College Funds

New Address

2007-11-26T16:03:00.000-08:00

Thanks for stopping by. This blog has moved. It can now be viewed here.

If you have this one bookmarked, please change the address as I will no longer be posting here, but at the other site. The change will help me link the scholarship blog to my website once it's up and running.

http://roadtoscholarships.wordpress.com/

Scholarship for freshmen

2007-10-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Students who aren't seniors can apply for scholarships. These scholarships are generally essay contests, but the winner's receive money for which can be saved and used for college expenses. Sometimes the payment is in the form of a savings bond. The full value of the bond sometimes isn't realized for up to three years, about the time a student is paying college costs.

One essay contest open to all high school classes (freshmen-senior) is the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage essay . The winner of this award receives $5,000, there are also $1000 and $500 awards. Plus, a teacher of the winner receives an award to be used for school projects.

As in everything there are specific rules and regulations pertaining to this contest. It's important students read and follow all the rules carefully. The website also publishes previous winner's essays. Reading these will help current applicants. First, to get an idea of the type of essay they are looking for. Second, essays about previous subjects aren't allowed, so you want to make sure you aren't writing about someone who has already been profiled.

The deadline for this year's contest is January 12, 2008.

Scholarship Myths

2007-10-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

There are always a few questions and misconceptions about scholarships. Here are a few of the more common myths.

1. I have to be poverty level poor to receive a scholarship. No, there are many scholarships that don't consider income at all. All though, it is important you apply complete the FAFSA application. Some scholarships require that be completed even though income isn't a factor in their decision.

2. I must be a straight A- honor student to receive a scholarship. No. The better your grades are, the better chance you have to receive multipule scholarships. However, good grades alone will not assure you a scholarship.

3. There's no point in applying for scholarships with a low monetary award. Why? Why limit your potential? It is important to consider the time and effort to apply for a low-paying scholarship. You don't want to spend hours crafting an essay for a $50 scholarship. On the other hand, if all that's required is a completed application, why not apply? You have all of that information available, including letters of recommendation. So, you stand to receive $50 for fifteen minutes of time, sounds like a good trade-off.

4. I don't need to worry about grades, I'm going to get an athletic scholarship You may very well receive an athletic scholarship, good deal. Chances are it won't be enough to pay for your entire college career. You're still going to need the academic scholarships. Also, if you don't do the work to qualify for academic scholarships, how are you going to be able to do college work and participate in your sport. Plan on applying and receiving all types of scholarships, you'll be further ahead.

5. I can't get a scholarship if I'm going to an out-of- state college Why? You probably can't get any of your state scholarships, since they are designed to keep the smart students in their states. But, there are a myriad of other scholarships available. These private scholarships don't care where you attend college, where you attended high school, they just want the most qualified student. Some colleges even offer scholarships to students attending from out of state. This is why your working on finding and qualifying for scholarships, so you can select the college of your dreams.

6. It costs too much to get a scholarship. NO, NO, NO. Scholarships do NOT cost money. They don't cost money to find. Although there are search companies who charge a fee for locating scholarships, avoid them. They don't cost money to apply for. Again, those types of scholarships are available, and they are to be avoided. The most a scholarship should cost a student is the cost of the stamp and envelope if they are applying through the US postal system. For online applications there is no charge. Anytime a scholarship costs a student or parents money, that is not good for the student.

Scholarship Recipient

2007-09-22T07:39:00.000-07:00

Meet scholarship recipient, Jenni Bowring-McDonough.

Jenni graduated from Ohio State University more than a couple of years ago. Her scholarship story is as common today as it was when she was in school.

Prior to attending college Jenni didn't know about researching for scholarships early. This caused her to be in college two years before she learned of a particular scholarship she could receive. Her application was accepted and she enjoyed the benefits of the scholarship for her last two years of college.

"I received the Ohio War Orphans Scholarship for two years of my college life, it was a huge help to my family financially," she says of receiving the scholarship.

