The Best Guide to Scholarships

A high ACT® Score can help students earn scholarships. There are many scholarships available. This guide discusses where to find relevant scholarships, how most students tend to find success, and how to avoid scams.

There’s a lot of confusion around scholarships. According to Sallie Mae*,

Misconceptions around scholarship eligibility and availability prevent families from applying.

Source

This guide will help families dispel notions around scholarships and hopefully lead more people take advantage of these opportunities. There are 4 main types of scholarships: needs-based, merit-based, athletic, and ROTC scholarships.

The types of scholarships as a whole are important, but the easier way to think about them is by figuring out which strategy makes most sense for your family’s situation. The guide below reviews the different strategies in depth.

How to Avoid Scams

Unfortunately, some people want to prey on families looking for scholarships. There are some general rules to follow when applying for scholarships. As always, use you best discretion, search for reviews, and remember:

1. Don’t pay for a scholarship.
2. Don’t fall for guarantees
3. Don’t give anyone your credit card, social security number, or bank account info

The point of a scholarship is to give money away. If you find a scholarship asking for money, that’s a huge red flag, especially if the scholarship is asking for money upfront. Why would they make people pay if the scholarship had money to give? Similarly, don’t fall for any service that guarantees scholarship success.

There’s no way to ensure a student receives a scholarship, as each award is granted at the discretion of individual human beings who are under no obligation to listen to whomever you may pay for “guaranteed results.” Besides, if you could pay to get scholarships, everyone would do that – and then there’d be no scholarships left.

Scholarships from Local Colleges

This strategy has worked well for students with a competitive application. The first step is to search for colleges based on location rather than another factor such as national ranking, course offering, or campus offering. Those three concerns can still influence college choice. The point is that applying to colleges nearby can save money for a variety of reasons.

If a student has a competitive application and applies to a school where he or she is at or above average, merit-based financial becomes much more likely. To understand why, it’s necessary to understand how most colleges distribute financial aid. A lot of colleges (not all) offer financial aid in tiers. Each school usually creates a student profile that contains facts such as GPA, ACT®/SAT® scores, extracurriculars, application details, etc.

Then the first 5% or so of students are offered a portion of financial aid. Once that tier has been given its award offers, then the financial aid office moves on to the next tier, maybe 10-15%. And so on and so forth, through the 25%, 50%, and to all the rest.

A student can leverage his or her application by using the above knowledge on how colleges grant financial aid. As a general rule, applying to schools where a student is in the top 5%-25% can yield more financial aid.

Finding Local Colleges

To find schools where a student’s application is competitive, a lot of people search within a radius of their home. The government has even created a free to search for colleges within a certain radius of a person’s address. Click the link below to use the free tool.

Enter in the maximum distance of 250 miles around your zip code. To see how a student’s application may rank at a particular nearby college, get a list of colleges from that link, then search for “freshmen profile at {college name} 2024.”

Most universities release such information. Then, applying to those nearby colleges where a student is in the upper percentiles of a freshmen class can be a great way for colleges to give a student a lot of money in scholarships.

Colleges want to attract the best students they can. One way they do this is by making the most generous offers to the students with the most competitive applications.

Home for the Holidays

Another way this strategy can save money, besides the amount of money saved in scholarship, is by allowing easier travel home. Students often come home for Winter and Summer Break. They may come home for Thanksgiving, Spring Break, or any time they feel they want to.

If a student is within 250 miles of their home, it’s much more affordable for them to come home. A few plane tickets a year can easily cost another $1,000-2,500 in addition to college, which can be a difference of $4,000-10,000.

Needs-Blind Admission

An important caveat to the conversation on merit-based scholarships is “needs-blind” admission or income thresholds. If a family is comfortable discussing finances with their children, they can optimize for schools with this policy. Basically, a college will cover 100% of tuition, and sometimes board and other expenses, for students from families with income under a certain threshold.

If this is important to you, search for colleges with needs-blind admission. Each university will explicitly list its specific requirements and awards, so there shouldn’t be any surprises if a student is admitted.

National Merit Scholar

The National Merit Scholarship can be easily misunderstood because it portrays itself as being more straightforward than it actually is. I’ll break down the steps involved, and what that means when calculating whether a student can count on this scholarship.

1. 1. First, you need to take PSAT/NMSQT®

Each year, about 1,500,000 students take the PSAT®. Overall, 7,580 students win, which is 0.00505333% of all students who take the Test.

This is a link to the College Board®'s website to sign up for the PSAT®

2. 2. 50,000 high scorers are selected

The NMSC® takes the top 50,000 scorers and notifies them.

3. 3. 16000 semifinalists are then selected

Then, out of the top 50,0000, 16,000 semifinalists are calculated on a state-by-state basis. There are maximums calculated for each state. NMSC® notifies the students’ schools.

4. 4. 15000 finalists are notified

From the 16,000 finalists, 15,000 are selected as finalists. The NSMC® makes sure the students’ scores are accurate, and that the student attends a high school in the US (or meets other requirements). Moving on from this stage requires several other steps.

This is a link to the NSMC®'s website detailing requirements to become a finalist.

