Last week, just as school started up, Vanderbilt University’s Road Show came through town. MM’s on their mailing list but hasn’t really expressed any interest (or disinterest) in the school. But, it is within driving distance so it’s on my list. She didn’t complain about going to the presentation, so that was a good start.
The presentation, given by two people from the admissions office, went over the school’s policy for admissions, financial aid, and an overview of the various colleges, campus life, and the city. Immediately, I was impressed by their admissions policy. There are three components:
First: Since talent and promise recognize no social, cultural, economic, or geographic boundaries, our admissions process is need-blind for U.S. Citizens and eligible non-citizens.
What does this mean? It means that the applicant’s financial status does not factor into the admissions process. Students are accepted, or denied, on talent and merit. Why does this matter? Not all schools are need-blind, as discussed in this October 2013 Forbes article. I don’t know exactly where my income would fall on the spectrum for need-aware schools, but I’d feel a lot better knowing it wasn’t a consideration. Why not cross that bridge when we come to it instead of having it dropped in front of the bridge as a roadblock?
The second and third components really go together:
Second: Vanderbilt will meet 100% of a family’s demonstrated financial need.
Third: Financial aid awards do not include loans. Instead of offering need-based loans to undergraduate students, Vanderbilt offers additional grant assistance.
I don’t know if any other schools make the second promise, but it’s the addition of the third component that makes this significant. Now, before you get too excited, they’re not saying they’re handing out $63,000 to every student. What it basically means is after you’ve completed your FAFSA and your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) has been determined, as well as any other financial awards you received, then Vanderbilt puts together a financial aid package that covers the rest. Of course, you still have to be accepted, but hey, not too shabby. Not all schools are need-blind. Some are very much need-aware. And just because a school is need-blind, it doesn’t mean it will meet full demonstrated need. Wikipedia has a page of schools and their need-blind statuses. It’s a good place to start, but the school’s Office of Financial Aid is, of course, the best source.
As I mentioned, they also went over the campus itself, Freshman life, Nashville, school clubs and organizations, etc. But, honestly, at an off-campus information session, it’s the admissions and financial aid that I’m more focused on. However, after this session, I think MM is open to a visit and considering Vanderbilt when she has to come up with her short list.
Over on our Twitter account, we follow a lot of different accounts that post lots of great information about colleges, financial aid, scholarships, the applications process, and so on. Typically, on Saturday and/or Sunday mornings, I have time to scroll through the feed and see what things I might not have caught during the week. This can be a good way to find lots of information. It can also be bad. Very bad. As in I think I’m moving (financially) in the wrong direction.
A couple of weeks ago, I saw a tweet from VolunTEEN Nation about programs to study abroad for high school students. Remember in my last post where I discussed encouraging MM’s love of travel? Yup. It came back to bite me in the bee-hind. I sent MM the link to NSLI for Youth. I honestly did not read the site as closely as I should have, although I did go through it a lot. I guess it’s more accurate to say I didn’t fully understand what I was reading. At any rate, I sent it to MM and she was off and running. I could not have imagined what I started. Actually, I think I perhaps should have realized what my adventurous spawn daughter would do!
Armed with a laptop and a wandering spirit, MM has hatched a plan. She eventually discovered AFS and their programs. They have study abroad programs around the world, ranging from a summer language immersion course, to a full academic year abroad. Nightly, she’d come into my room and lay out her plans. Of course, since this is MM, she doesn’t do anything small or halfway. No sir. She is going in whole hog. She wants to do a full academic year abroad.
Now while this is exciting, I have had a chance to digest it and I’m reaching full on panic mode. Not at the thought of sending my dear, sweet child away for a year. No. We’ll be lucky if foreign governments don’t beg me to take this strange child back. What I’m freaking out about is 1) cost, 2) academic credit here at home, 3) cost, and 4) did I mention cost???? For example, a semester in France costs $12,750! Full year tuition costs are not posted yet, but should be soon. I’m not sure I want to know. MM, who admittedly has done a lot of reading up on this, says she saw that the full year program is actually not a lot more than the semester. We shall see. But, now you can see why I feel like I’m moving in the wrong direction. We’re supposed to be finding money, not spending it!
Buuuuuttttt…….
