DD is starting college this September (or is it August?) and since she plans to go to some sort of University for the next 150 years and her college fund is not the biggest, we will need a lot of help. She will get HOPE (TN lottery), another $1,600/year because we're unwealthy and a small one from Honors. What else out there is worth writing essays for? Any good ideas? She will be attending our local State University.

If she is going to MTSU and living at home she should be fine with what she will be getting.My daughter got the lottery one and a small honors one and she goes to Motlow and she does fine.I found most of her books online and she works part time for gas,etc.We do still pay for her car insurance which you know is a big expense.And yes,it is September.My daughter can apply for the Dean's List Schlorships this fall because she had to do a College Honors class first.Good Luck with the essays.I have found most of them to be time consuming and don't pay off but who knows you may find a good one.If you have "some" money put back that is helpful also.But do remember you can get money back from taxes after she is there for a year to help offset the cost also.Not sure if applys if you get an income based schlorship though.

Check with her guidence counselor and the college itself for scholarship applications. Depending on what her major is (medical, education, etc...) you might find some specific to her. Good luck. It will be worth all the effort and hard work she has to put into the applications. Also, do you or family members belong to organizations that might offer scholarships? Lions, Masons, Fire Dept., Legion, VFW? They are good to apply for also. HTH

My daughters guidance counselor was not very smart.I had better luck with her Assistant Principal.He was more knowlegable than the counselors..

Never pay for scholarship information. It is always free. There are people who will charge you money to find you scholarsips and what they find are scholarships your student is eligible to apply for.

Scholarships.com is a great resource

Contact any religous, cultural, fraternal, societies your family may be associated with. Also if a parent is the member of a union often the union has scholarships for the children of members.

Do not discount small scholarships. When you add them together they can equal big money.

Call the high school and see if they have a college advsior. This iperson s different than the guidence counsler. They are usually more knowledgable about scholarships available in your area.

Check with major organizations and business you do business with. A few that I can think of offhand that offer money based on grades, essays and/or competition include:

Coca Cola
Commerce Bank
Carolina Rice
Discover Card

Make sure you fill out the FAFSA form. This is the Federal form that helps you to determine what if any money your student is eligible to receive in grants and/or loans. Any money awarded can be used at any accredited college.

I hope this helps you. Good luck to your student.

Maddy<<<College Recruiter

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\"We can do no great things; only small things with great love.\" ~ Mother Teresa

Yes, she wants to go to MTSU and she has her heart set on living in the honors dorm (we have talked and talked, it's not taking )

Sadly, her GC from HS is not very helpful (and there is no college advisor) - there was a big scholarship possibility but the cut off date was 12/15. For some reason, only Spectrum Students (Gifted SpEd) were informed of it.

Thanks, TSUalum93, we'll give those organisations a try.

It makes no sence to me for a child to live in a dorm in the same town you live in unless they are getting enough free money to do so.If she wants to live in the dorm you should make her at least work to help pay for it.Maybe she would realize the benefits of staying at home might be greater than the freedom she may have at the dorm.You do have to let them have a little more freedom once they are in college.But she has to realize you are not Bill Gates and you have to sacrifice a little to get a good education.Also her being at home helps you make sure she keeps up her work for her schlorships.You don't want to loose them with bad grades.That would mean more money on your part.And would probably result in the dreaded student loans. :-(

rockermom, you are preaching to the choir!!!We already told her that the school is on us (scholarships) but the dorm is on her. She can either work for it, dig up some more scholarships, or (most likely) do both. We live 20 min. from MTSU (during rush hour) and she has a 16x22 room here. How do you think she's going to like HALF of a 16x12? BLESS HER HEART!!!

Well hopefully she will come to her senses and see how good she has it at home.Thank God my daughter did. ;-)

I think living in a dorm is a fantastic learning experience and an important step toward independence. Hopefully you can find scholarships or other help, including her chipping in as much as possible, to realize her desire.

cj/

I also agree that when it is fesible living on campus is a great experience that helps you deal with others and thus assists students in preparing for dealing with others in the real world. Residence life is not cheap but there is a support system in place unlike living on ones own and more independance than living at home.

There is no right or wrong way . . . But I will say that residence life on campus is a wonderful thing to try and do and after a year or so if a student enjoys it they can apply to be a RA (Resident Assistant). With that at most schools their room and board is then covered.

Maddy

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\"We can do no great things; only small things with great love.\" ~ Mother Teresa

If you are members of a church, most of them offer scholarships at a National level if not through your local church. One of my DD's got a scholarship through the Methodist Church at the national level, as our local church didn't offer anything. Fortunately she got several scholarships and pays nothing out of pocket.

I know that some people mentioned organizations that you and your family may belong to-you can also do a search for scholarships given by certain organizations based on ethnic and family origin. Some local stores here give scholarships to students, even if they and their families are not employees. Maybe some of the stores or other businesses near you do similar things. You have to keep deadlines in mind, it is very important, especially if you don't have the funds yourself. There are a lot of opportunities out there. Does your daughter know what she wants to major in and what she wants to do after college? Many professional organizations give scholarships, especially to encourage young people whose group(whether it is based on sex, ethnic origin, area of country you are from, etc.) is underrepresented in the profession. You could also talk to the financial aid office at the college but there are free and invaluable resources available online and in libraries. When I was in school, my guidance counselor was useless and we had to figure out things for myself. She wanted me to apply to a school that I did not want to go to, as a safety school (I had good grades, recommendations, etc.)but what she really meant was that somebody from my background could only go to a certain type of school-thank goodness I did not listen to her, but I wonder how many people are discouraged because of what their counselors tell them? I also wanted to add that living on campus is an invaluable experience but if it is not feasible for the first year, maybe it will be doable for her second year. Let her take some responsibility for this. When I was in college, I did live on campus because it was 80 miles from home. One summer I wanted to stay in the area so my mother told me that I could if I got a job and found a place to stay. Well, I was determined and found a job and sublet an apartment with another student within a week of that conversation-I paid for it myself-this was between my junior and senior year of college.

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Jocelyn



My babies are the joys of my life and keep me young:
The twins,Tatiana Gabrielle and William Joseph , 1/29/97, and baby boy, Jared Lawrence, 8/27/02.