Just Give them a Call

You never know where you’ll find a scholarship connection; but there are tried and true ways of finding such connections. Start with a positive attitude, and the rest of the day is clear sailing. On Monday, I called 6 Chambers of Commerce and applied for two monthly scholarships. The monthly scholarships were the easy type: 200 words or less of your personal statement. It was a matter of cut and paste. The Chambers of Commerce calls took a bit more of preparation, and a lot more of sips of water, breeze on my face, and deep breaths to calm myself down. I don’t like phone calls, they scare me. But do you know, the people on the other line were all very nice and polite except two, and even those two just made me laugh after I hung up.

Why should I call Chambers of Commerce?

I am mentioning this because calling the chambers of commerce in the cities around you is your first step towards finding the most lucrative prospect of scholarships that you could find: Backyard Scholarships. How? Chambers of Commerce sometimes have a list of local business members belonging to companies that sponsor local scholarships that you couldn’t find unless you called through the whole yellow pages asking. The shortcut are the chambers of commerce in your and surrounding cities.

When should I call?

It is best to call starting at 9:30am-11:00am (don’t call at 11:30am, that’s close to their lunch break and they’ll be irritated or short), take a break until 1:30pm, then stop calling at 3pm. A lot of chambers stop work at 3.

What should I do before I call them?

I recommend opening the yellow pages to chambers of commerce. If you don’t have one handy, then internet search for the chambers of commerce in all the cities within 50 miles of your home, and writing down the name of the city and the phone number down so you can check off each city as you call. While you’re online, check the websites of all the chambers you are planning to call. See if they have a page on local scholarships or awards. I recommend doing this the day before so you can get that early start.

What should I say?

The first thing you need to understand is that you learn from each phone call. Every success and failure is a learning opportunity. If a phone call does not go well, hang up the phone, laugh to yourself to clear your head, then think seriously to yourself: what went wrong with that call, and how can I avoid it next time? My phone calls started off with a simple message this way, and changed with each call until by the sixth, I had a tailored message that was much friendlier and suited to my purpose. With that in mind, this is what I wrote down to have handy as I called the chambers.

First tip I learned after a few calls: LISTEN CLOSELY. The first sentence out of the secretary’s mouth is the most vital for you. She or he will say his NAME. Your next cue is to say the following.

“Hello, _____, good afternoon!” Pause here, let them respond.

“Am I on the right line for scholarship-related questions?” Here, you will probably be transferred. Try to sneak in a thank you before that happens. If you aren’t transferred and the person keeps speaking with you, either way this is the next thing to say:

“Hello, my name is firstname lastname and I am a college/highschool/graduate student at schoolname here in cityname (county name if calling a chamber out of your city). I was wondering if you might have a list of business members whose companies sponsor community-based scholarship opportunities.”

After this, it should be farely simple to find out what to say. Each person reacts differently. Generally, it’s a very positive reaction, even if they’re confused about the meaning of what you said. The trick is, it is a very specific request, which makes it obvious that you’re working hard and doing your research. I honestly did not find any such list in any of my calls, but they were worth it all the same. Most of the secretaries wanted to help me, even though they didn’t have the list. They all assumed that I don’t know anything about scholarships and referred me to internet searches and the local highschool’s counseling department. Be patient and polite, that’s what they are being by even giving you that information. After they said that, most of them kept going and gave me invaluable tips, either from their own experiences, or from scholarships and organizations that they had personally heard of. One was even on the judging committee for two scholarships. After monday, I got three calls back from different chambers who called me with other information that they continued to dig up for me after I had hung up with them! How cool is that!

Have notepaper and a pencil ready. The first secretary I called gave me a list of organizations and clubs for me to call as well as a few websites for me to check. Oh, and a phone number. That number didn’t pick up, but when I left a message on their machine, I left my phone number and email address with them, and they actually were kind enough to email me resources to assist me in my search.

In other news, I applied for an essay scholarship today. I’ll tell you about that next time. Until then, good luck on your scholarship search, and happy Thursday!

Preliminary Checklist

I love me a good checklist. Especially if I didn’t have to write it myself. That means that someone who knew what they were doing wrote it. On a more serious note, I got this checklist from my local community college. You should check with your local college’s website, and look under financial aid for their information on scholarships. They will probably have ways to help you get organized too.

HowtoApply-onlineapplication-April2014_000

Guest Post from We the Savers

Repost from We the Savers: http://wethesavers.com/save-for-college/ 

Save for higher learning: give it the old college try.

