Strategic Scholar Podcast

In this episode, Nicole Duvall communications director at the American Fire Sprinker Association discusses their annual quiz scholarships. The application should take less than 20 minutes and winners are chosen randomly. The high school scholarship has about 50,000 competitors and the college scholarship has about 25,000. High School seniors that graduate can apply to both.

Tackling a lot of scholarships can be very difficult, especially if you have classes and a job. However, I found that batch processing scholarships helps complete the process faster. This means completing several scholarships around a particular theme in an effort to reuse sources. This episode discusses two very similar scholarships and how batch processing can help complete them or scholarships like them.

DoSomething.org is on a mission to inspire young people to participate in their communities, give back and ultimately make a difference. In addition to helping students, the organization hosts about 25 scholarships a year. Marissa, who does marketing for the organization offers advice to students working to be great applicants. “It really comes down to the right intentions,” she said. “We want … to get young people excited to be agents of change. I would say that … the best way to not just win the scholarship but to be a leader in your community and a great volunteer is to just have the right intentions… We want people who want to make a change.” DoSomething.org hosts three to five different campaigns with scholarships every month, and participating generally consists of four steps:  Sign Up on the website for a campaign at DoSomething.org/scholarships. The organization will send information related to the mission and how the experience should work. Next, the issue is explained so applicants can understand the issue the campaign addresses. org will provide supplies necessary to be successful. Finally, applicants must take a photo of their action to prove they participated. After completing all the steps, applicants are entered to win the scholarship. “We look at all the people who have made it to that next level – the final round – and then we randomly select within that group of people one scholarship recipient,” Marissa said. The goal of randomizing the selection is to even the playing field allowing students who have communities and families with less resources to fairly compete with individuals that come from areas that have more volunteering opportunities and participation. “We didn’t want to pick the person who always just had the highest impact,” she said. “We do weight the finalists. It is true the more action you do … The greater likelihood you will be selected, but at the end of the day we are still selecting from the top tier of performers. Nothing is guaranteed, but that is how we decided to work our scholarship process.” It is important to first sign up, and then complete all the steps in order to be eligible. Marissa urges students to volunteer for more than just access to funding for higher education, because the work helps “Paying for college or paying for education is the biggest pain point for young people, and we do want to address that … but it is not the end all be all,” she said. “Here at DoSomething, we really believe that volunteering helps in learning empathy, and being more aware of other people and other situations that you might not be interacting with on a day to day basis.” Marissa said volunteering opens up doors even more so than a $5,000 scholarships. Resources to get started: VIP (Very Impactful Person) Email Patrice at patrice@takingitglobal.org. https://www.DoSomething.org/us https://www.DoSomething.org/us/about/easy-scholarships

This episode explores four common grammatical errors. 1. Passive Voice 2. Split Infinitive 3. Comma after an introductory phrase 4. Avoid prepositions at the end of a sentence. Regardless of rules, clarity is the overall goal.

D.J. Nunez, president of IAPMO, discusses strategies for the IWISH scholarship, which is hosted annually. He said he hopes to see quality research and creativity in this year's applicants.

Mark Kantrowitz, Vice President of Strategy and Publisher at Cappex, discusses student debt, and provides practical tips for students looking to apply to more scholarship opportunities. “Financial aid is like speaking another language,” he said. “We boil it down to what you really need to know.” He recommends students to understand the different between the sticker price, net cost and net price. The sticker price is the total cost of attendance including room and board, textbooks and transportation. This number can be intimidating especially when some universities charge in excess of $60,000 annually in tuition and fees. In contrast, the net cost subtracts the financial aid costs, but Kantrowitz explains that this number doesn’t always provide the most accurate picture because net cost generally includes student loans.  “Loans don’t cut college cost, they spread out over time, and they increase costs because they have interest,” Kantrowitz said. “I prefer net price.” He explains this number is the total gift aid - grants, scholarships or other types of aid that do not require repayment - subtracted from the total cost of attendance. This number could be considered a discount. That net price is what needs to be paid by accessing savings, contribution of current income and contribution of future income.  “If the net price exceeds the available resources, you are going to struggle to pay for that college,” he said. The total outstanding student loan debt passed $1 trillion in 2012, and continues to grow. In fact, it is growing at a very steady rate, and Kantrowitz said estimates show that debt will reach $2 trillion in 2022. Kantrowitz defines reasonable student loan debt as not exceeding the expected total of your first year annual salary. Following that rule of thumb means students should be able to pay back loans within ten years after graduation. Excessive debt could exasperate the problem for the next generation because parents have limited ability to save. For parents, they should not exceed their annual income across all children, and they total should be adjusted based on how close they are to retirement. Generally, students should try to limit their debt to federal student loans, which will limit the borrowing to $27,000. He lists several tools to determine future earning power. PayScale.com – offers information on starting salaries and a Return on Investment report to show lifetime earning capability. BLS.gov – They break down income into percentiles. Salary.com – Reports salaries for different occupations.  CEW.georgtown.edu – Links the academic major to income after graduation. Ultimately, students can look for scholarships to limit debt for free at cappex.com. Kantrowitz explains that the tool helps students efficiently find scholarships. The site also regularly publishes content to help students strategically apply. The Strategic Scholar Tip: Kantrowitz tells Strategic Scholars to write your scholarship by first recording what you will say. This will make your essay more persuasive and compelling. After transcribing and editing, he recommends reading your essay out loud and making an “x” after stumbling over any word or sentence. This will help spot common errors and problems with grammar.

 January 23 marks the first day of individual tax filing season. This is a great time to talk about the two educational tax credits; The American Opportunity Tax Credit (previously known as the HOPE tax credit) and the Lifetime Learning Credit. These two have very different eligibility requirements, and familiarizing yourself with the credits will be beneficial during tax season.

