College Scholarships ? Debt Dumping? 5 year plan, oh my!

inkedupmomma

modern mouseketeer
Joined
May 5, 2008
Hi ya'll- we are currently helping our DD19 pay her college expenses, but it is killing us. Initially she was to take loans out if she wanted this school but then we needed to co-sign. Not wanting to risk that, we agreed to just help pay month to month. Again- its klling us. Its a lot.

I told her she needs to really buckle down and start applying for scholarships, which she has. Im hopeful that maybe some of you savvy debt dumpers have ideas on where to apply as well.

I know she should have gone to CC, but she got a pretty hefty amount for the school she chose (state school too) and is doing incredibly well (deans list!) so we would like for her to continue where shes at, if she can.

The greater plan is for DH and I to be out of PA within the next 5 years... so we have a lot of debt to start dumping, and its all feeling overwhelming! Any great(and trustworthy) sites to help with scholarships y'all may have had luck with, would be appreciAted, as well as debt dumping advice. Thanks!
 
Anyone have suggestions? I always thought scholarships were locked into place before you started at a College, not after.
 
at dd's former state university/ds's current community college almost all the scholarships that the institutions offer are administered through the financial aid office and are driven off one individual 'super' application. so checking with that office is the best jumping off point (and not all are financial need driven-that's just the office that deals with it). if she's got a chosen major then she needs to check and see if that department does any scholarships internally that she can apply for-now is the time to look b/c spring is often when these are due. beyond that-

do a google search for where YOU live/she presumably lived with you and 'college scholarships'. she might find local organizations and clubs that offer them-she might find dated/expired articles but it never hurts to call the scholarship's sponsor to see if they will be offering it again and when the deadline is.

do you or any of your extended family have affiliations with professional organizations, unions, credit unions, clubs? a minor familial link can qualify eligibility to apply for scholarships these offer.

check with the high school she graduated from to see if they offer any alumni scholarships.

I always thought scholarships were locked into place before you started at a College, not after.

not the case at all. while there are many more freshman scholarships out there (colleges do lots more to encourage enrollment) there are plenty of opportunities for the subsequent years. dd was not at the top of her high school class/never held a class office/never did a sport-she still earned number (not nesc. dollar) wise the highest number of scholarships in her high school graduating class b/c we had her apply for every scholarship we could find. too many pass on the ones in the low hundreds of dollar category but they all add up.


op-has your dd looked into on campus jobs? too many think these are exclusively for work study participants. not the case-there are many that go unfilled. sure, they generally pay minimum wage but they are convenient to and arrange hours around your classes. additional benefit-they can provide a work history/references for when you graduate and apply for full time work (one seemingly insignificant job duty on one of dd's college jobs qualified her for her first full time job, she wouldn't have had that absent that job-and those small jobs she worked over her college years added up to thousands of dollars in loans she didn't have to take out).
 
Well we have had zero luck with scholarships beyond the initial ones he got out of high school. We had him complete a foundation scholarship application which was supposed to apply to all those memorial type scholarships. It was a total pain and he didn’t get anything. Which is crazy because there are hundreds and in high school he got several. He also had no luck with jobs, on campus it off. He went through the laborious task of applying to be an RA. He has gotten straight As and is Avery responsible young man. He didn’t even get an interview. He’s a junior and we give up. He works in the summers. He worked at kohl’s over the holidays And they gave him 6 days. That’s it. He made about $300. Better than nothing but cray at the same time.
 
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There should be a list of scholarships on the school website. In addition, tell her to check scholarships.com.

As far as getting rid of debt and paying month to month, do you budget every time you get paid? We find this is helping us pay for our daughters college as well. Luckily, my dh gets paid every week. (I work part time as a substitute teacher). What we do is add up that weeks bills. The rest goes to savings and college bill right away. We do the same thing every week. Some weeks we can put more away than others because our bills are spread throughout the month. But this helps because we are also making more frequent payments.

If you can also cut any possible household bills like groceries or electric, any extra savings that month goes right to the college fund,etc.. So if I budget $200 a week for groceries but only spend $150, the other $50 goes to the college fund. Sounds small, but it does add up if we do it consistently.

