$6 Million in New Scholarships to Assist Nontraditional Students

Certain college students could benefit from new scholarships designed to ease the financial burden of furthering their educations.

Stevens-Henager College, a leading provider of on-campus and online higher education, in May announced in 14 new scholarship programs worth $6 million annually. All of the new scholarship programs may be awarded on a quarterly basis to recipient students at each Stevens-Henager campus and the campuses of its sister schools, CollegeAmerica and California College San Diego.  The number of scholarships that each campus may award per quarter will be based upon the campuses enrollment size. Continue Reading

Video Interview in U.K. Immediately After Keynote About U.S. Job Market for College Grads

Last week I had the good fortune to fly over to Leeds, England to keynote their annual Graduate Employment Conference. CEO of Graduates Yorkshire and Gradcore Martin Edmondson asked me to deliver a presentation about the U.S. job market for college and university students and recent graduates. Many of the issues we’re facing are similar to those they’re facing. They’re experiencing some of them before we do and we’re experiencing some before they do.

One issue that I knew was important but didn’t realize just how important it would be to them was the high cost of attending just about any type of post-secondary school. The cost of attending a higher education institution is far higher in the U.S. than it is in almost any other country and FAR higher than it is to attend an equivalent school in the United Kingdom. But their recent implementation of austerity measures threatens to put their schools on a similar path to that which our schools have long been on. Without exception, every attendee and organizer with whom I spoke greatly appreciated my urging that they do not follow our lead as we are making higher education impossible for many and soon, I fear, for most. As bad as that would have been decades ago, it is even worse moving forward as we cannot and should not hope to compete against other nations to see which can manufacture goods at the lowest possible cost. Unless we want our citizenry to again have third world standards of living, we need to ensure they have first world standards of work. And that means that we need a workforce which uses the muscles between their ears more than the muscles on their backs. Continue Reading

Cost of Private Colleges Falls Even As Costs Skyrocket for Public Colleges

Here’s the average sticker price and average net price for tuition and fees at public and private colleges in the U.S. over the past 15 years:

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Honor Student Has Baby, Loses Healthcare, Becomes Homeless, But Now Back in School

MoniKea Hatten of Glen Ellyn, Illinois had always been a good student and driven to succeed even though she grew up without much support or the means to accomplish many of her goals. She lost her job in 2007 and enrolled at the College of DuPage in an effort to upgrade her education and make herself more marketable to employers and a more productive member of society.

In 2010, MoniKea Hatten was an honor student but also pregnant. She was unable to finish a summer course scheduled to end July 27th because she delivered her baby on July 12th.  Because she didn’t complete the course, she lost her financial aid.

In 2011, MoniKea turned to WorkNet DuPage to see if they could help her find a way to continue school. Many barriers, however, stood in her way. She had no means of transportation and soon became homeless. Paying for childcare was out of the question. Roseanne Deane at WorkNet recommended a program called LEAP at People’s Resource Center. MoniKea called. “My life has never been the same,” she said. “LEAP gave me provisions for transportation and incentives to help pay for childcare. I didn’t have much money, and it was very difficult to travel 4 ½ hours every day using public transportation from a shelter in Villa Park, but I did it.”

PRC taught MoniKea how to network, and today she is working and continuing her education. She credits LEAP for both. Currently, she is looking for housing for her son and herself. “Everything’s a stepping stone to my destiny,” MoniKea said. “PRC is my home, and the people at PRC are my family. Any young person seeking change should check out PRC. They push you forth into your life. Seriously, they will work with you until you are on your way.” Continue Reading

College Scholarships Students May Not Know About

Need some extra scholarship money?  There are opportunities which may fit you perfectly, but don’t know about.

To win a share of the billions of dollars available in college scholarships, you don’t necessarily have to be a 4.0 student or have scored a perfect 2400 on the SAT* or 36 on the ACT* – though that helps too.  There are many unusual, little-known scholarships available for students of diverse backgrounds and lifestyles, but who may not have the strongest academic records. Here are just a few: Continue Reading

50 Free Resources to Find a College Scholarship, Loan or Grant

Hi All,
I was contacted by a blog UniversityOnline.org because they thought their article entitled “Top 50 Free Websites to Look for Scholarships” would be of interest to my readers. Their blog focuses on resources to obtain an online education, but this article is not specific to scholarships for online educational institutions.
Here’s the intro to the article and a few of the college scholarship resources on their list. To see the entire list of 50, click here:
Trying to find a scholarship to fund your college education can seem like the equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack. Besides, don’t scholarships only go to the super smart, over-achiever types? Not necessarily.
Use these free search tools and website to find lots of scholarships, financial aid and information on applying for scholarships the right way. Sign up for a free email account to use specifically for scholarship searching. It will save you time and headaches if you use a separate email address because you could end up with a bunch of junk emails as you give out your personal information to some websites.
General Scholarship Search Tools
1. FastWeb – Fast Web allows students to search for scholarships based on their year in college, interests, major and region. Not only can students search for scholarships for free, but Fast Web has loads of articles on financial aid, student life and internship opportunities.
2. Scholarship Experts – Scholarship Experts was named “best scholarship search engine” by Forbes in its Best of the Web Review. Fill out the required information and you’re on your way to finding a scholarship that fits your needs.
3. College Scholarships.org – College Scholarships.com has been helping students find money for college for free since 1999. The web site also has student loan and grant information available.
4. College Scholarships.com – College Scholarships.com allows students to search for scholarships and review scholarship essay samples for free.
5. Scholarships.com – Search for over 2.7 million scholarships with Scholarships.com’s free search tool. Or students can create a profile and have matching scholarships and grants sent to them from the database.
6. College Board: Scholarship Search – College Board allows members to access, save and compare scholarship information from its database. Just sign up for a free account and start looking for free ways to fund your education.
They list 44 more in the article, so check it out!
Bye for now.
Article by Lisa Orrell, Millennial & Generation Relations Expert and courtesy of Lisa’s Generation Relations Blog