According to their web site, the Ohio War Orphans Scholarship Program awards tuition assistance to the children of deceased or severely disabled Ohio veterans who served in the armed forces during a period of declared war or conflict. Since Mr.Bowring had served in the military as a young man and was deceased both his children qualified for the scholarship.

There was a difference though. Little brother knew about scholarship early and what he needed to do to receive the it. The proceeds of the scholarship assisted him during his entire college career at Ohio University. He learned from his sister's experience, just as you can benefit from the experience of older students who've received or missed out on scholarships.

How much money did the siblings receive? According to the web site the scholarship covers all instructional and general fee charges at eligible Ohio colleges and universities. Over a 6 year span, which is how long both Jenni and her brother were in college, this amounted to several thousand dollars. Dollars their family didn't have to try try to provide for them.

Sources for Scholarships

2007-09-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

You must know about a scholarship to apply for it. Here are six avenues to explore, you may think of others. Try everything, you want to find as many of the scholarships you qualify to receive as possible. Keep a growing list of scholarships, and how to find them, and when you can apply. You will find some you can apply for now, as a freshman, sophomore, or junior. Others will have to wait until you're a senior. The important thing is for you to know about the scholarship.

1. SCHOOL PERSONNEL. Start with your high school. Talk to your teachers and counselor. They will know about scholarships. Better, they will know about scholarships you have a chance to receive. Don't stop with your high school though, consider the college you will be attending. If you don't know which college that can wait until you do. However, remember, all colleges have a financial aid office. They will have information on a variety of help for students, but right now you are only interested in the scholarships the school offers. What scholarships do they have? When are they due? And, what are their qualifications?

2. FRIENDS. Bet you thought your friends were just for having fun with, and commiserating with about the unfairness of whatever. Nope, your friends can help you find scholarships, and you can help your friends. You're not creating competition for yourself in telling your friends. Well, okay, you might. But, you will also come across scholarships you don't qualify for that you friends might. If you put them on the trail of a scholarship you won't be applying for, maybe they'll receive that one and apply for fewer of the ones you're aiming to receive. Also, if they should beat you out for one of the early scholarships, you can have them coach you to improve your applications for future scholarships.

Friends aren't just yours. Friends of the family, and your neighbors are also good scholarship sources. You never know who will know about a hidden scholarship. Talk to everyone, tell them you're going to college and need scholarships to help pay the cost.

3. PARENTS & EXTENDED FAMILY. Yeah, your parents. Not only may they know about a scholarship, or two. Their place of business my offer scholarships or organizations they belong to may sponsor scholarships. Let your parents help in the scholarship search. This is true of extended family members too. You never know what information crazy uncle Fred may have, and be willing to share if he knows you need and want the information. Again, spread the word in your family, they can talk to their friends and employers also. The more people who know you are looking for scholarships, the more scholarships you will be able to apply to receive.

4. NEWSPAPER- Check your newspaper for short articles about students in your area who've received scholarships. This short pieces usually tell the name of the scholarship, who sponsored it, the amount paid, and sometimes the qualifications needed to receive it. This is a good way to find local scholarships that aren't listed in the national databases.

5. CHURCH & OTHER ORGANIZATIONS - While small local churches don't necessarily have money to spend on scholarships, the church organization often does. Ask your minister and/or check with the secretary of your national church office. Local organizations, such as ones for business women, local merchants, quilting group, or cattlemen among others. Organizations your parents belong to are a good place to start, but others may give scholarships too. Locate the organizations in your community, then find out if they offer scholarships, and how to apply if they do. Don't forget organizations you belong to, FFA, 4H, Boy/Girl scouts, drama club, and other often have national backing and offer scholarships. Look everywhere for possible scholarships.

6. INTERNET / Books - The internet is either an overlooked source, or the only place a student looks. The vast amount of information is the reason. Students either think because of the overload of scholarship leads online, they will all be unattainable, or the student will get lost in the search and not find any. The internet actually has a good cross section of available and attainable scholarships, it is a good source. To avoid getting lost in the maze a student needs time, another reason to begin your scholarship quest early. There are also books with lists of scholarships, that are worth their time and money. Most of these books cost around $20, but the list scholarships worth millions. You can buy a couple of these books for your use, or you and a friend can share the cost and the books.