Posted July 16, 2014 at 1:06 pm in LIVING SAVELY, OUR STORIES

For some of us, the mere thought of sending a child, grandchild, niece or nephew off to college may conjure images of sprawling campuses, dorm parties and Saturday football games (Go State!). Then there’s the rest of us: the ones still in college tuition sticker shock.

College memories are nice, but they won’t help when it comes to paying for school in the present. After all, the cost of attending a public college is growing at a whopping rate of 6.5% a year – and private institutions (5.7%) aren’t much better.  It’s estimated that in 10 years or so, a four-year education can top out at over $275,000.

Uh, yikes. 

Sure, saving up for college is a daunting prospect – but with the right amount of planning and action, finding a way to finance it (in part or in full) without going broke is definitely within reach. Here are a bunch of “Savings 101” idea starters to help you get your future college grad on the launching pad.

Start in the baby years

When time (and compound interest) is on your side, saving for college is filled with promise.

A popular go-to savings strategy for many young parents today is the Gerber® Life College Plan, which offers the earning potential and security of a traditional savings account while rewarding parents for not touching the money over the long haul. Want your spending money to turn into college savings? Then Upromise®  may be a nice option. Upromise partners with thousands of vendors nationwide to offer college cash-back bucks for all kinds of everyday eligible purchases (those diapers alone can really add up, you know).  

If slow and steady still wins the race, then US Savings Bonds are a pretty good head start (especially when they come courtesy of the little bundle’s great Aunt Pearl or Grandma and Grandpa). And remember, for the ultimate in flexibility, there’s always your trusty personal savings account – why, automatically investing even $25 a week for 18 years can really add up on its own. Just set up a sub-savings account designated just for college savings and consider it hands-off.

Saving’s elementary – even if it starts in elementary school

OK, so building up that college stack isn’t always top of mind for new parents. Fret not, there are still plenty of good ways to play catch up as your little one moves through the pre-school, kindergarten and elementary school years (and beyond).  

State-sponsored  529 College Savings Plans are super popular and flexible. First, you don’t necessarily have to pick the 529 from your home state (do some digging). And second, you can choose whether to invest your contributions in a pre-paid tuition plan or a college savings plan.

The 529 pre-paid plan essentially locks in tomorrow’s tuition at today’s prices, ensuring that at least part of your kid’s future tuition will be paid. You either make a lump-sum purchase or pay monthly installments toward the tuition. The program then pools the cash and invests it so the earnings will meet or exceed future tuition increases. The caveat is that this tuition can only be used toward institutions that participate in the program (and also includes private and out-of-state colleges).

On the other hand, the 529 savings plans are made up of stock and bond funds that usually consist of age-based portfolios, similar to 401(k) plans, and you can use the funds at any college you choose. You can invest as little as $25 a month, and the lifetime cap usually tops off at $270,000. The plans are flexible and you can change your investment choices whenever you want.

The best part? Either way, earnings aren’t taxed – and some states even offer tax breaks on top of the federal tax treatment (hello, double tax benefit). What else? Both allow the beneficiary to change to another family member, which comes in handy if Junior doesn’t want to go to college, but his little sister has her sights set on Harvard. And one of the biggest draws is that as long as the money saved isn’t under the student’s name, it won’t be counted when it comes to determining financial aid (more on that later). But heads up, if you don’t use the 529 plan for college expenses, you’ll likely have to pay a 10% penalty and income tax on the earnings when you withdraw the money.

A Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA) – formerly known as the Education IRA – is yet another great way to contribute slowly but surely to the college fund. Somewhat like a 529, an ESA is an investment-based, tax-saving way to save for future educational expenses. But there are some key differences.

ESAs max out at $2,000 a year, and adjusted gross income has to be less than $110,000 if you’re single, $220,000 if you’re married and filing jointly. This can make it less appealing for mid- to high-income parents, or those who want to squirrel away more money than the max allows. But like the 529, assets are considered parental and not the student’s, which helps when it comes to financial aid. Plus, while 529s require you to invest in what the plan sponsor offers, ESAs let you invest in the full gamut of mutual funds, ETFs and individual stocks.

Hightailing it out of high school

When time isn’t on your side and the stark reality of impending college costs hits hard, take a deep breath and remember there are other options. Let’s start with scholarships. There are a ton of them out there – do some online homework with your high schooler some Saturday morning and find one that looks promising. Most granted by the college itself are either merit-based (academic or athletic achievement) or take into account your family’s financial need.