Getting Financial Aid to Study at American Universities: Tips for International Graduate Students

A number of talented international students want to pursue graduate studies with financial aid in an American university. The graduate schools in the U.S. can offer financial assistance to only a few students because of limited funds. Educational standards are high in the United States, but education in this country is not cheap. If you are unable to get financial aid – not a loan – from private or governmental agencies in your own country for graduate studies in this country, you have to use your own funds or borrow. The cost of the loan from a bank or other sources is usually very high. So, how do you fulfill your dreams to study in the United States with financial aid? Here are some tips:
1. Scholarships
A few scholarships are available exclusively for international students to fund their graduate studies. Check with the Graduate School of your university for which you wish to apply for more info. Contact The Office of International Student and Scholar Services also in the university for scholarship details.
The amount you will receive varies from scholarship to scholarship. It could range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Some scholarships may cover the entire cost of your graduate education. Scholarships are competitive. You may get a scholarship on the basis of, among others, your undergraduate performance. Find out the requirements and deadlines, and apply early. You may want to check out internationalscholarhip.com for a list of scholarship opportunities.
2. GRE Scores and Financial Aid
If you want to attend a graduate school – with financial aid – in the U.S., score as high as possible on the GRE. You have to prepare for the test at least three months before you take the examination. A higher score on the GRE means you have excellent potential to get a financial assistance. These are usually in the form of research assistance (RA) / teaching assistance (TA). With a RA/TA, you get out-of-state tuition waiver too. Keep in mind that both the Graduate School and your Department consider your academic performance also to grant financial aid. Continue reading …
Article by, neemtree1 and courtesy of Associated Content, Inc.

Tips to Avoid Scholarships Scams

Money is hard to come by, especially because of the recent recession and the bad state of the economy. And this is why parents and students alike are worried about the latter’s academic future. A college education has become more expensive, so it’s natural that parents are on the lookout for any scholarship they can get their hands on. It’s the best way to get your child through college if you don’t have any money saved up or if your nest egg has diminished in value because of the economic downturn; you don’t have to worry about the repayment of a loan on graduation, which often takes years to pay back because of the high interest rate.
It’s not wrong to keep your eyes and ears open in order to secure a good scholarship for your ward; what could go wrong is your being taken for a ride by people who use your money troubles to rook you. If you’re worried about a scholarship being a scam, here’s how to read the signs:

• People who demand that you pay money in order to receive a scholarship. You’re asking for free money for an education, and legitimate scholarships don’t ask for any money to be paid in advance.
• Most scholarships are awarded by the government, either State or Federal. If you do come across a private scholarship, it has probably been set up for a particular community or for students who satisfy certain criteria. Do your research to see if your child qualifies.
• People who promise to return your money if you don’t secure the scholarship.
• Never, ever give out details of your bank account, credit card or any other sensitive information. You could be robbed or have your identity stolen.
• Cold calls and emails that sound enthusiastic and claim that your child has been selected out of thousands to receive a scholarship.

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SolvayCARES Helps Students With Cystic Fibrosis Realize Their Dreams of Attending College

Every year since 1993, SolvayCARES (inspired by the work done by Solvay Pharmaceuticals to help CF patients), has given scholarships to students with Cystic Fibrosis who wanted to further their education.
This year, SolvayCARES will award a total of 40 scholarships to qualified students. In addition to writing an inspiring essay, the criteria are:

• Creativity
• Academic Excellence
• Community Involvement
• Financial Need
• Ability to Serve as a role model for the CF community

The finalists will have their essays posted on the SolvayCARES Web site. Visitors to the site can then vote on their favorite story. The SolvayCARES “Thriving Student Achiever” Scholarship winner whose story receives the most votes will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship. The other 39 finalists will each receive a $2,500 scholarship.
The SolvayCARES “Thriving Student Achiever” Scholarship is just another way of showing students with CF that their dreams of going to college don’t have to be abandoned.
Note: Finalists have the option to not participate in the voting phase of the scholarship competition.

Scholarship Scams: What Everyone Should Know

Go for the Dream, but Don’t Get Dunked While Diving for Dollars!
Provided By: Associated Content, Inc.
Scholarships, financial aid, work-study programs, internships, and grants might be the only way some individuals can fulfill the dream of a higher education. There are plenty of legitimate programs that provide dollars to help you achieve your education goals, but it takes serious time to find them and apply to them.Unfortunately, con artists are aware of this and have scammed students and parents out of millions of dollars with the promise of finding you money. This article provides some of the tell-tale signs of possible scholarship scams and what to do if you suspect a scam. Continue reading …
Original article by, Aly Adair, published March 6, 2007, and courtesy of Associated Content, Inc.