5. 5. Then, final winners are selected.

6870 National Merit and 710 special scholarship winners scholarship winners

Source

National Merit Scholarship Award Amounts

The awards break down as follows. Students do NOT win each of the following. Usually, they win one or the other, National Merit® or a corporate-sponsored scholarship. Then, a college may or may not have a further scholarship based on the National Merit® Scholarship.

1. • National Merit® $2500 Scholarships
2. • Corporate-sponsored scholarships

These scholarships are either for all winners, or for residents of communities or children of employees.

See the full list here

3. • College-sponsored scholarships

Each year colleges and universities support about 3,600 Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who have been admitted to and will attend their institutions. The award varies from school to school, and is received in addition to National Merit® Scholarship.

Source

Final Thoughts On National Merit

The National Merit® Scholarship is incredibly competitive. Many people don’ realize there are steps beyond just taking the PSAT®. It’s a statistical fact that most students taking the PSAT® Test won’t win it. But someone has to earn the scholarship. Don’t let the odds dictate your decision.

As always, use your best discretion.

ROTC Scholarships

ROTC stands for Reserve Officers' Training Corp. Most people pronounce it like ‘Roxy’ but with tze at the like in ‘Yahtzee’, like “Rotzee.” Each program offers financial aid options to cover up to the entire cost of college, and, in some cases, living expenses.

Upon completing a ROTC program in college and graduating, students are commissioned as officers in their respective programs: Army, Navy, Air Force. Each ROTC program has its individual requirements. A part of the application for each is SAT® or ACT® score.

Here are the requirements as they relate to test scores:

Army

According to “ROTCConsulting.com,”:

The SAT/ACT is the single most important factor that you have direct control over, do not waste the opportunity to improve your scores! Your SAT/ACT scores are worth 18% of your overall score. To be competitive for an Army ROTC scholarship, strive for a 1295 on the SAT and 29 on the ACT to meet recent averages for the four year scholarship (average scores are lower for the 3 year advanced designee scholarship).

The Army’s own ROTC page is here. It’s a little lighter on details. If your family is considering Army ROTC, try to talk to someone who has considered the program before. Your high school guidance counselor may be able to direct you to the appropriate people.

Navy

The Navy’s ROTC Page has a comprehensive overview of its program.The test score requirements for the Navy ROTC scholarship are as follows:

Meet the required SAT and/or ACT scores. The minimum SAT scores are 550 Critical Reading, 540 Math (1100 combined), and the minimum ACT scores are 21 Math, 22 English (44 combined).

An ACT® Test score of 21 or 22 isn’t too much harder to achieve than the 18 recommended for college readiness. A higher score than the minimum requirement can make a student’s application more competitive.

Air Force

The Air Force ROTC Scholarship has the highest requirements out of all branches. You can find the full details of the scholarship requirements at this link. Regarding test scores, the Air Force says, "SAT composite of 1240 or ACT composite of 26. Super scores are not accepted."

ROTC Schools

It’s important to keep in mind that while many schools have ROTC programs, not all schools have every branch of ROTC. Choosing to pursue an ROTC scholarship can limit a student’s options for where to study, though the program may offer the student many other advantages. Check each respective programs website for an up-to-date catalog of each school that has a respective ROTC program.

Sports Scholarships

Few students receive sports scholarships, but it’s common to receiving tutoring to gain or maintain one. According to the NCAA, “Only about 2% of high school athletes are awarded athletics scholarships to compete in college.” Student athletes may receive academic scholarships. There are several different leagues of sports that offer different kinds of financial aid. Read below to learn more about the options.

NCAA

The NCAA is the sports league most people are familiar with. There are three divisions within the NCAA: D1, D2, and D3.

Division 1 has the largest schools, followed by Division 2, and then Division 3. Athletic demands will be greatest the closer a student is to Division 1. D1 and D2 schools can provide athletic scholarships, but D3 can’t.There are all sorts of rules around being recruited for one of these scholarships and receiving any sort of financial aid. The best place to start is the NCAA’s homepage.

NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, or NAIA, organizes the sports for smaller colleges. They award 1.3b in scholarships annually. The rules for NAIA scholarships are much less complicated than NCAA. But the actual dollar amounts awarded to each individual varies greatly.

The NAIA webpage for financial aidoffers little guidance on this subject, since the actual amount of money a single student can expect is going to be determined by the school a student will attend. Your coaches, high school guidance counselors, college financial aid offices, and college recruiters will be the best resource to advise on the dollar amounts a student can expect at individual schools.

State Entitlement Awards

Many students are unaware that some States have a specific entitlement award. The requirements for each award vary greatly from state to state. A lot of states require a student to proactively claim it. That leads to many people not taking advantage of the money they were otherwise entitled to.

The best way to find if your state has an entitlement award is by going to Google. Type in your state + entitlement award (maybe add for high school students).

California for example has Cal Grant.

This is a link to the Cal Grant website.

Virginia has the Guaranteed Assistance Program.

This is a link to Virginia's Guaranteed Assistance Program.

