Rachael D. Ashley, University of Idaho Joseph Maxwell, College of Southern Idaho

Workshop Objectives Identify different sources of financial aid Learn how to successfully search for scholarships Develop strong communication with professionals Organize the things you need to know before you begin the application process How to make your application a WINNER! How to develop a game plan using “Rachael’s 10 Easy Rules for Getting Free Money!”

Different Sources of Money Pay back: NO Universities, Private organizations (clubs, community groups), school and academic Scholarships Pay Back: NO Government programs Grants Pay back: YES Private and Federal loan programs Student and Federal Loans Pay back: NO Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

What the FAFSA?! Free Application for Federal Student Aid Fill-out with your tax, income, and home information Determines a “need value”, which equals FREE MONEY from the government! Many scholarships require your FAFSA information, so it’s a MUST to fill out

Sources for Scholarship Searches Where to search: Scholarship Search Engines Government and State Your parent’s company/employer Universities Financial Aid office College of interest (ie: CALS) Organizations National FFA Organization 4-H Farm Bureau Grange Idaho Agriculture Groups High School Counselors WARNING: You should NEVER be charged for scholarship searches!

Communicating with Professionals Making it a Success: Do Before-Hand: Personal is better! Phone vs. conversations Follow-up Communicate if you have more questions Find out what happened to your application Use the contact person to learn more about the program Helps when you’re answering the essay questions… hint, hint ***Universities*** Set up a new address Blue_eyed_chicken_luvn_gurr Have a professional photo that you can include in an application Request your transcripts and ACT score reports early Don’t be stuck waiting on someone else when you’re in a pinch for time ***Letters of Recommendation**

Using the Universities ADVICE: Apply to more than one college! They will “compete” for you by awarding more scholarships They have recommendations for programs with scholarships Some University scholarships require an additional application Ask the college about this Advice to make the process go smoothly Workshops and visitation events on campus

Letters of Recommendation Choose a variety of people that “make sense” to scholarship boards What your references say reflects on YOU! Give references SPECIFICS, such as: Type of scholarship What the program is looking for Your leadership and relevant experiences Professional vs. Personal

What to Know Before You Even TOUCH An Application! Leadership involvement Clubs, organizations, sports, offices held Community Service Number of hours worked Career objectives The more specific, the more impressive Awards and Honors Your individual strengths and weaknesses This helps when highlighting your best qualities and becoming aware of your challenging ones

Making Your Achievements Stand Out! Say What Matters: Find what is important to the scholarship program (ie: community service and leadership), and focus your writing on those areas (ie: organizing your chapter’s PALS program) NEVER repeat yourself! Use each essay section as a new opportunity to show yourself off!

Spice-it-Up “I did a service project for the Grange” OR “I initiated a service opportunity for my chapter to show our appreciation for our local Grange” POWER Words: Initiate Facilitate; lead Fulfill a need Inspire; compel; motivate I learned (this) from (that) experience Focused; goal-oriented

If you’re going to remember anything about scholarships, It’s the FACT that deadlines COUNT! Watch for the difference between “postmarked” and “received by” dates If you have to pull an all-nighter to get your application in on time, then do it. It might just be a $1,500 night!

Rachael’s 10 Easy Rules for Getting Free Money! 1. If an organization has a website, they probably have a scholarship 2. Prioritize your time: do easy applications FIRST 3. Apply to more than one school 4. Recycle your essays (ie: describe your career objectives…) 5. Watch deadlines! Postmarking counts… 6. Use descriptive words to spice-up your sentences 7. Read what they want you to talk about 8. Have lots of letters of recommendation, transcripts, and ACT reports on hand 9. Save your old applications and look back on them 10. There’s money out there- just apply!