Scholarships: How to get one

Published in the Utah Statesman January 26, 2009

Between tuition, fees, books, housing, transportation, food and many miscellaneous costs, college is anything but inexpensive. But with help from scholarships and other forms of financial aid, earning a college degree doesn’t have to break the bank.

Patti Kohler, scholarship counselor in the USU Financial Aid Office, said there are both incoming freshmen and continuing scholarships available from USU. Incoming freshmen entrance scholarships are given by the admissions office and are non-renewable. Most continuing student scholarships come from individual departments within the university, many of which have upcoming deadlines.

“It’s really crucial students get applications in (soon),” Kohler said. “Many department deadlines are the end of January and the beginning of February for the following fall.”

Undeclared continuing students are somewhat out of luck, Kohler said.

“If students have not yet declared a major they are kind of in limbo until they do so,” she said. “They’ll have to wait until they have declared a major if you didn’t receive an entrance scholarship.”

However, if departmental scholarships are not yet an option, Kohler said various groups on campus also offer scholarships.

“The Women’s Center, Multicultural Center, honors and other groups give out scholarships from small amounts to significant amounts,” she said. “Class year and major don’t matter – they look at financial need, personal circumstances, that type of thing.”

Deadlines for these scholarships are also upcoming and Kohler suggested students look into them and apply as soon as possible.

Sarah Poole, sophomore in accounting, received two scholarships from the Women’s Center totaling about $2,400 when she transferred to USU this past school year. She said they were extremely helpful in funding her education and various related expenses.

“I received two scholarships from the Women’s Center and a tuition scholarship from admissions,” she said, “and, oh my gosh, it helped a ton.”

Once her tuition had been paid, any extra money left the school direct deposited into her USU balance account to pay for other various expenses.

“I could use (the extra money) for anything related to school- my apartment, a computer and books. That was really nice,” she said.

When receiving a scholarship from the Women’s Center, recipients are required to complete 10 hours of service in the community each semester. Poole said she completed the hours by helping with the Special Olympics and the After-School Club at Woodruff Elementary School.

Poole said she recommends applying for as many scholarships as possible even when the process may seem tedious.

“Scholarships are hard because they take a lot of time (to apply for), but there are a lot of scholarships out there if you just apply,” she said. “My advice is just to throw your information out there and apply for as many as you can. If you have a special interest or ability there is probably one that would fit your type.”

Kohler also suggested checking the Financial Aid Web site, www.usu.edu/finaid, which provides links to other legitimate private scholarship opportunities. She warned against any scholarship search engine that requires applicants to pay for their service, most of which are not reputable.

One of the only scholarship search engines she recommends is www.fastweb.com, a Web site where students input information about themselves and the engine lists scholarships they qualify for.

“Fastweb is an acceptable, reputable place to go,” she said. “As far as we know we have had no complaints about misuse.”

Kohler said students should start preparing to apply for departmental scholarships available to juniors and seniors as soon as they have declared a major.

“(Freshmen) should go talk to their department to find out what the qualifications (for scholarships) are so they can start working towards them; GPA, service, some want to fulfill certain classes ... it just depends on the scholarship,” she said.

Luke Bell, freshman in economics, received the Presidential Scholarship as well as a leadership scholarship upon entrance to USU this past fall. The Presidential Scholarship pays for tuition and fees for four years, and the leadership scholarship provides a $300 stipend each semester for one year. He said the scholarships have been extremely helpful in aiding his transition to college life.

“(Having the scholarships) has just been really nice because I don’t have to work my freshman year in college,” he said. “It’s given me a chance to adjust a bit.”

Bell received his leadership scholarship by talking with the admissions director about additional funding. Although admissions does not handle continuing student scholarships, he said talking with whomever the scholarship is associated can definitely help.

“If you can get a face to the application it helps a lot because they know who you are and that you are interested,” he said. “They’ll see that you’re willing to put forth a little effort.”

Kohler also said just because a student’s GPA isn’t super high it does not mean they are not going to get a scholarship. Students can find scholarships not completely dependent on GPA.

“A lot of private scholarships are service oriented,” she said. “I know we have a strong service culture here at USU, and a lot of things USU students do qualify for requirements.”

Kohler said students are welcome to talk to her if they have questions. Kohler said she cannot tell students exactly what scholarships they qualify for, but can steer them in the right direction.
Kohler also strongly suggested students apply for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to see if they qualify for additional grants or loans. For more information or to apply, visit www.fafsa.ed.gov.

–karlie.brand@aggiemail.usu.edu