarship judge: How we choose our scholarship winners	p. 23
What about Federal financial aid?	p. 24
The big disadvantage of Federal financial aid	p. 25
Scholarships: The real financial aid jackpots	p. 25
Scholarship competitions are not lotteries	p. 27
Find the Best Scholarships You Can Win	p. 29
Where to find the best scholarships	p. 30
Fantastic backyard scholarships	p. 31
Searching beyond your backyard	p. 36
Story from real life: Smaller is sometimes better	p. 36
Truly outrageous scholarships	p. 39
I have my big list of scholarships. Now what?	p. 41
How to choose scholarships you can win	p. 41
The magic number of scholarships	p. 45
Don't look for scholarships alone	p. 46
Avoid Scholarship Scams	p. 49
Scholarships that steal	p. 50
How to spot a scholarship scam	p. 50
Red flags that indicate a scam	p. 52
Story from real life: I lost $500 from a scholarship scam	p. 53
Get Organized and Maximize Your Time	p. 55
Saving time and effort with scholarships	p. 56
Prioritize the scholarships	p. 56
Schedule scholarships	p. 57
Have a monthly check-in	p. 58
Create a library of reusable materials	p. 58
Take advantage of your classes	p. 59
Think early about recommenders	p. 59
Make a checklist for each application	p. 59
The Packaging of You and Your Personal Theme	p. 61
Marketing yourself	p. 62
Learn why they're giving away the money	p. 62
Learn what they're basing their decision on	p. 64
Finding your theme and what to do/not to do	p. 64
Scholarship Judge Q&A	p. 75
A roundtable with the scholarship judges	p. 76
A national scholarship management organization	p. 76
An art and writing competition	p. 79
A music competition	p. 83
An essay-based competition	p. 85
A college that awards merit-based scholarships	p. 90
A scholarship that values overcoming adversity	p. 96
Create Stunning Scholarship Applications	p. 101
Scholarship applications: Your entry ticket	p. 102
Create your plan of attack	p. 102
General rules for completing the application	p. 104
Story from real life: How my support of legalizing marijuana cost me	p. 106
The five steps to crafting a winning application	p. 107
Use a little spin to wow your audience	p. 107
Stand out from the competition	p. 111
List important accomplishments first	p. 112
Write to impress	p. 113
Make sure the application fits	p. 117
Story from real life: My midnight scholarship application	p. 115
Top 10 application do's and don'ts	p. 118
Finishing touches	p. 119
The Scholarship Resume	p. 121
Scholarship resumes: One-page autobiographies	p. 122
Example resume	p. 124
Get the Right Recommendations	p. 127
Getting the praise of others	p. 128
Finding people to say nice things about you	p. 128
Give your recommender the chance to say "no"	p. 129
Don't play the name game	p. 130
Do the grunt work for your recommenders	p. 131
Give your recommenders a script	p. 131
Tie a string around your recommenders' fingers	p. 134
The "You can't spell success without U" mug	p. 134
Story from real life: Follow up or fall down	p. 135
Secrets to Writing Winning Essays	p. 137
The scholarship essay: Your ticket to the finals	p. 138
Six steps to writing a winning scholarship essay	p. 139
Find the right topic and approach	p. 139
Ensure that your topic and approach are original	p. 142
It's time to start writing	p. 144
Perfect your introduction and conclusion	p. 147
Find essay editors	p. 148
Recycle your essays	p. 149
Story from real life: How I beat writer's block	p. 141
Seven sins of the scholarship essay	p. 150
Putting what you learned into practice	p. 152
Story from real life: Essays in no time mean no money	p. 152
Ace the Interviews	p. 155
The face-to-face encounter	p. 156
Why human interaction is needed	p. 157
Interviewers are real people too	p. 157
Interview homework	p. 157
Use your detective work to create an advantage	p. 159
You are not the center of the universe	p. 159