And don’t forget, there are tons of other opportunities granted by non-academic organizations, from one-time cash awards to 4-year rides. The U.S. Department of Labor has a nifty free scholarship tool, you can use to search thousands of scholarship and fellowship opportunities. It’s a bit of work on your part, but it’s time well spent.

Another way to trim college costs is to stay in state. Resident tuition and fees for in-state residents averaged just $8,539 for the 2013-2014 school year. Compare that with an average of $19,465 for out-of-state students and nearly $30,500 for private colleges, and it’s clear that staying close to home can really pay off financially. Generally, to qualify for in-state tuition, at least one parent must have lived in that state for more than a year.

And of course, there’s the financial aid route, which is determined solely by a student’s demonstrated financial need. There are 3 categories:

• Grants(that don’t have to be repaid)
• Work study (your young student gets a real job, hopefully in their field of study)
• Private or federal student loans (that have to be repaid)

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the most common document that colleges use to figure out how much financial aid a student can get. Be prepared for a long application, and know that the FAFSA formula assumes that students should spend 20% of their assets on college – but for parents, the rate maxes out at 5.64%. And don’t forget student loans (contrary to popular opinion, a little scholarly debt isn’t always a bad thing). In fact, they’re often a viable, much-needed option for many families and students who haven’t saved enough or just don’t make enough. Just do your homework, look for the best rates and payment schedules out there, and figure out how much debt you and/or your child is willing to take on for a brighter future.

Bottom line? A 4-year education at your kid’s first-choice school is great, but it takes a ton of financial planning on your part (not to mention hard work, good grades and some shared responsibility on theirs) to make it happen. But you’re a Saver – we know you can do it.

What about you, Saver? How are you gearing up for your kids’ college career? And what other tips and tricks can you offer up?

Before You Begin (Scholarship Scams)

Before you begin, you need to have a firm foundation. Armour, weapons, and knowledge.

With the rise in tuition and everything prices for college, there has been a rise in scholarships offered–and of scams offered. And they’ve gotten better and better. They can come from anywhere: a workshop or seminar that seems completely legitimate, on the web, in your mailbox, in a store. You need to be on your guard and run everything through a check before you sign your money, or even your identity, away.

Armour

These resources will help to guard you against attack. Beware of scholarship offers too good to be true: they probably are!

National Fraud Information Center: http://www.fraud.org

Council of Better Business Bureaus: http://www.bbb.org

Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov

The bad guys use wording that may be any of the following, or similar: “This scholarship requires a handling fee.” While some may ask for $5, anything more is probably a scam unless it’s an artistic competition, which usually have larger entrance fees. However, to be safe anytime this happens always contact the BBB and your guidance counselor/career director.

“We’ll do all the work for this scholarship.” Haha, yeah right. All legitimate scholarships require you to do SOMETHING. Keep that in mind.

“You can’t get this information anywhere else.” Umm. Yes you can. And they’re all free. Listed below, some examples.

U.S. Department of Education, books, the finaid website, directories such as Peterson’s Scholarships and The Scholarship Book, internet search sites such as FastWeb and Niche, your counselor or career director, the library, or the college or university you plan to attend.

“We need your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship for you.” Never ever ever. Scholarships are FREE MONEY. Don’t ever fall for this: if you are asked, refuse and report the organization to the Federal Trade Commission.

“You have been selected by a ‘National Foundation’ to receive a scholarship or you have won a scholarship when you have never applied for the scholarship or entered the contest.” This is of course a scam, but if you’re curious run it by the three armour sites I listed.

“We guarantee we’ll find at least 10 scholarships.” Typical. Any guarantee to find any number of scholarships for you is fraudulent and will end up costing you money and time.

“You are eligible to receive a free scholarship and financial aid package. Please call us to schedule your appointment at XYZ hotel to pick it up.” Usually when you go to pick up your package, you and your parents will be subjected to high pressure sales methods meant to suck you dry of your money to “help” you with your scholarship search. You can get any of their help by reading books and talking to your counselor.

Weapons

Next, a starting base is really helpful. I’ve found these general monthly scholarships through my own search. I’m sure you can find others, but be sure to be careful of those scams. Be the Berean of Scholarships, if you follow me. I’ll tell you in a later post about what search engines I used to find these gems.