Being the person I am and the mom I have been, I am not ruling it out. And after a bit of worry about having lost focus on the scholarship search, I saw the silver lining. Like I said, MM has taken charge on this. She has been diligently researching the programs and narrowed it down to AFS based on structure, offerings, etc. I followed up and agree that AFS does seem to be the best fit. She set up an appointment with her school counselor to discuss what she would need to do to make certain this does not negatively impact her graduation date. MM says she reviewed curriculum for the programs she’s considering and said she’d only have to take US History next summer to make up for a missed class. She joined the company’s Facebook page to ask questions of alumni. She is also following up with me to make sure I’m attending the webinars hosted by AFS to find out more about the company and get my questions answered. So, while we have taken a break from applying for scholarships (I am still looking though!), I feel MM has been using her time wisely because she is learning to manage a process on her own and practicing her problem solving skills.
So, the next step is to see if this is even financially possible, speak personally with the school counselor, and go from there.
But, now that we have gotten to this point, I think MM owes me a scholarship application. Mom needs to be kept happy, right?
Almost 16 years ago, as soon as I got over the shock and excitement of knowing I was going to be a mom, I faced the fear that almost 16 years later I’d be where I’m at today. I’d be sitting here trying to encourage you to dream bigger and bigger, but also to be sensible and make good decisions, keeping your feet planted firmly on the ground, no matter how high through the clouds you soared.
For the past 15 years, I have tried to cultivate in you a spirit of adventure. I wanted you to get out there and explore. The theory that guided me was that you’d never know if you never tried. So when you were not even four years old, we hopped on a plane and crossed the Atlantic for the first of many trips overseas for you. In Kindergarten, I signed you up for dance and cheer at the community center in New Jersey. That summer, I put you on a plane and sent you to another country to spend a summer with family you barely knew. When you were in first grade, I signed you up for ballet and swimming lessons at the YMCA in Connecticut. That same year, I made the commitment to lead you, and several other girls, through the world of Girl Scouting. I introduced you to camping and service to your community. We read books together. Oh so many books. You read me the stories of all of the American Girl Dolls, which lead to your grandfather calling you Josefina.
When you were in second grade, you decided you wanted to play the guitar. Off we went to the local music store and found you a teacher. Eight years down the road, you are now playing guitar in your school’s marching band. You grew into your own skin, discovering your passions. You grew up and left your dolls behind. You spent your summers exploring ancient Greek ruins and traveling around Italy, touring the monuments of D.C. with your Girl Scout troop, enjoying a girls’ trip to Savannah, GA with our friends, you spent a whole summer camping with me and hundreds of other girls. You’ve done a lot. And every year, I encouraged you to think bigger.
So here we are. In less than three years, you will be setting off on a journey I myself took just 20 years ago.
Like you, I had big dreams. I knew what I wanted to be and “knew” how I was going to do it. So I packed my bags and headed off to the other side of the country. I had found my ideal college. Or so I thought. But there was one huge difference. I did not have nearly as many tools at my disposal as you do today. What do I mean? I’m not the first in our family to go to college, but neither do we have a tradition of higher education in our family. We do not have a family school that everybody dating back to your greattothefifthdegree-grandfather attended. So even though your grandparents were clear that they intended for me to go to college, we didn’t have a plan. I am sure there were resources out there that could have helped me through the process, but I didn’t have anyone to point me in the right direction. My high school counselors weren’t nearly as proactive as yours. Armed with an impressive transcript and SAT scores, I applied to a few schools, but in my mind that was just a formality. I only had one school that I wanted to go to. That was also the only school I chose to visit. (I was flown up to visit another school, but that was not my choice, so I don’t count that).
I got accepted to my school of choice but I had no plan. I didn’t apply for a single scholarship and I only received one or two small scholarships that didn’t require applications. That was a huge mistake because tuition was over $20,000 a year. This was 20 years ago. It’s now over $40,000 a year. Well what did I do? I took out student loans. Don’t get me wrong, student loans aren’t evil. But you don’t want to take out $20,000+ a year! Why not? Because you have to pay them back! I didn’t have anyone there to explain all of this to me. Still, I was receiving a top notch education and I’d have a great career when I graduated, so it was worth it….right??? Well… It would have been a top notch education, if I actually had taken advantage of it. Let’s just say this, I characterize my time at that school as a year and a half long, $30,000 party. And what a party! waste of money. I didn’t understand what I was doing. I wasn’t mature enough to be doing this on my own. I needed someone to help me navigate this new world.