Scholarships are Free

2007-09-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

In the scholarship quest there are many companies, and individuals , who charge to find scholarships. DO NOT PAY.

Yes, there are some legitimate scholarship search companies, but students and their families, can do as well or better than any company. After all, the students and their families have a real interest in finding as much money as possible for the students. Companies, only care as far as they get paid, they have no real interest in the students. Students are better served saving any money they'd spend on a search for their college education and doing the search themselves.

There are more scam companies than legitimate and it's often hard to tell the difference. One sure fire sign a company is a scam is the promise to get a student a certain amount of scholarship money. They can't guarantee anyone will receive any amount of scholarship money since they have no control over the application process. If they offer to complete a student's application, chances are they will lie on the application. Companies who promise more than they can deliver are scams.

Sometimes companies, both scam and real, will add a money back guarantee, this does the student no good. To begin with, students depending on a scholarship company won't continue to look for their own scholarships. When the company fails to amass the money the students need, it's too late to find other sources. Also, the 'guarantee' will be worded in such a way that few students actually get their money back.

One tactic they use in their "guarantee" is to promise to find three scholarships for a student. Well, pashaw, all colleges offer scholarships. All the company has to do is send a student 3 of their college of choice scholarships. Plus, most students can visit with their high school counselor for 5 or 10 minutes and have the names of at least 3 scholarships. But, once a company locates three scholarships, they don't have to refund the money paid.

There is no need to pay money when there are multiple scholarship searches available to students online. Students need to register for these, but there is no charge. Registering simply makes the search easier for the students. This keeps the student from wading through hundreds of scholarships they can't use. A list of several free scholarship searches can be found here.

Read the descriptions carefully, not all searches will benefit all students. Not all of these searches will benefit all students, for example there is a Pacific Northwest Scholarship Guide, that will only benefit for students living in the Pacific Northwest. But, students, serious about college and scholarships will find help here.

Lifetime Choices

2007-09-11T14:07:00.001-07:00

Upon graduating from high school, students generally have three choices. They can go to college, enter the military, or join the work force. Preparing for college and scholarships will give students an edge regardless of their after graduation choice.

Choosing to join the workforce directly after high school is a tempting idea. After all who wouldn't like the idea of making money and being on their own. The problem is, the money made goes for living expenses. High school graduates earn, on an average, $23,000 less than a college graduate. Still, a student who prepared for college and scholarships will have an advantage over students who coasted through high school. Habits like punctuality, and daily attendance make good employees. Employers prefer employees who give a days work for a days pay. Experience has shown, students who did their best in high school, are quality employees.

Joining the military is another option for high school graduates. However, only 30-35% of high school seniors qualify for the military. The students in that percentage are students who have taken high school seriously. While the military is willing to work with any student wanting to join, the fact is they must first pass several screenings. Passing all the tests is no guarantee a person will remain in the service. The military is more structured environment than most students have experienced. Preparing for college will allow students to more easily adjust to military life.

The third choice of high school graduates is attending college. Cost for a college education varies by quite a bit. Private colleges cost more than state colleges. College expenses vary by state, and attending a college in another state will increase the cost. According to the Department of Education, in 2005, a student spent at least $60,000 to get a degree. That's 60000 reasons students need scholarships.

Luck and Scholarships

2007-09-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

Today, instead of scholarship advice. Instead of why you,or how you can prepare yourself I'll share some words of encouragement.

1. "Luck equals opportunity plus preparation. " An old proverb. Basically it means people aren't lucky, they are ready when the opportunity to succeed arises. Students who receive multiple scholarships are often viewed as lucky. In fact, they've worked very hard to receive the scholarships.

2. Thomas Jefferson is credited with saying, "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more of it I have." This is true of scholarships also. The harder a student works to receive scholarships, the more scholarships they receive.

3. Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American author, poet and philosopher said "Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect." Those students who don't prepare for scholarships think all scholarship winners are "lucky". It's easier to believe that than to accept the reason they haven't received multiple scholarships is because they didn't do the necessary preparation work. Students who receive scholarships know they've worked hard for them and have earned every dollar they receive.

4. Finally, in case you think bad luck is keeping your from your dreams consider the words of Harry Golden. He said, the only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work. " Harry not only served a stint in prison, he lost all his finances and had to declare bankruptcy. He went on to work for several newspapers before starting his own and becoming a successful newspaper man.

There you have it. The encouraging words of four Americans. Use their words when you find yourself becoming tired.

Sunday Six

2007-09-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

Here they are, this week's Sunday Six. Six reasons scholarship committees look for applicants with more than just a high grade point average.

1. Scholarship recipients represent the company, organization, or person sponsoring the scholarship. A successful student with varied interests is a better representative than simply a good student.

2. A student involved in outside activities is viewed as being more outgoing. An outgoing student is more likely to announce who sponsored his/her scholarships. This is good advertisement for the company or organization.

3. An active student will encourage other students to apply for the same scholarship. Without applicants there can be no scholarship awards. Scholarship groups need students to apply for their scholarships. For the committees, the more students who apply, the better.

4. Outside activities combined with scholastic achievement teach a student good time management. Because these students know how to manage studying and activities it's more likely they will continue to be involved students in college.

5. Many students who begin college, don't continue to graduation and a college degree. Scholarship selectors consider qualified students with outside activities better able to handle the challenges of college and able to graduate in a timely manner.

6. Students with varied interests are viewed as having more to offer. More to offer the college of their choice. More to offer the scholarship sponsor. Making these students better emissary's for the scholarship sponsor and the college.

Scholarship Dreams

2007-09-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

I've been discussing all the work involved in preparing to receive scholarship money. But let's take a little break and go back to dreaming. In this post I talked about making a plan. That was a realistic plan of what you truly thought you could accomplish, and the steps needed to get there.

Today I want you to dream. Dream big.

Set your sights high, like Jared. Jared is a young man afflicted with a muscular control disease, (similar to muscular dystrophy). He is confined to a wheelchair, and must be fed as he has limited control of his arm and hand movements. He works in a sheltered workshop with others of varying complications. When Jared was 12 he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. His answer: A police officer. Specifically a motorcycle policeman. His mother, standing behind the wheelchair heard the conversation, and saw the confusion in the interviewer's eyes. "If you're going to dream, you may as well dream big," she said.

No, Jared didn't get cured. He isn't a policeman. He does NOT drive a motorcycle. What he has is a job in a sheltered workshop. But he has accomplished, and done more than many people without any complications. He hasn't given up his dream, someday there will be a cure for him and others. When that happens, he's ready to complete police officer training.

That's what I want you to do. Dream big. Maybe you dream of producing blockbuster movies, curing breast cancer, establish a safe haven for child abuse victims. Nothing wrong with any of those. We all enjoy being entertained, have been touched by breast cancer, and care about children. It doesn't matter what your dream is. It only matters that it won't be easily obtained, and that you're willing to work to make it come true. Scholarships aren't a dream, they are a goal.

Don't sell yourself short. Whatever your current goal is, move it up a notch. Others may tell you your dreams are pipe dreams, impossible to achieve. Don't listen to them. How can you know if a dream is attainable if you don't reach for it?

Find your dream, then follow it. Make plans and goals, always leading to your dream. Dreams are good things, they give us something to strive for. Keeping your dream in mind will make all the scholarship work easier.

Networking for Scholarships

2007-09-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

Networking isn't just for business people. Students can make good use of networking to increase their scholarship possibilities. You network with your friends, their parents, friends of your parents, your teachers, and other adults in your life.

Start with your friends, compare notes about what each of you are looking for. You may come across a scholarship perfect for your friend. And your friends my find one just right for you. Don't worry about you and your friends competing against each other for scholarships. First, some scholarships offer more than one award. Second, if you can't receive a scholarship, it's nice knowing your friend did. Older students can be helpful in your scholarship search. They have already done the research and know the guidelines and requirements of many scholarships. They can steer you towards the ones you are best suited to receive.