Just think how rich we will feel when these kids are on their own.😁
 
Try asking around locally and with friends who have just finished college. Our daughter is getting a $5000/year scholarship from a small local foundation that barely has anything about it on the internet. We heard about it from family friends. It might be a long shot, but having literally nothing about it online, decreases the amount of folks applying for it. It's a long shot, but you never know, you might stumble across something similar.
 
Keep searching scholarships, but there are other avenues to get money for college. Universities typically have RAs (resident assistants) who work in the dorms (for free room and board) as well as TAs or GAs (teachers/graduate assistants) who receive free or reduced tuition in exchange for their work. Also, several companies offer tuition assistance. Check out the following link: https://thekrazycouponlady.com/tips/money/11-companies-that-will-pay-for-your-college-degree Google for more info outside of that article.
 


not the case at all. while there are many more freshman scholarships out there (colleges do lots more to encourage enrollment) there are plenty of opportunities for the subsequent years. dd was not at the top of her high school class/never held a class office/never did a sport-she still earned number (not nesc. dollar) wise the highest number of scholarships in her high school graduating class b/c we had her apply for every scholarship we could find. too many pass on the ones in the low hundreds of dollar category but they all add up.
Good luck OP. My youngest is 11 years out of high school, so things may have changed. The high school she and her brother went to had a very strong college counseling program and their advice on scholarships and grants was to have the school they are going to do the work before they start. As they put it, "a College is going to everything they can to make sure the students they admitted can afford to go to their school."
 
Good luck OP. My youngest is 11 years out of high school, so things may have changed. The high school she and her brother went to had a very strong college counseling program and their advice on scholarships and grants was to have the school they are going to do the work before they start. As they put it, "a College is going to everything they can to make sure the students they admitted can afford to go to their school."
In our experience, they offer a merit scholarship based on ACT and GPA. Then they offer loans and work study if you qualify. That’s about all they can do. Except as I said there are foundation scholarships you can apply for but good luck with that.

Oh yeah. And D1 schools can give athletic scholarships.
 
Keep searching scholarships, but there are other avenues to get money for college. Universities typically have RAs (resident assistants) who work in the dorms (for free room and board) as well as TAs or GAs (teachers/graduate assistants) who receive free or reduced tuition in exchange for their work. Also, several companies offer tuition assistance. Check out the following link: https://thekrazycouponlady.com/tips/money/11-companies-that-will-pay-for-your-college-degree Google for more info outside of that article.

That is a great link and some great ideas! Thanks for sharing. I am a few years away but this gives me some things to think about and share with my daughter.
 
It’s been 20 years since I was in college, but my merit scholarships increased while I was in college. They were through my major and I had to maintain a high GPA, but they were there. And I got more each year.
 
In our experience, they offer a merit scholarship based on ACT and GPA. Then they offer loans and work study if you qualify. That’s about all they can do. Except as I said there are foundation scholarships you can apply for but good luck with that.

Oh yeah. And D1 schools can give athletic scholarships.
My son got grants. One was a President's Grant for $10,000 a year. And his Freshman year he got a $500 grant from a lady who made a donation for grants. But it was a Private University, and most Privates have huge endowments. My daughter didn't get anything, but she went to a California State University so tuition was minimal.
 
My son got grants. One was a President's Grant for $10,000 a year. And his Freshman year he got a $500 grant from a lady who made a donation for grants. But it was a Private University, and most Privates have huge endowments. My daughter didn't get anything, but she went to a California State University so tuition was minimal.
What was the presidents grant based on? My son gets $6000 a year based on merit. He also gets KEES money which is a Kentucky thing. $2400 a year I believe. Those two things almost cover tuition but housing is another matter. These amounts do not increase either.
 
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Hi ya'll- we are currently helping our DD19 pay her college expenses, but it is killing us. Initially she was to take loans out if she wanted this school but then we needed to co-sign. Not wanting to risk that, we agreed to just help pay month to month. Again- its klling us. Its a lot.

I told her she needs to really buckle down and start applying for scholarships, which she has. Im hopeful that maybe some of you savvy debt dumpers have ideas on where to apply as well.

