SCHOLARSHIP Portfolio How to help yourself pay for college

Today’s Agenda Creating A Scholarship Portfolio

Contents of A Scholarship Portfolio A brag sheet/activity log Unofficial/ Official Transcripts Form letter requesting a letter of recommendation Drafting a personal essay FAFSA Working on scholarships searches

Brag Sheet See handout/ attachment to begin a draft of your brag sheet.

Accomplishments/Leadership/ Community Service Your accomplishments, leadership experiences, and community service can be a critical tool in helping you showcase your strengths -- and separate yourself from all the others applicants with similar GPAs, class standings, and SAT scores. Take the time now to identify and document all your past and current experiences. College admissions officers often talk about the importance of being highly involved in a small group of organizations over an extended period of time, ideally with leadership in at least one of the groups. And remember to document specifics about your activities and the successes of the organizations -- such as if you helped raise money to assist hurricane victims. (And whenever possible, quantify those accomplishments.) Finally, don't forget all those hours of community service. Many colleges are placing a greater emphasis on encouraging students to reach out to the local communities -- and showing that commitment while in high school is important.

Activity: Personal Essay Take 10 minutes to write about: 1) Your top 2 leadership/service activities of high school. What was most significant and why? 2) New activities you want to start working on this quarter/this summer.

Scholarship Searches Scholarships are typically available from several sources: The colleges you will apply to Local/ community scholarships National scholarships Corporate scholarships Private scholarships

Scholarships cont’d Colleges/ Universities 1) Search on the website of these individual colleges/ universities 2) Independent schools (non state schools): 3) Google: (name of community college) foundation scholarships Easiest to win Usually reviewed by college instructors, staff, and alumni Targeted to students who have not typically accessed college Tell kids they must apply for this when they register for college Due the year before they enter college usually (high school seniors)

Scholarship Searches cont’d Local/community scholarships 1) Search local organizations such as Kiwanis clubs, Rotary clubs, YMCA, ELKS club, Veteran’s associations, etc.

Scholarship Searches cont’d National ScholarshipsCorporate Scholarships Big name scholarships National competitions Often for high achieving students Large corporations such as Coca Cola, Nordstroms, Walmart, Target, etc. Search their individual website or do a Google search

Scholarships cont’d Private Scholarships and search engines to find them

Additional Resources rograms rograms WA based financial aid programs Target students like working parents, Native Americans, vocational/trade programs, and middle school students.