Moving on the the adults, your parents, your friends' parents, and your parents' friends are all good scholarship sources. You'd be surprised what the adults in your life know sometimes. Let their knowledge work for you. But you must talk to them. Let them know your interested in finding as many scholarships as possible. Tell them a little about your academic hopes and dreams.

Lastly, school personnel are good network sources. First, information for many scholarships are sent to schools. Some are sent to the counselor. Talk to her about your goals, let her know what you are planning. This will allow her to think of you when the perfect scholarship for you crosses her desk. Check in with her on a regular basis about any new scholarship information she has received. Don't make a pest of yourself, once a week is plenty to keep your name in her mind.

Teachers are also a good source networking source. Many scholarships covering their area are sent directly to the teacher. She then posts the information on her bulletin board, or shares it with her students. Your job is to make her aware of your scholarship quest and your qualifications.

Tapping into the knowledge and experience of those close to you is one of the best ways to locate scholarships. Don't take advantage of them, but do make good use of the information they share.

Steps for Scholarships

2007-09-06T05:03:00.001-07:00

In order to reach your goal of a free college, you will need to do several things.

1. You need to apply for as many scholarships as possible. More thoughtful, detailed, appropriate applications mean more opportunities for you to be the recipient. Remember, you won't be the only student applying for the scholarships. Also, few scholarships will pay the entire cost, tuition, fees, room and board, and books. But combining the proceeds of several scholarships will allow a student to pay for college using only scholarship money.

2. You must know a scholarship is available before you can apply.There are several ways to find out about scholarships. One is to do an online scholarship search. You can find one list of scholarship search engines here.

3. Applying for schoarships are an important step. Scholarship committees don't come knocking on your door offering you money.

4. Follow the rules. Applications received that don't follow the rules aren't considered. Some scholarships accepted by mail will want part of the application printed and part in the student's handwriting, it's important these be completed correctly. Meet the deadlines. It does you no good for the scholarship committee to receive your application two days after the deadline.

5. Applications need no mistakes, no blank spaces. Before hitting send, or putting scholarship applications in the mail double check them. You don't want to have your name spelled wrong, or the number in your address transposed. It's best to let the application set for a day before checking for errors. While checking for typos, see that every space has an answer. If the question doesn't apply to you, simply put N/A in the space. This shows the committee you didn't skip the question, it simply doesn't apply to you.

Money for Records

2007-09-05T10:34:00.001-07:00

Can you answer these questions:

1. What did you have for supper last night? How about last week?
2. What did you do last Feb. 23?

Can you answer all of these question? Chances are if you can't answer them now, you won't be able to answer them in 3 years either. True, scholarship committees don't care what you ate, or when you ate it. But if you can't remember that, will you remember entertaining nursing home residents with your singing group ? If you're a member of an academic team will you remember which contests you competed in and in what subject?

Remembering everything you've done for four years is challenging. The answer is simple, keep a list, journal, or diary of your activities. There are several advantages to having this list.

1. It's encouraging to see how much you've done.

2. You can slant your qualifications to the scholarship. Choosing activities and accomplishment from your list that best exemplify what a particular scholarship committee is looking for.

3. A study of your past activities will help you find more scholarships you qualify to receive.

Go, have fun, and keep a record of what you do, when you do it, and where.

Parents and Scholarships

2007-09-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

Preparing Your Parents

While you are busy preparing to load up on scholarships, don't forget your parents. No, not scholarships for your parents. Help them get used to the fact that you will be going away from home for college. And will be atttending a college they haven't yet considered.

In many households finances dictate where a student attends college. However, you plan to have enough scholarship money to allow you to choose the college. Your parents haven't thought about that aspect. Here are some ways to help them.

1. Get them involved in your scholarship quest.

2. Talk about what you're doing to increase your scholarship awards.

3. Point out how your activities equal money for college

4. Remind them of the extra money they'll have when your college expense is not a concern. Talk about their dreams, now they'll be able to afford those dreams.

