WHAT ABOUT SCHOLARSHIPS?
Most scholarships and financial aid are obtained directly from the Office of Financial Aid of the college or university a student selects. The college admission counseling office will assist students in filing the appropriate applications for college and university scholarships, as well as community-based scholarships. It is the student's responsibility to secure and implement the application process for scholarships.
Researching scholarship opportunities at universities via the Internet can be rewarding. Generally, a student who wants to be considered for a merit-based scholarship through a college should submit an application for admission by November 1. To be safe, each student seeking scholarships should check with individual colleges and universities for deadlines, scholarship applications, and audition / portfolio dates.
Most community-based scholarship opportunities are released and awarded during the spring. Advertisements for local scholarships are done via the John Carroll announcements each day during school and the college advising page on the John Carroll website, www.jcchs.org Some recommended scholarship search websites include www.brokescholar.com and www.fastweb.com. Specific questions about local scholarships should be directed to the organization that sponsors the scholarship or the college admissions office.
IMPORTANT! Each year students have questions concerning deadlines for accepting scholarships. A student has the right to request an extension on a decision deadline set by a school which offers a scholarship. Generally, May 1 is the latest any college must give to accept their offer. An example of a letter requesting additional time to make a decision is as follows:
Dear Financial Aid Officer:
Thank you for the generous scholarship offer. I would like to request an extension of the deadline for acceptance of the ____________ scholarship that was offered to me this year. I will need until May 1 to make my decision.
Sincerely,
Sarah A. Student
BEWARE OF SCHOLARSHIP SCAMS
If you have to pay money to get money, it’s probably a scam. Every year, several hundred thousand students and parents are defrauded by scholarship scams. Scam operations often imitate legitimate government agencies, grant-giving foundations, education lenders and scholarship matching services, using official-sounding names and containing words such as “National”, “Federal”, “Foundation”, or “Administration”.
Rules of Thumb
- If you must pay money to get money, it might be a scam.
- If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- Spend the time, not the money.
- Never invest more than a postage stamp to get information about scholarships.
- Nobody can guarantee that you’ll win a scholarship.
- Legitimate scholarship foundations do not charge application fees.
- If you’re suspicious of an offer, there is usually a good reason. Trust your instincts.
FinAid offers good information on avoiding and reporting scams at www.finaid.org/scholarships/scams.phtml.