Searching for Scholarships

Scholarships provide gift money that does not have to be repaid. That makes scholarships an attractive way to help pay for college. Most scholarships are awarded directly by the college you attend, but there are also other sources of scholarship aid. Federal and state governments, employers, credit and professional organizations, some private companies, foundations, individuals, and religious and civic organizations offer scholarships. But how can you find out about these?

To search for scholarships, choose a couple of the free scholarship search engines noted below. And remember, any scholarship service that requests money is likely to be a scam.

• FastWeb (fastweb.com) connects you to targeted scholarships based on your profile (strengths, interests, skills, groups).

• Mach25 (collegenet.com) is a free web version of Wintergreen/Orchard House Scholarship Finder database.

• SRN (studentscholarshipsearch.com) matches students to appropriate scholarships based on strengths, talents, field of study, sports, achievements, background.

• College Resource Network (collegeresourcenetwork.com) also includes many minority scholarships in its database.

• Cappex (cappex.com) comprises a database of scholarships worth over $11 billion.

• BigFuture (bigfuture.collegeboard.org) offers a searchable scholarship database.

• Salliemae (salliemae.com) includes over 3 million scholarships in its database.

• Scholarships.com (scholarships.com) compares your background with its database and identifies good matches.

Happy searching!

Acing That Interview

Students who interview with admission officers or alumni from American colleges are often surprised to find that the interviewer made the process much less intimidating than they had anticipated. Interviewers are not trying to trip you up; they simply want to get to know you and will try to determine if you and their college are a good match. Remember that part of the interviewer’s job is to get you excited about the school. After a good interview, a well-intentioned alumni interviewer may tell a student that the school would be lucky to have her, and it’s natural to believe that means good news is coming. Whether the interviewer is just saying that to reassure an anxious student or genuinely thinks she should be admitted, the student may be in for a major disappointment if she puts too much stock in the interviewer’s words.

It is expensive to have admission officers interview all or most applicants, so few colleges actually require interviews. But more schools are encouraging interviews as a way to help distinguish among all the students who have similarly impressive grades, test scores and extracurricular activities. While a face-to-face interview on campus is ideal, it’s not always possible to travel to every college during the application process. Expecting students to interview on campus would be especially burdensome to lower-income students, which is why many schools have alumni around the country conduct interviews with local applicants. In addition to on-campus interviews, some colleges offer applicants the option of a Skype or other web-based interview, or possibly a phone interview.

The interviewer may write a glowing report, but interviews are rarely a major factor in admission decisions. Smaller colleges, which can interview more of their applicants, are likely to give interviews more weight than large public universities. But even if an interview won’t be a major factor in your admission prospects, it’s good practice. You will be interviewing in the future for internships, jobs, and possibly graduate school programs, so developing strong interview skills is important. Never turn down the offer of an interview! If you do, it looks as though you are not a serious applicant.

Before you go to an interview, research the school so that you can say why you and this college are a perfect match. Also have several questions ready, as interviewers always ask if there is anything you want to know. Engage the interviewer in conversation, and the meeting will be a more pleasant experience for both of you. If it’s an alumni interview, remember that alumni interviewers love their school, so asking about the interviewer’s experiences at the college can help get the conversation going. Show your enthusiasm for the college and you’ll both enjoy the experience. And don’t forget to write a thank you letter to the interviewer as soon as you return home.
 

Big Fish or Little Fish?

Would you rather be a big fish in a small pond, or a little fish in a big pond? When it comes to choosing which college to attend, this is an important question for both students and parents to consider.

Many people assume that it’s better to attend the most selective college possible, even if your high school grades, test scores, and other measures place you towards the lower end of the college’s student body. The rationale behind this “small fish in a big pond” line of thinking is that students will always benefit from being surrounded by smarter peers, as well as enjoy the perceived prestige of the more selective school.

Yet, research suggests otherwise. Multiple studies have shown that students who opt to be a top student at a less selective college (in other words, a big fish in a small pond) tend to feel more competent, have better college GPAs, and higher career aspirations than students who just squeaked into a more selective college. This is true even when the student attending the less selective college had a less impressive admissions profile (i.e., high school GPA, test scores) than the student who picked the more selective school.

Author Malcolm Gladwell also points out how being a big fish in a small pond can be especially beneficial to students planning to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) degrees and STEM-related careers. At a presentation at Google Zeitgeist, Gladwell discussed how many students who begin college intending to major in STEM fields switch to non-science and math majors. The students least likely to switch majors are those whose high school SAT scores put them in the top third of their classmates, whereas students with SAT scores in the bottom third are the most likely to switch.

The equation doesn’t change based on the selectivity of the college, noted Gladwell. A student’s SAT scores may put him in the bottom third of peers at a highly selective university, or at the top of his peers at a less selective school. But, the odds of the student persisting through to graduation in a STEM major will be greater at the less selective college where he is in the top third.

“As human beings, we dramatically underestimate the cost of being at the bottom of a hierarchy,” said Gladwell in his presentation. “We form our self-assessment and confidence based on our standing relative to the group, not the entire world.” So, a student’s math SAT scores may place him in the top percentile of all high school students, but whom he compares himself to is the student who sits next to him in math class. If he’s towards the top of students in a college – regardless of its selectivity – he’ll be more likely to see himself as capable of keeping up with the group.

