Because many students and parents are stuck with an antiquated view of the scholarship process, I believe that millions of dollars are left on the table.

For the past 10+ years, I have worked in the non-profit sector in the area of Education primarily dealing with Scholarships and Academic Enrichment Programs. During the current economic climate, parents are finding it harder to afford to send their children to college without some type of financial aid.

During my time spent as Manager and Director of a variety of scholarship programs, my problem each year was finding a greater number of students to enter the application process. My belief was always that students and parents did want the funds, they just did not always know how to locate monies appropriate to their situation. During workshops that I have conducted over the years, I came up with a plan for students and parents to follow. I will write my paper on how to get the greatest financial assistance:

Start Early

Students and parents should start researching scholarships the summer before the student's sophomore year in High School. This is a perfect time because this is when most students begin to develop general interests and may have ideas about what areas they want to study. Students also have one year of High School down and their academic strong-points have started to emerge.

Self-Assessment

I have found that students typically limit themselves to the basic demographics list (Race, Ethnicity, Grades, Citizenship Religion, Military Status, Parental Employer and Membership Organizations) because they are under the assumption that scholarships are based on academics alone; that could not be further from the truth! Based on my own research there are scholarships also based on what city/town you live in, student talents (no matter how small), physical attributes, other races in family background, favorite foods (look up the parent company), etc.

However, because many students and parents are stuck with an antiquated view of the scholarship process, I believe that millions of dollars are left on the table each academic year. I implore students and parents to always think outside the box when researching scholarship opportunities, and add new possibilities criteria areas as they think of new things about themselves.

Research

Now that the student has completed the self-assessment, it is time to actually find money based on that information. The internet has made the research process easier and faster, however, students should not only rely on the internet alone. There are many other ways of finding scholarships, though they may take longer and/or require additional leg work. For example: using books found at the public library or a local bookstore, Networking, contacting local organizations and one of the best resources should always be the guidance counselor/scholarship office found at most schools.

There are three reasons I recommend resources outside of the internet: (1) due to the digital divide many families, due mostly to economic status, do not have access to the internet on a regular basis (2) some families fall prey to scams through fake scholarships found online and (3) face to face communication will always give you a leg up on the competition, the scholarship manager will remember meeting you faster than recalling an email sent multiple times.

Create a System

The students should now have every scholarship they are interested in applying for and it is time to make a list of each and assess the opportunities. After narrowing down the list so that it only includes the scholarships that are most relevant, students should consider the following categories: deadlines, the difficulty of preparation, and award amount. Once this is done, it should be easy to prioritize the scholarships and begin applying. Always remember to keep copies for your own records and in case anything gets lost online or in the mail.

Follow-up is Key

Once the applications have been sent, following up with an email or phone call is a great way to keep you in the scholarship director's mind. It shows that you are diligent and determined. My advice is to continue to apply these tactics on a quarterly basis or until all monies needed have been awarded.