Local Scholarships May Be Your Best Bet

There are many scholarships offered at the local level. Most students report the greatest success pursuing scholarships in their community. It makes sense: there’s more opportunity with less competition. Here are some places a student can check for scholarships.

Guidance Counselors

High school guidance counselors have the greatest amount of insight into local scholarships. It is their job to know who is trying to give money to college- or trade school-going seniors. Hand in hand with this tip, also check out a high school’s website. Some of them post relevant scholarships online.

Community Organizations

Kiwanas, Rotary, Lions Club – they all offer scholarships of varying amounts. Some might have eligibility requirements. For the most part, these organizations exist to serve the community. That includes scholarships.

Student Clubs & Interest Clubs

Student clubs sometimes reward their members with scholarships. A student likely knows about this from being a member. Interest clubs may or may not remember to tell students about scholarships. Equestrian societies, intermural sports clubs, and private membership-based organizations may offer aid to graduating seniors. Be sure to check them out.

Parents Employer & Union

Some employers offer scholarships to students of parents employed there. While it tends to be larger companies doing this, many people are simply unaware of the benefit offered. Some unions also have scholarships for children of represented parents.

Parents Military Service

The GI Bill pays for the college of eligible service members. The credit is transferable to the parent’s child as well. Here’s more information regarding transfer eligibility:

Link to the VA's webpage that describes GI Bill Transferability

Religious Organization (Church, Synagogue, Mosque, etc.)

Local religious organizations tend to provide scholarships to members. If you belong to such an organization, be sure to check if there are any relevant opportunities provided.

Local Government

Local governments like helping their residents succeed. You can search {Local government’s name} + scholarship to see if anything’s available. Additionally, your representatives may be able to connect you with the appropriate resources.

Local Newspaper

Check your local newspaper for scholarship opportunities. Newspapers (or their websites) are still great resources for community members to advertise their scholarships in.

Big Business & Professional sports team

This category is not exclusive to a local search, but sometimes is. Big businesses and professional sports teams sometimes have their own scholarship programs. Sometimes, the scholarship program is available only to residents of communities the business or sports team operates in. Other times, the eligibility criteria are broader.

Coca Cola’s scholarship , for example, is open nationwide.

The LA Dodgers provide scholarships for residents of the Greater LA Area.

Colleges

As discussed above, the college a student attends can be a great source of financial aid. Most students meet their obligations through the college’s financial aid office. There are resources and ways to benefit that not everyone knows about.

Department of Your Major

Each major has its own department. A student can check out the respective department where they intend to study. Sometimes there are scholarship opportunities listed on the website. Other times, the scholarships are posted physically somewhere inside the building.

College Financial Aid Officers

It is totally appropriate to meet with financial aid officers while touring colleges. These people’s whole job is to make sure people can pay for college, whether that’s by cashing check or processing student loans and scholarships.

Financial Aid Officers can tell students what options are available at a specific school. That includes sports, ROTC, merit-based, and need-based aid. They may even know each department’s available scholarships. If there’s no visit scheduled before the information regarding financial aid is needed, it’s also okay to call financial aid offices. Some may ask you to schedule an appointment. By and large, the officers are prepared to help you.

Ethnicity-based Scholarships

A lot of students don’t know there are ethnicity-based scholarships for almost anyone. The major ones that represent a lot of underserved students are listed here.

1. NAACP

A list of scholarships from the NAACP.

2. HSF

A link to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund's Website.

3. IHS

This is a scholarship program for American Indian and Alaska Native students pursuing health care professions.

4. NIAF

This is a scholarship for Italian Americans.

5. Arab Americans

This is a list of scholarships for Arab Americans.

There are lots of other scholarships too. You can search “scholarships for {ethnicity}.” Opportunities exist for Hungarian Americans, British Americans, Japanese Americans, and more!

Aggregators

Only try aggregators once local options are exhausted. There are some good options available. But the competition is much stronger for what’s often the same amount of work. The big two to look at are the College Board’s and the ACT’s scholarships, as they’re likely to be more vetted than other aggregators.

College Board

The College Board’s scholarship search engine is well known to be among the best. It offers several filters and an easy-to-use, modern user interface.

The ACT®

The ACT® Inc. maintains a list of reputable scholarshipsrequiring a certain ACT® Test Score. Access requiring signing up, but it’s free to create an account and view the list.

Other Aggregators

There are a number of websites that put together lists of scholarships. While all of these sites have a good reputation, the vetting process for each scholarship may or may not be comprehensive. Use your best discretion in applying.

1. Unigo
2. FastWeb
3. SuperCollege
4. Sallie Mae's Scholarship Page
5. CollegeXpress

➡️This site in particular lets colleges solicit you

Scholarship Tracker

Here’s a good scholarship tracker the nice people over on the scholarship subreddit made. It can be very useful to those applying to many different opportunities.

Conclusion

There are so many options to pursue for scholarships. My best advice is to go try something. Many families don’t apply for any. This article has given many ideas for places to start looking. I hope it helps people find relevant scholarships.

Are there any scholarships, tips, or advice you want other parents to know about? Comment below to share.