By the way, just because I have something on my list doesn’t mean it’s safe. I’ve collected these, but I’m still looking through them and checking if they’re safe. The below sites are safe, but if one of them is a site that wants you to answer surveys or do some type of daily activity to be entered into a monthly drawing, that may not be a financial fraud, but I call it fraudulent. I call it a time fraud because it steals your precious time, daily, hourly, that you could have been spending on your own hobbies, with your family, preparing for REAL scholarships, going to Disneyland, or shooting rubber bands at the wall. Ignore the time frauds. I included them to keep you awake and make sure you’re paying attention. Got to be skeptical of the right things!

Monthly:

GPA Isn’t Everything Scholarship	$1,000 cappex.com	Monthly
Scholarship Lucky Draw	$250 http://gocollege.com/lucky-draw-scholarship.html	Monthly

No Essay $2,000 Scholarship  College Prowler

Purpose: To support students who are entering college within the next 12 months.

Eligibility: Applicants must be high school or college students or planning to attend college within the next 12 months. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or legal residents. Winners can use the scholarship award to help cover tuition, housing, meal plans, books, computers, or any education-related expenses.

Need-based: No, this scholarship does not consider financial need.

Deadline: End of every month.

Award Amount: $2,000.

How to get an application: Applications are available online.

Contact Information: 5001 Baum Boulevard
Suite 750
Pittsburgh, PA  15213

Website: Go to the Scholarship’s Website

 

$1,000 Easy College Money Scholarship  Cappex

Purpose: To assist high school and college students with college expenses.

Eligibility: Applicants must be current high school or college students or be planning to enroll within the next 12 months.

Need-based: No, this scholarship does not consider financial need.

Deadline: End of every month.

Award Amount: $1,000.

How to get an application: Applications are available online.

Contact Information: 600 Laurel Avenue
Highland Park, IL  60035

Website: Go to the Scholarship’s Website

 

ScholarshipPoints $10,000 Scholarship  Edvisors

Purpose: ScholarshipPoints awards monthly awards up to $1,000 and quarterly awards up to $10,000 to be used at any college.

Eligibility: High school or college students attending or planning to attend a college or university. There are no minimum GPA requirements or essays. The scholarship may be used at any college for any educational expense such as tuition and fees.

Need-based: No, this scholarship does not consider financial need.

Deadline: Monthly.

Award Amount: Up to $10,000.

How to get an application: Applications are available online.

Contact Information:
1250 Hancock Street
Suite 703N
Quincy, MA  02169

Website: Go to the Scholarship’s Website

 

CKSF Scholarships  Common Knowledge Scholarship Foundation

Purpose: To support high school and college students.

Eligibility: Applicants must register online with CKSF and complete quizzes on various topics. Students may be U.S. high school students in grades 9 to 12 or college students.

Need-based: No, this scholarship does not consider financial need.

Deadline: Monthly.

Award Amount: $250-$2,500.

How to get an application: Applications are available online. Online registration is required.

Contact Information: P.O. Box 290361
Davie, FL  33329-0361

Phone: 954-262-8553

Email: info@cksf.org

Website: Go to the Scholarship’s Website

 

Delete Cyberbullying Scholarship Award  Delete Cyberbullying

Purpose: To get students committed to the cause of deleting cyberbullying.

Eligibility: Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and attending or planning to attend an accredited U.S. college or university for undergraduate or graduate studies. Applicants must also be a high school, college or graduate student or a student planning to enter college.

Need-based: No, this scholarship does not consider financial need.

Deadline: June 30 or monthly?

Award Amount: $1,500.

Number of Awards: 2.

How to get an application: Applications are available online. An application form and an essay are required.

Contact Information:
2261 Market Street #291
San Francisco, CA  94114

Email: help@deletecyberbullying.org

Website: Go to the Scholarship’s Website

 

SuperCollege Scholarship  SuperCollege.com

Purpose: SuperCollege donates a percentage of the proceeds from the sales of its books to award scholarships to high school, college, graduate and adult students.

Eligibility: Applicants must be high school students, college undergraduates, graduate students or adult students residing in the U.S. and attending or planning to attend any accredited college or university within the next 12 months. The scholarship may be used to pay for tuition, books, room and board, computers or any education-related expenses.

Need-based: No, this scholarship does not consider financial need.

Deadline: End of every month.

Award Amount: $1,500.