As you know, I moved back home, to go to school in state but the damage was done. I had missed out on the opportunity to go to school for free in my own backyard. The school I ended up graduating from turned out to be one of the best schools in the country for my major. Had I had more guidance, I would have known this when I was deciding where to go to school. I would have understood the value of what I was passing up. Georgia had just established the HOPE Scholarship. Graduating with my grades, if I had stayed in state to go to college, I would have gone to school for free. Instead, I was deeply in debt and I had basically wasted over two years because, to be honest, my heart was no longer in it by the time I moved back home. I dropped out of college.
In the end, I finally did go back to school but it was so much harder. You were already born and I was working full time. It took me another four years of going to school part time while working full time to finish my degree. Even though it was much cheaper than where I started, I was still taking out loans. I had wasted my opportunities. There was no longer a chance of going to school for free. And because I had a family, a home, and a car note, I had to continue working instead of focusing solely on school.
So here we are, twenty years after my journey started. My college debt has grown. Again, due to lack of guidance, I didn’t know how to handle all of those loans I had taken out so I just avoided them. I put off paying for them instead of trying to slowly pay them off. I deferred and deferred for as long as I could. But I have stopped avoiding and am now paying off. I will be for a long time. This is not what I want for you.
This is why we are doing what we are doing. This is why I am searching night and day for any “free money” I can find for you. This is why you are writing essay after essay. This is why I am writing this never ending post! 🙂 So when I insist that you consider schools in state that you are absolutely 10000% against considering, it’s not because I’m trying kill your dreams. It is because I am trying to make your dreams come true instead of turning them into a nightmare. I will do everything I can to get you to where you want to go. But, in the end, my ultimate goal is that you attend the best school possible combined with the least amount of debt. I want you to finish school and have no regrets and not have any debt. I even want you to enjoy some parties, just not too many! So if you will give me the benefit of the doubt and just consider what I have to say, I am certain you will end up somewhere you love and you will get the best education available and do it all for free. I will give up my first born child if I’m not right. 😉
I know, we’re a little behind on updating you about the next scholarship. But, honestly, we haven’t applied to anymore. Don’t worry. We’re not falling off the wagon. We’re in it to the end. But, as you know, school is still in the first few weeks and I seem to forget each year how crazy those first few weeks are. It’s not like her routine has really changed any over the past few years. MM has been at the same school since seventh grade. She’s also been in the senior high marching band every year. So it’s all the same. I drop her off each morning and pick her up after I get off work or she’s done with practice. Somehow, we manage to fit in dinner and homework each night. We won’t even get into how crazy Friday’s are during football season. It’s just go, go, go. If anything, this year should be a bit easier because the band no longer has after school practice. Nope. We still manage to fill that time with something. Nonetheless, each year, we have to adjust until we get back into a steady rhythm. I think we might be there. Maybe. In addition to MM’s schedule, and my work, I also have to study for my actuarial exams. Actually, I’m taking a break from exams and working on online learning right now. Regardless, it still is required to eventually get my “letters”. Think PhD, M.D., etc. just math. A lot of math. So, this week we started heading to the library for MM to study and do homework and me to do my modules. (Ssshhhh…I’m supposed to be working on one right now!)
Today MM had finished her homework before I picked her up, so I decided it was a good time for her to shoot off another quick scholarship application. I actually was not prepared with another one from my Scholarship Bible but I had just seen that Get2College had a list of scholarships on its web site. From browsing through the list of scholarships for high school students (they also have categories for college students as well as based on place of residence within Mississippi) it looked like their list included a lot more for high school seniors. Also, on the first several pages, most had deadlines in the spring. I wanted something sooner and I came across the Shout it Out Scholarship. This is another short essay scholarship, with minimal requirements.
Among other things, applicants must:
Be thirteen (13) years of age or older at the time of application,
Be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia,
Be currently enrolled (or enroll no later than the fall of 2019) in an accredited post-secondary institution of higher education, and
Submit an online short written response (250 words or less) for the question: “If you could say one thing to the entire world at once, what would it be and why?”
The deadline is September 30, so there is a bit of time, but don’t put it off. We also entered to win a $500 drawing from Zinch and the weekly $1,000 Scholarship. There is a lot going on over there, so click on through and check them out.
Still, with all things work and school, we managed to find time for a selfie! 🙂
Quick! Get a selfie!
Now that we’re getting this year figured out, it should be smooth sailing from here on out. Right? Right?!