I know she should have gone to CC, but she got a pretty hefty amount for the school she chose (state school too) and is doing incredibly well (deans list!) so we would like for her to continue where shes at, if she can.

The greater plan is for DH and I to be out of PA within the next 5 years... so we have a lot of debt to start dumping, and its all feeling overwhelming! Any great(and trustworthy) sites to help with scholarships y'all may have had luck with, would be appreciAted, as well as debt dumping advice. Thanks!

Does her college or any nearby participate in the military ROTC program? It will pay her entire college cost going forward as well as pay her a monthly stipend. All she has to do is choose a service branch and give them 4 years after college. My husband did this after freshman year and has been a military officer for 21 years now.

That's all I can think of.
 
What was the presidents grant based on? My son gets $6000 a year based on merit. He also gets KEES money which is a Kentucky thing. $2400 a year I believe. Those two things almost cover tuition but housing is another matter. These amounts do not increase either.
I had no idea so I had to look it up.
  • President's Scholarships are awarded to exceptional high school seniors who apply to University of the Pacific.
  • You don't have to file the FAFSA to be considered and there is no separate scholarship application.
  • President's Scholarships are determined holistically, with factors such as high school attended, curriculum rigor, extracurricular activities, leadership, and demonstrated interest all being factors.
 
Good luck OP. My youngest is 11 years out of high school, so things may have changed. The high school she and her brother went to had a very strong college counseling program and their advice on scholarships and grants was to have the school they are going to do the work before they start. As they put it, "a College is going to everything they can to make sure the students they admitted can afford to go to their school."

sadly that's not the case so much these days. we see on the news the extent parents will go to get their kids into college. even if it's not one of the top tier/highly competitive ones the colleges know that these days both kids and their parents are willing to drown in debt for decades so it's not uncommon for a student's financial aid/scholarship packages to decrease with each year in college. we've seen colleges who bank on making it quasi affordable for the first 2 years b/c it's next to impossible to get another 4 year college to let you do a transfer in for your jr. year b/c they all have slight differences in the general ed/major prerequisites so they know few if any students will jump ship when faced with doing a 5th or possibly 6th year to finish their degrees. in our neck of the woods a community college student whose done their first 2 years will have more general ed transferable/accepted at a state college vs. a student who went 2 years to one state college but wants/needs to finish up at another.

ds recently got his financial aid award letter. i saw an item on it but couldn't figure out what it was until i googled the terminology. it was a loan.........a horrible loan at a terrible rate with terrible fees. to look at ds's award letter one would think he had been offered a full ride-reality is college/lenders have decided to rename some loan products so they don't have the negative connotation.
 
sadly that's not the case so much these days. we see on the news the extent parents will go to get their kids into college. even if it's not one of the top tier/highly competitive ones the colleges know that these days both kids and their parents are willing to drown in debt for decades so it's not uncommon for a student's financial aid/scholarship packages to decrease with each year in college. we've seen colleges who bank on making it quasi affordable for the first 2 years b/c it's next to impossible to get another 4 year college to let you do a transfer in for your jr. year b/c they all have slight differences in the general ed/major prerequisites so they know few if any students will jump ship when faced with doing a 5th or possibly 6th year to finish their degrees. in our neck of the woods a community college student whose done their first 2 years will have more general ed transferable/accepted at a state college vs. a student who went 2 years to one state college but wants/needs to finish up at another.

ds recently got his financial aid award letter. i saw an item on it but couldn't figure out what it was until i googled the terminology. it was a loan.........a horrible loan at a terrible rate with terrible fees. to look at ds's award letter one would think he had been offered a full ride-reality is college/lenders have decided to rename some loan products so they don't have the negative connotation.

In California the system is allegedly set up so that Community College students with good grades can transfer to a University of California Campus. EVERYONE with who completes an AA is SUPPOSED to be an automatic admit to the California State University system, under the California Master Plan for Education. That wasn't happening a trigger a huge legislative battle.
My DD went from a CSU to a Community College, to another CSU, to a University in the U.K. back to the second CSU and the ONLY issue she had was getting the second CSU to accept classes from the first CSU to the second CSU. The Community College and UK classes transferred no problem. How can classes from one CSU to another CSU not be an automatic transfer?

