Grabbing cash for college: Ways to be successful in your scholarship search

WASHINGTON ( DC News Now ) — Waiting until the last minute to apply for scholarships will likely add stress to students and mean less money is available to them.

According to a new survey from Sallie Mae , 80% of college families said scholarships made it possible to attend school.

The survey also found that 64% of families received scholarships from colleges and universities last school year.

While some websites claim to help students search for scholarships, DC News Now found ways to obtain the most scholarship money from local, regional and national sources.

“Students should always apply early if they can,” said William Esswein, a guidance counselor for Alexandria City Public Schools, adding that most scholarship deadlines fall between October and March.

Jessica Gilbert is also a school system guidance counselor. Gilbert and Esswein both said that the first step to earning scholarship money is to apply to schools early and review the money they offer.

“If you have strong grades, you may qualify for a merit scholarship just by applying to the college,” said Gilbert.

Local, state and national governments offer scholarships. Private groups are also another source.

“It is amazing to me how many times we get calls from non-profits saying, please give us somebody we can give this money to,” said Esswein.

To search for scholarships, students should consider touching base with a school counselor, as they are more likely to know of alumni-related scholarships and local gifts available to students.

Several online search engines promise to identify available scholarships, but Gilbert and Esswein said that students should verify any that are posted.

“If there is supposed to be a contact person there, they may not be listed, or there is no phone number or address for an actual company,” said Gilbert, adding, “Do they have previous awardees and pictures, and can describe the profile of the previous winners as well?”

Esswein added that applicants should steer clear of any service that charges a fee to submit an application.

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