How to get an application: Applications are available online.

Contact Information: Scholarship Dept. 673
2713 Newlands Avenue
Belmont, CA  94002

Email: supercollege@supercollege.com

Website: Go to the Scholarship’s Website

 

 Knowledge

And now, knowledge! Chances are you have no idea what you are doing or where to start with these scholarship thingies. An excellent place to start is your library, and I mean it. I found three books there and I now have a favorite that works wonderfully for me. However, I recommend you check them all out, scan through them, and get a feel for which one suits you best.

WHAT I’M READING

Winning Scholarships For College, Third Edition: An Insider’s Guide

by Marianne Ragins
^ My favorite

Get Free Cash for College: Secrets to Winning Scholarships

by Gen Tanabe
^ My second favorite

FastWeb College Gold: The Step-by-Step Guide to Paying for College

by Mark Kantrowitz, Doug Hardy
^turned out to not be relevant to me because it’s mostly for low income and I am not. At least, my parents aren’t.

Chances are you’ll find other books. My suggestion is borrow them all and take a month to read the first two or three chapters in all of them, and check the table of contents to compare them with each other. Then, return the ones you found not applicable to you, and renew the ones you liked! Also, start keeping a notebook. On the first page, write down the names of the books you liked, in case they have holds and you have to return them but want to reference them later. Since I like electronics, I do this with evernote, a free online web service.

Have a good day! And good luck to you.

A Really Good Idea

As you prepare to pay for college, it’s a great idea to get your hands on trustworthy resources that will help guide you through the waters. I just found one such resource in the Wells Fargo Sweepstakes. They send you much needed information as well as entering you into a sweepstakes drawing that occurs 4 times a year. Below I’ve pasted a sample of the introductory email you’ll receive first. I think you’ll agree that it’s quite helpful. I hope you try it out, and good luck if you enter!

 

As a College Student, you have made a great choice to enroll in CollegeSTEPS. Below are some useful resources to help you navigate through college financially as well as personally; and you will now begin to receive periodic e-newsletters with timely information to help guide you along your path through college. You are also now entered in ourCollegeSTEPS sweepstakes for a chance to win $1,000. We draw winners four times a year, so keep an eye out for our notification!

CollegeSTEPS Magazine This magazine offers helpful information for you and your parents on ways to pay for college and manage your money.

Glossary You are probably seeing a lot of financial terms for the first time. Here’s a little reference to keep handy.

What to expect during the private student loan application process A checklist to have on hand when you notice a gap in your finances and opt for a private student loan.

What you need to know about credit Having good credit makes it much easier to do the things you want to in life: rent an apartment, get a job, get a cell phone, buy a house or car.

The balancing act When you start college, you’ll probably find yourself busier than you’ve ever been.

Budget Basics Creating a budget can help you get a handle on your money, and help ensure you have money for the things that are important to you, while not wasting money on things that aren’t.

The financial aid process step-by-step You should apply for financial aid every year that you plan to attend college — even if you don’t think you’re eligible or haven’t qualified for financial assistance in the past.

Wells Fargo & Company Headquarters: 420 Montgomery St., San Francisco, CA 94104 © 2014 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. NMLSR ID 399801. Equal Housing Lender.

Hello World!

Hello! I am a college student with a dream to graduate college as debt free as possible.

I created this blog with you in mind: I want to record my journey towards affording a college degree, and at the same time, I’d like to write it in such a way so that you are benefited by the time you spend on this site. I’ll write posts on how I filled out the FAFSA, and if you have questions about that, please don’t hesitate to comment with your question. I don’t know everything, and I’m no professional, but I can give tips on the things that I have done so far. Also, if there is something that you have done that I have not, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I will generate a list of the steps I need to complete for financial freedom which you can browse, and hopefully come up with ideas for what you can do. Everything that I will post on this site will be my ways of finding scholarships and other ways to pay for college, with the goal that you might look at what I have done, and take what inspires you to create your own personal path to financial freedom. In other words, I don’t mean this blog to be a manual of you must follow to succeed, but more like an index of ideas. 

A bit about me: I love to read, and some day I want to be a literature professor. I am working on forming a reading program at my local community college in order to promote literacy and encourage fellow students to enjoy reading and to interact with their community. I want to go to the University of Santa Cruz, which explains the picture.

On the side of this website are links to FF4C’s social network, and the about page of this site. If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave a comment for me, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.