Of course, there are many reasons for choosing a college. A student and his parents may prefer the programs, location, financial aid, extracurricular activities, or a host of other characteristics of one college over another. A motivated student can also succeed at a variety of institutions, regardless of how he or she compares to campus peers. Students who are likely to be “big fish” among their classmates at a highly selective college will reap the same benefits as they would by attending a less selective school. And, some families value the perceived prestige of attending a more selective institution, even if it means their child will be a small fish in the big pond. There are no absolutes that will apply to all students when it comes to deciding where to attend college.

Deciding if you’ll be better suited to being a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond is an important part of finding a college that will be the best match for you.

See Malcolm Gladwell’s presentation online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UEwbRWFZVc

Show Your Colleges Some Love!

According to research conducted by the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC), almost 78% of college admission officers say that an applicant’s “demonstrated interest” is considered when evaluating applications.

As students apply to more colleges, admission officers find it increasingly difficult to predict which applicants will enroll. In 2017, the average yield rate for colleges – the percentage of admitted students who enroll – dropped to less than 33%, compared to an average yield rate of 49% just a decade before. As a result, many colleges now factor in the chances of an applicant saying yes when deciding whom to admit.

Not all colleges consider demonstrated interest; public universities and some highly-selective private universities do not. Among those that do, the weight placed on demonstrated interest can vary. Even so, it’s smart to signal to colleges that you’re sincerely interested in attending. Here are some of the ways to do that:

Visit campus. Admission officers know that students who’ve visited campus are more likely to attend, so a campus visit is considered a plus when it comes to demonstrating interest. Sign up for the tour, sit in on the admission presentation, and schedule an appointment to talk to an admission representative if possible.

Can’t visit? Don’t worry. Colleges understand that not everyone can visit colleges on the other side of the country before applying; you can still show your interest through the ways listed below. But, if you live within an hour or two of campus, they will wonder why you haven’t found time to visit and assume that they’re just not that high on your list.

Connect with admission locally. Attending a presentation at your high school or at a local college fair shows you’re serious about the college. Be sure to add your name, email and mailing address to the admission officer’s list of attendees.

Apply early. Applying Early Decision or Early Action sends the message to admission that they’re at the top of your list. Also, a student who gets the applications in well before the deadline sends a different signal to admission than one who waits until the very last minute on deadline day.

Write a great “why us?” essay. Give these essay questions your full attention and thought. Don’t just recycle the same essay for different colleges; customizing your answer to each specific college and its offerings sends a stronger message about your interest.

Interview. You don’t have to visit the college to interview; many colleges offer local interviews. Do your homework before the interview so you can explain why you and the college are a perfect match.

Get on the mailing list. Don’t ignore mailing pieces and emails from colleges you’re considering. Many colleges track which students follow up and consider it a sign of interest. While you’re at it, it never hurts to follow and like the colleges that interest you on social media. If nothing else, you’ll learn more about the schools to which you are applying!

Applying Early Decision

Traditionally, college application deadlines were often in January. More recently, however, there has been a push for earlier applications, with admission programs that include Early Action, Early Action II, Early Decision I, Early Decision II and even a few Single Choice Early Action programs enticing applicants with the promise of earlier decisions and possibly better chances for admission. This more hurried approach has contributed to an increase in stress levels for many seniors.

Early Decision (ED) is a binding application program that has a November 1st or 15th deadline. Students are generally notified before Christmas whether they have been accepted, rejected or deferred to regular decision. Since it is binding, students who apply ED and are accepted must withdraw any other college applications. Students can apply ED to only one college, and the student’s parents and Guidance Counselor must sign an agreement with the college confirming that the applicant has done so.

Early Decision can (the operative word here is “can”) offer an applicant a significantly higher acceptance rate, depending upon the college. The 2017 edition of the Princeton Review’s The Best 381 Colleges states that Elon University received 504 Early Decision applications and accepted 86%. Its regular decision acceptance rate is listed as 57%. If you love Elon and know deep-down that if you are accepted that’s where you’d love to go, then applying Early Decision and knowing within six weeks an be a very good thing. Davidson College had a 22% acceptance rate for regular decision but that jumped to 48% for ED. Not all colleges, however, are so generous in their ED offers. In the 2015-2016 cycle, Rice University received 1,389 ED applications and accepted 20%. Their regular decision acceptance rate was 16%, so applying ED provided a boost of only 4%.

When students apply ED, they are a captive audience. The college doesn’t have to wonder where else they’re applying or if they’ll enroll if accepted. A college’s yield is the number of students that say “yes” to the college’s offer of admission. Colleges are often evaluated on their yield percentage and ED applicants increase the yield. Many colleges fill as much as half their incoming class with ED candidates. The regular decision pool then becomes more competitive because the college will frequently look to balance the class, i.e., they may need more theater majors, more students from Kansas or more soccer players. If a student has applied ED, he is saying it’s his first choice. The biggest downside of ED is that students are unable to compare financial aid offers, which are typically made in March.

A word of caution: don’t get caught in the trap of “I’m applying Early Decision somewhere, I just don’t know where.” Apply ED only if you can convincingly declare your love and commitment to becoming a student at that college.