Yes, my kids high school college counselors made it very clear, as far as Universities are concerned, Financial Aid is all the same whether it be a grant, a scholarship, work study, or a loan. They also made it clear that you likely will be expected to contribute about 25% of your gross income towards your child's college costs, and that unless the parent is VERY near retirement, THAT money should be diverted to your child's college costs if needed.
 
What is your DD doing towards earning money for her expenses? Has she applied for any Stafford Loans? Stafford loans are taken out by the student and don't need a co-signer. I think it is BS where people are saying their child's job is going to school and they shouldn't be working. Sorry, plenty of students work and go to school full time. Having skin (their own money) in the game have the impact of them generally making better decisions about how and where they spend money. I also would not put myself in debt or risk my own future to put a kid through school.
 
In California the system is allegedly set up so that Community College students with good grades can transfer to a University of California Campus. EVERYONE with who completes an AA is SUPPOSED to be an automatic admit to the California State University system, under the California Master Plan for Education. That wasn't happening a trigger a huge legislative battle.
My DD went from a CSU to a Community College, to another CSU, to a University in the U.K. back to the second CSU and the ONLY issue she had was getting the second CSU to accept classes from the first CSU to the second CSU. The Community College and UK classes transferred no problem. How can classes from one CSU to another CSU not be an automatic transfer?

Yes, my kids high school college counselors made it very clear, as far as Universities are concerned, Financial Aid is all the same whether it be a grant, a scholarship, work study, or a loan. They also made it clear that you likely will be expected to contribute about 25% of your gross income towards your child's college costs, and that unless the parent is VERY near retirement, THAT money should be diverted to your child's college costs if needed.
There is a difference between loans/grants and scholarships. I believe my college kid# received a $5000 grant that they will need to pay back, but Dd gets $18,000 a year in merit as long as she maintains a certain GPA. DD’s best friend‘s roommate just left this semester because her parents could not afford tuition.
 
In California the system is allegedly set up so that Community College students with good grades can transfer to a University of California Campus. EVERYONE with who completes an AA is SUPPOSED to be an automatic admit to the California State University system, under the California Master Plan for Education. That wasn't happening a trigger a huge legislative battle.
My DD went from a CSU to a Community College, to another CSU, to a University in the U.K. back to the second CSU and the ONLY issue she had was getting the second CSU to accept classes from the first CSU to the second CSU. The Community College and UK classes transferred no problem. How can classes from one CSU to another CSU not be an automatic transfer?

i'm familiar with this. i went to california community colleges and got my degrees from a california state university. the same transfer/acceptance concept is supposed to work where we currently live, and it does-in theory. in practice.......um, not so much.

what we've seen happen w/dd's peers is they go to a higher end (there are big variances between the costs at our public universities) 4 year b/c the financial aid awards are initially a better deal than at the lower cost ones or the community college (they get more 'free money' such that despite higher attendance costs they end up paying less out of pocket year 1). they start taking their general ed. basic general ed requirements are the same public college to public college (x number of math classes, y number of english, z number of science...). year 2 rolls around and they continue on this track but with a lower amount of free money so higher out of pocket costs. mid year 2 they get their award letter and find that there's almost no free money and they will have to pay near if not all costs out of pocket so they start scrambling to see if one of the lower cost universities wouldn't be a wiser financial option. that's when they find out that 'yes' their units are transferable, 'yes' they've completed their general ed requirements at both universities BUT-the major at each university has slightly different prerequisites so the math classes they took weren't the ones that meet the prereq's, the english don't meet the prereq's-and all the electives? those were basically wasted b/c they should have been carefully selected to meet the wealth of other prereq's for the department they wanted to major in.

it ends up coming down to having to repeat an entire year of general ed type classes at a new university (and a 3rd year applicant who is at prereq wise a 2nd year entering level is not going to be offered a wealth of aide) or bite the bullet, pay exorbitant costs/take out crazy loans to finish up where they are on the original 4 year plan. we've seen even worse situations with some of the esteemed private universities that string along these kids for the first 2 years with full rides only to have them realize when they are committed to a major that those last 2 years are entirely out of pocket at 3-4x what a public charges but almost none of the units will apply to an identical major.
 

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