Story from real life: The only thing in life that matters in calculus	p. 160
Look and sound the part	p. 162
The Practice interview	p. 163
Story from real life: Don't hate me because I'm beautiful and faultless	p. 164
Answers to the most common interview questions	p. 166
Questions for the questioner	p. 171
Use time to your advantage	p. 172
The long-distance interview	p. 172
The group interview	p. 173
The disaster interview	p. 174
The post-interview	p. 174
For more help	p. 175
Strategies for Specific Scholarships	p. 177
College cash from your hobbies and pastimes	p. 178
Awards based on your current or future major	p. 178
Scholarships for your future career	p. 180
Awards that recognize leadership	p. 182
Athletic scholarships	p. 183
Athletic organization awards	p. 185
Scholarships for public service	p. 186
Awards based on ethnic background	p. 188
Story from real life: My hobbies paid for college	p. 188
Religious scholarships	p. 189
Awards for hobbies	p. 189
Scholarships from your parents' employers	p. 190
Need-based scholarships	p. 191
Recurring themes	p. 192
Guaranteed Scholarships	p. 195
Do guaranteed scholarships really exist?	p. 196
National Merit scholarships	p. 196
GPA and exam-based scholarships	p. 197
Transfer student awards	p. 197
State entitlement awards	p. 198
In-state tuition for out-of-state students	p. 198
All it takes to win is to apply	p. 199
Unleash the Power of the Internet	p. 201
Opening the scholarship vault with the Internet	p. 202
Using the Internet to find scholarships	p. 202
Zap! Applying for scholarships online	p. 203
Our favorite free scholarship websites	p. 204
How to be an Internet private eye	p. 205
Be cautious of scams	p. 206
Financial Aid Workshop	p. 209
Getting the most financial aid your deserve	p. 210
The financial aid cornucopia	p. 211
Five steps to getting financial aid	p. 212
Fill out the FAFSA	p. 212
Review your Student Aid Report	p. 215
Make the college aware of special circumstances	p. 216
Compare award letters	p. 218
If you need it, ask for a re-evaluation	p. 219
Story from real life: I assumed I wouldn't get aid, but I was wrong	p. 214
A re-evaluation success story	p. 220
Exchanging one kind of money for another	p. 221
Declaring independence	p. 222
Strategies that can help you get more financial aid	p. 222
A quick word about saving for college	p. 225
The Federal financial aid programs in detail	p. 225
Federal Pell Grants	p. 226
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants	p. 226
Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant	p. 226
TEACH Grant Program	p. 227
Federal Work-Study	p. 227
Student loans	p. 228
Stafford Loans	p. 228
PLUS Loans for Graduate and Professional Degrees	p. 229
PLUS Loans	p. 229
Consolidation Loans	p. 230
Federal Perkins Loans	p. 231
Getting more help	p. 231
Free Cash for Graduate School	p. 235
The long and expensive path of graduate school	p. 236
Understanding graduate financial aid	p. 237
More than money	p. 238
It's all about academics	p. 238
Applications: Your stats sheet	p. 239
Recommendations: Getting professorial praise	p. 241
Essays: Getting personal	p. 242
Research grant proposals: Application heavies	p. 243
Interviews: Interaction with a purpose	p. 244
Get paid to step into a classroom or lab	p. 246
Keep your aid flowing	p. 246
Getting more help	p. 247
How to Keep the Money You Win	p. 251
You're there!	p. 252
Keeping the dollars that are yours	p. 252
Parting words	p. 253
A special request	p. 254
Winning Scholarship Essays and Applications	p. 257
Bet You Can't	p. 258
Public Service	p. 260
Cultural Heritage	p. 261
Only Two Hands	p. 264
The Gift	p. 267
Career Plans	p. 269
No Child Left Behind: Well-Intentioned but Flawed	p. 270
Shawn Smith	p. 274
Wilmer Wilson	p. 275
Directory. 150 Scholarships (Almost) Anyone Can Win	p. 277
About the Authors	p. 320
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