As a parent of a high-achieving student, it’s been a nightmare going through these sketchy scholarship websites like Scholarship Owl, Bold, etc. My daughter is ranked number 1 in her class, has a 3.95 unweighted GPA, and aced multiple AP exams. She’s planning to go into STEM/healthcare, but despite all her hard work, we can’t seem to secure a single scholarship. It’s starting to feel like a scam. There’s no reason this should be this difficult.
Why doesn’t the government just use the existing financial aid site to manage scholarships? They could list all scholarships there and let students apply with one click. It’d save everyone time and reduce the sketchy websites asking for financial details while also claiming billions in unclaimed scholarship funds.
If they’re giving someone money, they want to make sure you’re really committed. They probably want to see you care enough to fill out the application.
You should check out automatic merit-based scholarships. Some universities, like the University of Alabama, offer significant aid based on your daughter’s grades. I’d also suggest using ChatGPT as a search tool. It’s much easier than Google, but make sure to double-check everything on the university’s website.
If I’m right, your daughter could be eligible for $28,000 a year if she scores above a 32 on the ACT or a 1420 on the SAT.
Also, I’m at a community college in Colorado, and we have a guaranteed transfer program that lets me move all my credits to CU Boulder. Maybe something like this exists in your state too. Another resource is RaiseMe, which offers ‘micro-scholarships’ for each credit earned. I got $2,000 from Northeastern University after just one semester.
@Stevie
Thanks for the advice! We’ve been focusing on in-state options to keep costs down (we’re in NC), but I haven’t looked much into out-of-state schools. We’re also considering the local community college, which transfers credits to UNC.
Every scholarship I’ve come across seems to be for people on public assistance or first-generation students. There’s nothing for regular families like mine.
Parker said:
Every scholarship I’ve come across seems to be for people on public assistance or first-generation students. There’s nothing for regular families like mine.
Where have you been finding those first-gen scholarships?
Parker said:
Every scholarship I’ve come across seems to be for people on public assistance or first-generation students. There’s nothing for regular families like mine.
Montana said:
I’ve been using Scholarhive and it’s been really helpful. You might want to give it a try.
I think she has checked Scholarhive, but I’ll bring it up with her again. Right now, she’s considering going to community college for the first couple of years to keep things affordable. Since she wants to become a Doctor of Physical Therapy, it’s going to be a long and expensive journey.
My daughter has won a few merit-based scholarships. It’s important to check each scholarship’s website to see if it’s legit. The bigger ones, like Coca-Cola or the Cameron Impact Scholarship, are highly competitive, but she got smaller scholarships too, like a $1,000 ELK scholarship for 4 years and a $20,000 Foot Locker Student Athletic Scholarship.
Yes, many scholarships are need-based. For example, the Ronald Reagan scholarship will ask for financial info after the semi-finals, and we stopped there.
My daughter’s an athlete and a writer, which made it easier. But I totally agree with you—it’s so much easier for her friend from a low-income family to get scholarships.
It’s really about how motivated the student is. My daughter applied for almost every scholarship she could, and she ended up getting quite a few. She also applied for scholarships through her school and other organizations, like Girl Scouts and credit unions. Reddit has a useful scholarship subthread, ScholarshipDaily. It’s worth checking out. Good luck to your kids!
We’re in the same boat. My daughter has gotten merit-based scholarships from a couple of SEC schools, but we’re out-of-state, so it’s still pretty expensive.
We’re hoping UGA might offer a waiver and some merit scholarships. We’ve applied for many scholarships, but they’re really competitive. Getting my daughter to write the essays is like pulling teeth—she thinks it’s pointless, but you don’t win if you don’t play. It’s really frustrating.
Our state doesn’t have many scholarships outside of in-state schools, and I’m hoping for a chance at some of the scholarships I’m eligible for through my fraternity, credit union, and local military council.
@Hollis
Look into Folds of Honor. My son gets that scholarship every year, and he’s in STEM. Also, check out the SMART scholarship offered by the DoD for STEM students. My friend’s son just got that scholarship. By the way, ‘need’ just means the bill has to be paid, not necessarily that the student’s parents have low income.
Hollis said: @Micah
I’ve never applied for VA disability. I don’t like all the hoops you have to jump through.
I’m not sure what the disability rating needs to be for Folds of Honor. But if you’re a federal employee, your child can apply for the FEEA scholarship. My son got $5,000 from it, but you have to apply annually.
@Micah
It’s a 10% disability rating. I’ve been avoiding it for a while, even though I’ve had multiple knee surgeries. The VA has changed a lot, but I’m still wary about it.
@Micah
My daughter couldn’t join the military due to her back issues. While she is multiracial, the two races she belongs to don’t have any scholarships specifically for them. I’ll check out NIH or other federal agencies. She’s planning to go into the medical field, so maybe there are opportunities there. Any particular websites you recommend?
@Mica
DOD SMART is for STEM fields. It’s actually a paid internship with tuition and a stipend, but you have to commit to working for them one year for each year of benefits.
Your daughter will probably never win a scholarship on Bold.org or those other websites. You can try, but if you want to really win scholarships, focus on those offered by colleges and local organizations. I applied to 200 scholarships on Bold.org just to test it out, and out of 50 reviews, I didn’t win a single one. Stick with local and school scholarships, and apply for a few national ones with more winners and higher requirements.
