Scholarships From the book “Confessions of a Scholarship Winner” by: Kristina Ellis

When do I start looking for scholarships/financial aid? It is never too soon to begin learning and searching! One of the first things you will need to do is learn the terminology.

FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Aid This is one of the first things you will do to prepare to go to college. You may begin filling out your FAFSA October 1, 2016. There are some federal aid programs with limited funds so fill it out as soon as you can! https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa This application will ask you questions about your family finances and help you determine your EFC...

EFC Expected Family Contribution The EFC is the amount the government believes your family should be able to contribute. You can go to FAFSA.ed.gov and use the FAFSA4caster tool to determine what your EFC might be. https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execu tion=e1s1

Which college will you attend? When filling out your FAFSA you will have to tell what school(s) you plan to attend. The college financial aid department will use your FAFSA to create a financial aid package. The package will tell you what the school/government can give you based on the school’s COA.

COA Cost of Attendance When looking at schools keep in mind that although some private schools may be more expensive, they may have monies that they can give beyond what a public university may give. Spend time on the financial aid websites for the schools you want to attend. It allows you to get an idea of their COA.

Different Forms of Assistance Be careful to distinguish between gift aid and a loan. The following are the most common forms of assistance: Loans – They give you money but you pay it back. Grants- Money given that you do not have to pay back. This money can be lost if you do not keep up your grades and the number of classes required. Work Study – You work, they pay on your account Scholarships (Need based or merit based)

How to Search for Scholarships Try for Quality scholarships over Quantity. Check out websites such as fastweb.com or scholarships.com Try a “google search” but use strong keywords.

Social Media Use social media! Twitter is a source of information for scholarships. Some good ones based on US News & World Fastweb @PayingForSchool @FAFSA volunTEENnation @volunteennation

More Handles Scholarships.com @scholarshipscom Debt-free Scholar @DebtFreeScholar College Week Live @CollegeWeekLive Scholarship America@ScholAmerica http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the- scholarship-coach/2012/08/02/10-more- twitter-handles-for-scholarship-seekers

Don’t wait! Don’t miss the deadlines! Many of the merit based scholarship applications are due when college applications are due (or not long after). They are definitely due before you will know you are admitted. Add the dates to your calendar or create a calendar with your deadlines.

What else? There is so much more to share! There are many books out there that can also help. Most of this information came from the book, “Confessions of a Scholarship Winner” by Kristina Ellis It is based on her story about her journey with scholarships (she had all of her college, graduate, and doctoral program paid for by scholarships). Check out her book!