Finding scholarships - Marylhurst Univ 201100119 2

FINDING SCHOLARSHIPSSusan M. Shogren

Financial Aid Professional and Training Consultant

Overview

Begin with the end in mind

Your scholarship profile

Application strategies

Searching for scholarships

Questions

Begin with the end in mind

Where would your scholarship come from?

Foundations and other nonprofits

Community organizations

Private donors

Colleges

State agencies

Federal government

OSAC (www.GetCollegeFunds.org)

Sample OSAC Scholarship #306

Sample OSAC Scholarship #242

Create your own scholarship!

How much will you give each student?

What criteria will they have to meet?

How will they have to apply?

Activity

Your scholarship profile

Assess your assets

Academic strength

Specialized talents

Involvement in activities

Community service

Leadership

Life lessons

Financial need

Heritage

Interests

Talents

Experiences

Realizations

Plans

What’s unique about you?

Application Strategies

Essay = opportunity

Demonstrate that you’re their best investment

Boil your primary point down to one sentence

Expand on key points with specific examples

Use an outline to provide structure

Share at least one breakout idea

Create a story, not a laundry list

Write thoughtfully, not stream of consciousness

Speak to your passion and it will shine through!

What do they want from you?

Application

Resume

Activities chart

Academic transcript

Test scores

Work samples

Essays

Letters of

recommendation

FAFSA or financial

need statement

Interview

What NOT to do

Miss the application deadline

Fail to follow the instructions

Provide more than they ask for

Exaggerate or lie

Forget to proofread

Recycle carelessly

Seem too casual

Have an unprofessional web-presence

Searching for scholarships

Research your opportunities

Financial Aid Office staff

Academic department

Employers

Local organizations

State agencies

Online resources

Proceed with caution

Use only free sources

Protect your personal identifiers

Watch out for scams and data mining

If you’re not sure, research it further

If you’re still not sure, don’t apply

Resources

Federal …………………… www.studentaid.ed.gov

State …………………… www.GetCollegeFunds.org

Local ………………………… www.nela.net/centers

or www.thecollegeplace.com

Independent ………………………… www.finaid.org

Free search service ………… www.FastWeb.com

Persistence pays off

“It’s always better to spend time on one

quality application than to throw out five

that aren’t so great.”

Be a scholarship detective

Don’t throw back the little ones

Consider this a long-term project

Be sure to say “thank you”

Questions and Discussion

What else would you like to know?

Are you inclined to modify the scholarship you

created?

Thank you!

Susan M. Shogren

Financial Aid Training Consultant

smshogren@gmail.com

503.504.0205