Save on College Expense by Applying for a Ton of Scholarships

In the back of January's issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, they profile a young man who completed his college education in one year at the University of Virginia (I wrote about him in Save Money on College by Graduating in One Year!). Not only did he complete college in one year (much of which was due to taking college-level courses in high school and getting credit for them), but he did so while only spending $1,000. He's how he answered the questions regarding how he graduated with only a minimum of expense:

How did you manage that?

My family was short on money, so I applied for about 30 scholarships during my senior year in high school. UVa didn't award me any academic or financial aid, but I won roughly $14,000 in scholarship money, which covered a year's tuition and room and board.

What's your advice for finding scholarships?

I used databases in the guidance counselor's office at my high school. If your high school doesn't have a good database, try another school. And if you find scholarships that may not seem perfectly suited for your qualifications, apply anyway.

This guy is a living college saving expert. Consider what he did to save a bundle on college costs:

1. Took classes in high school that earned him college credit (effectively shortening the amount of time -- and thus cost -- he'd spend in college.)

2. Applied for scholarships like a madman -- putting the law of averages on his side.

It's hard to argue with this strategy. He saved a ton of money and time and is now on to bigger things -- like getting an advanced degree (or two) with a grant that pays all his expenses.

For those of you wanting to read more on saving on college, see Best of Free Money Finance: College and Education Posts. 

Comments

[shawnna]

Been there, did that. had a 94.4 GPA, participated in many school activities and took leardship roles. Volunteered, and took challenging and AP courses.

Applied for nearly 100 scholarships. Got 2 - for a total of $700. And I did write quality essays that were read over by english professors each time.

For me, that strategy was a HUGE waste of time. If you're a minority or a girl going into a science field or something special like that, this advice is for you. If you're a white, middle class and you're not top 3 in your class, I'd ignore this advice completely.

[cory]

Another bit of insight:

If you're poor white trash, getting outside scholarships can DECREASE the amount of need-based aid a school will give. I found this out the hard way when I was heading to college (I'm poor white trash).

The trick is that some scholarships are paid to the school (essentially a credit to your tuition bill), while others are paid directly to the student.

If you've already submitted your FAFSA, and you get a scholarship that is paid directly to the student, you're safe. If you get a scholarship that's paid to the school, it's a different story:

Your FAFSA gives schools some sort of magical formula that determines your "family contribution" (efc). Your need-based aid is determined:

(est. first year costs) + (tuition) + (misc. fees) - (efc) = need based aid

The school generally offers aid in the form of loans and grants that equal your need based aid. If you get a scholarship that is paid to the school, the amount of the scholarship is SUBTRACTED from the need based aid. As I'm sure you can imagine, the first things to go off your aid package from the school are grants and subsidized loans.

If you're in this boat, it is only worthwhile to go after scholarships if you can score enough money to EXCEED the amount you'd be given in grants.

Sad, but true.

[WallerBlog]

I just listed your article in my top 5 posts of the week. However, I couldn't get your trackback to work properly, so I wanted to let you know here.

[FMF]

Thanks.

Not sure why it's not working for you -- I've had a couple today come in. But Typepad can be jumpy with TB's sometimes. ;-(