5.Talk to them about the college, or colleges, you are considering. Point out what these colleges offer you both as a student and alumni.

Start early. Remember you are your parents' baby. It doesn't matter how many siblings your have, each child is precious to a parent. They've spent your whole life protecting you, taking care of you and now you want to leave. You want to go off where they can't be close enough to protect you daily. There are a lot of factors they will think about and try to use as excuses to keep you close.

However, if you spend the next four to six years working with them, they'll be as excited as you when you go away to college. Oh, they'll still cry and miss you. But they'll know you'll be okay, and that's really what every parent wants for their child: the child's happiness and safety.

Scholarship Goal Steps

2007-09-02T06:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday Six

For today, and hopefully every Sunday, I will post a list of 6 things to do with preparing yourself for scholarships. This Sunday, since we're so early in the blog is a review of sorts. A list of 6 goal setting and achieving steps to take.

1. Define attending college on scholarship money as a long-term goal.

2. Define mini-goals that will lead to the long-term goal. Remember, smaller steps are easier than big giant leaps. Mini-goals allow you to feel a sense of accomplishment early. One accomplishment leads to more.

3. Write down your goals, both long-term and mini. Once something is written it becomes more real. It seems possible when actually written down rather than just a dream in your head.

4. Spread the word. Tell someone, a parent, sibling, teacher, friend about your goals. This helps in two ways. Those you tell will serve as reminders for you. Also, you feel more need to succeed because others know where you're going.

5 Imagine yourself successful. Imagine yourself in your highschool cap & gown graduating. Imagine yourself on the grounds of the college of your choice. Imagine yourself holding a fistful of scholarship award letters.

6. Surround yourself with physical pictures of your success. Paste your face on copy of a picture of a graduate. If you know some scholarship recipients borrow their letters, make copies inserting your name. Don't ruin their letter make a copy, then insert your name and address on the copy. Draw up a pretend report card with the appropriate grades listed. Find pictures of the college of your choice, in magazines online, post them where you can see them. If they have pictures of students, paste a picture of you on it. These don't have to be perfect paste jobs. In fact, it's better if you can see, for now, they are fake. But with constant reminders, soon you'll have the real thing. Real report cards with the grades to post. Real letters of award you can save. A real picture of you in a cap and gown. The picture of you on the campus is just temporary, until you're actually there.

There you have it. Six ways to help you achieve your goals. Good luck.

Fun for Scholarships

2007-08-31T17:14:00.000-07:00

The road to scholarships is NOT all work and worry. You need to have fun, it's good for you. The good news is, fun also helps toward your scholarship quest.

It doesn't matter what you do for fun:

It can be sports, both individual and team and including cheer leading;

Dancing, gymnastic, playing musical instrument, singing, or art;

Hiking, horseback riding, gardening, most outdoor activities;

Even babysitting, or working with younger children .
Whatever activity you select there four things to keep in mind:

1. It must be something you fulfilling to you in some way. Activities which include community involvement make you feel good. Other activities appear simply enjoyable, in fact they are helping shape you into a well-rounded individual.

2. You must be involved, not just have your name on a membership. While holding a position of leadership is helpful, being involved in more important. There are students who can list an office as an accomplishment, but further examination shows they were leaders in name only.

3. You need to be sure the organization agrees with your philosophy and life ideals. It's uncomfortable to be a part of something that goes against your beliefs.

4. Don't overload yourself. Limit your extra-curricular activities. It's best to discuss this with your parents since they know you and what you are capable of doing. If you're unsure how much you can do start with no more than three activities. This allows you to be involved in your church, sports, and another activity you find interesting.

pictures © 2007 SWP, Incorporated

Choosing a Teacher

2007-08-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

Now that classes have started who are your teachers? Were you assigned the teachers you wanted or did you get stuck in a class you were hoping to avoid? Why did you want certain teachers and not others?

