2.04.2012

Financial Literacy 101 - Scholarships!

I'm a broke college student. Tuition at the UC's run up to $4000 a quarter for a estimated total of $13000 a year including fees :(  The number of students graduating with a debt from loans is frightening.  Some debts can go up to $15000.

So one Saturday, I went to the UCLA CCCP Financial Literacy workshop and learned that there is help out there, and more importantly, that there is something I can do about it. Here was the agenda for the day:

Workshop 1: Scholarship Tips

Workshop 2: Financial Literacy

Workshop 3: Employment Strategies

Workshop 1: Scholarship Tips
Our first workshop began with a presenter from the UCLA Scholarship Resource Center, and she offered some incredibly helpful tips about the scholarship process.

Tips!

  1. Most scholarships range from $500 to $5000
  2. The deadline for scholarships usually begin in September and ends sometime in April or May.  It's very unusual for scholarships to be due in the summer.
  3. The application is very important, in that it provides a wealth of information about eligibility, deadlines, award. So it's worth your time to peruse the application thoroughly.
  4. Meet all the criteria.  Otherwise, your scholarship application will not be considered :(
  5. The scholarship application is a process. It starts with applicant, candidate, hopefully a finalist, then miraculously, a recipient! :)
  6. Renewable? A lot of scholarship recipients have lost out on a chance for more aid by not checking that they are eligible for a renewable scholarship.
  7. Be diverse! Look for scholarships within scholarship books and references, online search services, and search engines.  And do not be afraid to go out into your community to local organizations and businesses, which brings me to the next tip...
  8. Go into your community! Some organizations and businesses might be looking to begin a scholarship program.
  9. Start your search at your school.  Look into campus departments, offices, programs

Unfortunately, a lot of people want to capitalize on students' fear about financial aid, so take a look at this article to be aware of some of those scholarship scams.


If you find yourself facing an essay question that's too broad, I hope this article helps :)



Next Posts:
Workshop 2: Financial Literacy
Workshop 3: Employment Strategies

2 comments:

  1. My son is a sophomore in high school, so I am just trying to figure this stuff out. Thanks for the information, it really helped:)
    Tracie
    crackyouwhip.com

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    Replies
    1. Great! I'm really glad it helped :) and it's cool that you're helping your son out so early. Really, the earlier the scholarship search the better. Bon chance!

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