Today, MM submitted her first scholarship application today. As I mentioned in my first post, we are starting at page 1 and working our way through the book. The very first entry happened to be one that she was qualified for. Actually, most people qualify for this one.
College JumpStart Scholarship is a $1,500 merit-based scholarship open to 10th-12th graders (or undergraduate and non-traditional students) who plan to attend a 2- or 4-year accredited school. Each year there are two awards, one in the spring and one in the fall. The deadlines are April 15 and October 17. This means there is still time for you to submit your application for the fall competition. It’s a quick and easy online form with an essay of no more than 250 words. How easy is that?
We’re still learning, so the essay was the hardest part of this process. There was a bit of stress, on both of our parts, trying to figure out how to approach the essay. There were four choices, but only two applied to MM. From there, it was a matter of expanding something that can be answered in one sentence to something a bit more eloquent. MM drafted her essay, I made a couple of suggestions, she revised and submitted. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. I didn’t see anywhere on the site that applicants are only allowed to enter once, so if you don’t succeed…well, you know.
So get on over there and apply, or pass this along if you know someone who could use this.
I’m a single mother with a teenage daughter who has begun her journey towards higher education. She’s starting her sophomore year in high school and already has her sights set high. Very high. Based on her list of colleges thus far, I know it’s never too early to start thinking about paying for college.
Within the past year or so, my daughter (we’ll call her MM, which is short for Mini Me) has started talking about what she wants to study beyond high school and where she wants to go to college. Already she has mentioned NYU, Brown, and Arizona State University, among others. As soon as the words left her mouth, I saw my bank account balance in the red! But, as a mother, of course I want to give her everything she wants. Within reason.
Approaching her sophomore year, we started discussing what it would mean to go to any of these schools. None of them are in state. Many on her list are considered selective universities. This means they accept a lower percentage of applicants than most schools. Although that doesn’t necessarily mean “more expensive”, in MM’s case it does. What this means for us is we have to figure out how we are going to pay for them. I have a good job and make good money, but I don’t make “NYU” money. Assuming MM gets accepted into one of the schools, how am I going to pay for it? Will we be considered a family with a need for financial aid? How much financial aid would she receive? How would I make up the difference? These questions are just the tip of the iceberg and the beginning of a mild major freakout.
We need a plan of attack.
Call it fate. Call it coincidence. But, last week in the library I was scanning the suggested reading display. Prominently featured was a book about financial aid. Basically, it was a list of tons of scholarships. Score! MM and I headed to the bookstore last weekend and piled our table high with every financial aid book they offered. As she looked up information about Psychology (her intended major), I combed through the books.
What you should know about books about scholarships and grants is there is a lot of overlap in the information provided. Actually, all of it is out there on the Internet for free. You just have to find it. That’s why we were there looking to pay for this information. It’s going to be enough work as it is applying for scholarships, adding all the time it would take to find them it was well worth it to pay for a list somebody else already put together. Plus, the information is organized by various categories and indexed for easy reference. So, what makes one book better than another? First, there’s the thump factor. The harder the book thumps when you drop it on the table, the more information it contains. Secondly, there’s the additional information contained within the book. What is the background of the authors? What makes them an “expert” on the topic? What tips can they provide for your search?
I thought about all of these things as I compared books and finally settled on The Ultimate Scholarship Book 2014. Why? Well, the book really thumped! I could probably do some serious damage with this book. You don’t believe me? Come at me bro! Also, the authors have “been there, done that.” They both were accepted to Harvard but their families didn’t have the financial means to pay for it. They had to work hard to realize their dreams. In short, I could relate.
So here we are, how-to manual in hand, beginning our journey. We will begin at page 1 and go all the way through to the end. And, hopefully, you will be there with us every step of the way. Our strategy is that MM will apply for every scholarship available to her. This blog will document our ups and downs. There will be posts about each one we apply to (at least that is the goal today) and links to any information about them. If we’re lucky, we’ll learn things along the way that will help you, such as essay writing tips. We’ll also blog about MM’s journey through her final years of high school. Occasionally, she will post as well, but mostly it will be Mom posting.
One thing I’ve already learned is that, while it does create more competition, sharing what you find also pays off. That being said, if you come across any “free money” you want to share, just go to the Contact Us! page and send us an email and we will share it with our readers.
So, just sit back and enjoy the ride. Oh, and invite your friends along!
MM Goes to College 