Chances are you listened to the best information available to you, other students. It's true, students are a good judge of teachers and often know which ones are the best in their school.
However, before you take the word of a student, or several, that Mr.Horrible is to be avoided if at all possible, ask some questions.

1. Who doesn't like Mr. Horrible? If it's the trouble-makers in your school, or those students who really don't care about their grades you might not want to give their opinion too much weight. After all, these students are usually just looking for the easy way out. If other students are also complaining about Mr. Horrible find out why? Does he give a lot of homework? Why? Maybe he teaches a class that requires homework for the students to grasp the concept.

2. Is he fair? Does he pick out one or two students who can do no wrong? Can they really do no wrong, does he let them come to class tardy without an admit? Does he let them turn in work late, just because they didn't get it done on time? Or does he instinctively go to the students who do their work, turn it in on time, and don't cause him problems? Calling on those students first, allowing them to run errands for him, even giving them some slack when they're absent. Teachers are human (really, they are) and it's easy to be nice to someone, who essentially, is nice to them.

3. Is he absent much? In many schools teachers often fill two or more positions. Usually, these are a different times and cause no problems. Other times though, a teacher must be out of the classroom to fulfill his other duties. This can make it hard for students to learn some subjects.
Does he help students understand concepts covered by a substitute teacher? A good teacher understands his absence creates problems for his students and works to eliminate these problems. To some students this may seem like double work, when in fact the teacher is just insuring the students understand and are able to proceed without difficulty.

4. Does Mr. Horrible give too much homework? For many students, any homework is too much. However, repetition is the best way of learning, so certain course will require nightly assignments. Other subjects require outside reading, and there just isn't enough class time for students to read the work and then discuss it in class. Written assignments help students understand and retain what they've read. English classes will also require out-of-school work, assigned reading and writing practice in addition to term papers. There just aren't enough hours in a school day to get everything done. Teachers who never assign work are often cheating their students of a quality education.

So, before you run screaming from a teacher, check to see that he really is Mr. Horrible, and not, in fact, Mr. CaresALot.

Picturing your Scholarship Success

2007-08-24T09:38:00.001-07:00

Now that you have an idea what you want. And are taking steps to reach your goal, you need a way to keep your dream in sight. One way to do this is with visualization, you visualize yourself reaching your goal. It's not magic, just thinking about it doesn't make it happen, but it does make it easier for you to do the work necessary to reach your goal.

This web site explains visualization in more detail and give some instructions on how to do it.

Simply put, you think about your goal, and picture yourself achieving it. In addition to just visualizing you can make some props to help you. You can be as elaborate or simple as you want with your visualization props. Some computer programs will allow you to crop, cut, and add to photos until you have just what you want to see. If you don't want to be elaborate simple pictures and hand altered items will work.

Here are some examples:

A gpa of 3.00 - Design a report card listing all your classes with the corresponding grades you are capable of achieving. Post that report card where you can see it every day. A daily reminder to do your homework, and study for tests. Once grades come out, post them next to your goal card and make a new goal card for the next grading period.

Receiving multiple and high dollar scholarships - If your school or town newspaper lists students and the scholarships they receive, you're in luck. You can cut out those articles, white out the current student's name and insert yours. If you don't have a newspaper that lists the winners, make your own list and again, post it where it's visible to you every day. As the year progresses, and you learn of more scholarships you can add them to the list. For now, you can list any scholarships you and your friends know about and the National Merit Scholarship

You can also use your career goal for visualization. After all you aren't going to reach that goal if you don't get to college. Do you see yourself as an executive in prestigious firm? Get some pictures of nice offices and and put your name on the desk.

The main idea is to picture yourself successful, and then go for your goals.

Remember, just seeing a picture of you being successful isn't a magic trick. You still must do the work. But, keeping the possibility of what you can achieve visible makes it easier to do the work necessary.

Making A Plan

2007-08-22T08:03:00.001-07:00

Making a plan is important, it helps keep you on track.

You already make plans in your life. You plan having fun with your friends. When you all will get together, where you'll meet, and what you'll do. You make other plans too, sometimes they're just so natural you don't realize you planned.

