The very first thing every potential college or trade school student should do is go to the government education web site and fill out the electronic FAFSA form. It's important to do this as soon as possible after January 1 each year for the following year that they're enrolled in school. The web site is: www.fafsa.ed.gov. Students will need to apply for a PIN to submit a FAFSA online. You can submit the FAFSA by postal mail but it's about two weeks faster to do it electronically -- and when you're competing for education dollars, two weeks is a wide margin.
My BIG TIP of the day: for those of you familiar with FAFSA forms and for whom most of your income dollars goes toward things such as medical expenses, be sure to take the time to file an appeal letter with your school's financial aid office after you get the award notification. We've done this every year, citing high medical costs and other extenuating situations that always come up. After appealing, we've always received at least $200 or more. Every cent helps!
Also, check out state rehabilitation offices to see what assistance they offer. Understandably, they commit the most money to students with greatest impairments, such as those with gross physical, motor or visual impairments (but I know one student with asthma who got enough financial assistance simply to pay for textbooks). For students planning to attend out-of-state schools, apply for rehab assistance in the state where they plan to attend college, not the state where they currently reside.
For more information, go to
www.pueblo.gsa.gov/crh/vocational.htm
DiscoverCard has a great scholarship for students overcoming adversity. However, it's only open to applicants in their junior year of high school; applications must be submitted before January each year. The web site is: www.discovercard.com/discover/data/about/philanthropy/tribute.shtml
There are many free scholarship search engines on the web. Beware and avoid sites (and solicitation letters that come in the mail) asking for money and promising scholarship search information. Keep in mind that no matter what site you go to, information is constantly changing.
Here are a few other sites:
www.fastweb.com -- most every high school and college recommends this site; we've used it before but I find it self-limiting because of its heavy use of plugging profile information into categories that might not meet your situation, thus excluding you from lots of scholarships.
http://www.scholarships.com -- scholarship search engine, grants, and contests; very well-organized with lots of helpful information.
www.freschinfo.com/index.phtml -- lots of financial aid information andd tips; you can search or browse for scholarships based upon certain criteria. This site has grown over the years without keeping up with visual organization (or maybe I'm just getting old!).
www.colleges.com -- college info and links (for scholarship search and sweepstakes, click Financial Aid)
www.wiredscholar.com -- scholarship search engine and college tips (also, register to win a $1,000 scholarship)
http://absolutelyscholarships.com -- scholarship search engine (you can reegister to win a $10,000 private university/college scholarship)
www.embark.com -- search for schools, grants, fellowships, distance learning, online test prep. Click on Finance then scroll down to "scholarships and grants to start a search.
http://scholarships.kachinatech.com -- use keywords to browse for scholarshiips, grants, fellowships, and internships, or scroll down through their extensive listing to search.
www.collegexit.com -- everything financial you need to know about leaving college (enter to win their sweepstakes to finish paying for school or paying off student loans, even if you've already graduated).
Much scholarship information is geared toward certain disorders such as epilepsy, visual and hearing impairments, and physical impairments.Be sure to check out those resources too. Good luck!
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