For example, you've already made a couple of plans for college. You plan to attend, and you plan to use scholarships to help pay for college if possible. I know you've made those plans because you're taking the time to read this.

Now, you just need to make the plan concrete in your mind. There have actually been studies done on this, can you believe it? But those studies show that people (adults too) are more likely to follow a plan if it's written down. Don't groan, get out a sheet of paper and make your college plan, it's not painful, it will only take a few minutes, and I'll help. Or, you can just copy these questions to your word processor and answer them on your computer. Either way works. Under each question are a few others, or some suggestions for you to consider when answering the main question.

1. What type of life syle do you want for yourself?
Where do you want to live, your home state, or somewhere else? Do you want to travel? Do you want to live in a rural area or metro area?

2. How much will your preferred life style cost?
Parents can help with this, they can give you an idea of what your current life style costs. This is especially helpful if you don't know what you want exactly. You do know if you're willing to settle for less, highly unlikely, or if you want to have more than your parents do you can add $25,000 or more to your parents current yearly income. You don't have to worry about inflation in your figures, the better paying jobs increase their pay as inflation rises. This is another benefit of a college education.

3. What job do you want to have that will also allow you to live the lifestyle of your choice?
You may not know career you want, that's ok, for now you just need a job that pays XXX amount of dollars. If you have an idea of the type of job you want, you can find it's pay range. Remember to list the low end as your goal, since people making the high end have usually been doing the job for several years.

4. What will it take for you to qualify for the job of your dreams?
Attend college? Do you have a preference for which college to attend? Don't worry if you don't, we'll discuss colleges, and choosing one, in a later post.

5. How do I get into the college of my choice?
Does your school offer college prep classes? If so you'll need to list those here. You also need to maintain at least a 3.00 gpa, higher is better.

6. What do I need to do to reach and maintain a 3.00 or higher gpa?
This will depend on you. If your past grades have been in the A-B range you can just continue your current study/schoolwork process. If, in the past you've goofed off and let your grades slide you need to be very specific here about what is needed to raise and keep your grades at an acceptable level. Be very honest with yourself here.

Remedial Classes are Good for You

2007-08-19T20:39:00.001-07:00

In my last post I said taking remedial classes would help you obtain scholarships. This only works if you need the extra help.

It's important students challenge themselves, so students who can handle the advanced classes need to enroll in those classes and skip the remedial courses. We'll discuss this later.

However, for struggling students the remedial or refresher course is challenging will aide them in conquering the advanced classes.

Not all schools offer remedial or refresher courses. Although some schools hire tutors at no cost to their students, and student tutors are available in some schools. If none of these options are available there are outside teaching programs available.

e-tutor an online tutoring program that costs from $140 a month for one subject with additional fees for more subjects. Sylvan learning is a tutoring business.

Most states also have special tutoring programs, ask your school counselor what is available near you. Counselors are able to direct students to the programs they are best suited for, both financially and scholastically.

It's Not A Lottery

2007-08-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

Scholarships are a great way to pay for a college education. It's important to remember recipients are not determined by a drawing. Scholarships are not lotteries. They are awarded to the student(s) a selection committee feels is the best investment of their funds. It is up to the student to have the qualifications scholarship committees are looking for.

The problem is, the best time for a student to begin this preparation is in the first years of high school, junior high is not too early. School is starting, or has started, thinking of attending college and using scholarship funds need to begin the process of becoming a scholarship recipient. Here are four things students can do now:

1. Take the most challenging classes possible. If a school offers a college preparation program, those are the classes students need to take.

2. Know their limits. If a student has trouble with basic math, algebra will be a mind breaker. There are options, other than skipping algebra and giving up on college or a scholarship. Tutors, and remedial classes can help students past their weak spots.

3.Begin to research scholarships. Find what is available, and what their requirements are.

4. Make a plan. Students are busy people. Sometimes they have too much going on and something slides. To keep their education from being lost they need a plan to fall back on. A plan will allow students to be involved in all their activities, and keep the grades necessary for both college and scholarships.