The new FASFA requires prior-prior year in 2017. This episode we talk about the benefits and disadvantages of the new system. We also discuss tools that make the form much faster.

One fast route to disqualification is failing to follow the directions meticulously, especially when a scholarship has as many directions as this week's feature scholarship. There are a few things to note as you read the directions such as deadline, demographic, and submission specifications. This episode we discuss strategies related to directions and how to tackle this great scholarship opportunity.  

Brainstorming is an important, and often overlooked, part of the writing or creating process. It is easy to just run with the first idea rather than explore a variety of options. This episode outlines six brainstorming strategies, and highlights the Frame Your Future scholarship competition.

This episode discusses five steps to editing essays: reading the content aloud, cutting irrelevant information, analyzing words, evaluating research, and keenly reviewing the introduction and conclusion. This week's feature scholarship is a topic scholarship and it is hosted by expert exchange.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institution and GE host an annual $10,000 scholarship for high school seniors. One component requires applicants to succinctly express career and educational goals. This episode we discuss four steps to conduct in the goal-making process.

Retention rate is an important number for colleges, and applicants for the scholarship hosted by Transtutors must write an 800-word essay on their perspective on why students drop out, and what can be done to prevent it. Retention rates are based on the number of students who return the the university after the first year or first semester. This scholarship can be tackled using a variety of strategies including highlighting several different reasons students drop out, conducting an in-depth analysis on one reason or looking at common universities or school-types that have lower retention rates. Take Action: 1.) Improve research skills by finding quality peer-reviewed sources. 2.) If you are in high school, create a college plan to reduce the statistical probability of dropping out. The deadline for this scholarship is Feb. 15 and the award is $1,000.

Every one has busy seasons, but it is important to keep scholarships a priority. Otherwise, it is easy for one week of not applying to a scholarship to turn into two weeks. The goal of this episode is to encourage you to consistently work toward your scholarship goals even while finals are looming ahead.

There are some fun scholarships out there, and you may be qualified to compete for some pretty interesting ones such as duck calling competitions, dorm waivers for twins, or just writing about how the world would be different without the internet.

This scholarship is hosted by papercheck.com and is a $1,000 award. The scholarship requires a 1,000 word minimum essay convincing others to volunteer in their communities. This episode discusses strategies on how to write a persuasive essay that will keep the judges engaged and that will flow logically. Again, this episode also continues to emphasize the importance of volunteering for scholarship opportunities.

GIVA Scholarship is an experience-focused scholarship due Dec. 1. It requires applicants to discuss their dreams, career goals, personal ambitions and how they plan to change the world. This episode discusses how to tackle this scholarship strategically.

Experience-focused scholarships are all about telling a good story. It is your story that wins scholarships. It doesn't require extensive research like topic scholarships, but it does require reflections and deep thought. This episode features three different experience-focused scholarships all linked with a common theme.

This episode explores three different topic scholarships opportunities to tackle before the end of the Fall semester. Topic scholarships require research, writing, and editing. The purpose of the scholarship marathon is to encourage students to get out there and start applying.

Creative content scholarships include graphic design projects, poetry, photography and video. These scholarships can take many hours to complete, and applicants should pursue creative content scholarships that complete strengths.

The Ultimate Scholarship Book is an annual publication with hundreds of scholarships, but it is worth the time and effort necessary to find scholarships that matter? This episode explores the pros and cons on searching for scholarships in a book format.

Ted Malone, Financial Aid Director at Purdue University, discusses how income-sharing agreements work, and how students can benefit from the opportunity. Income-sharing agreement is an arrangement to dedicate a specific percentage of a student's income to pay for college rather than to take out a traditional loan.

This episode explores some common knowledge students learn while at college that they may not understand or know while in high school. It is always better to learn sooner rather than later.

This episode features Wyatt Hancock who is hosting a cancer care packaging event at his high school. These large events and projects help build resumes and open up new opportunities for high school students and college student. The work also gives young adults experience and stories to share for their scholarship applications and job interviews.

Handling rejection is an important part of the scholarship process. This episodes features some tools and strategies to keep going even when you keep hearing 'no.'

This episode discusses strategies on how to brainstorm and do research quickly and effectively for topic scholarships. Topic scholarship are common, and quality essays are more competitive.

Strategies to reduce college debt can begin in high school by taking college courses or AP courses instead of simply high requirements. Here are the pros and cons of each option.

Continuing to search for scholarships after starting college is important, and there are ways to be more competitive. This episode presents six strategies to increase your scholarship opportunities.

Kierstin and I graduated from the same high school, and she and I both have decided to pursue helping students through higher education decisions. She focuses a lot of college admission. She is a current student at Tulsa University, and she regularly helps students have a competitive college admissions application. She also teaches students how to decide which college is best. College choice has a big impact on student debt, so this episode is full of strategies to further reduce overall student debt.

This episode features Adam Carroll the author of Broke, Busted and Disgusted - a pro-education film that discusses the costs of college. For more than ten years, Adam has encouraged families, students and academic institutions to teach the importance of financial literacy. He hosts a podcast called “Build a Bigger Life”  he has presented Ted Talks and conducted programs related to financial literacy. Adam is the the vision driver for Broke, Busted and Disgusted.  

We have discussed personal information with focus on avoiding scams and knowing how to test whether or not a scholarship is legitimate. We have also discussed recommendation letters and transcripts, and how to not let those items make you miss a deadline, and finally we are going to talk about the main content, which could be an essay, video, photography, or maybe even poem. 

Transcripts and recommendation letters are an important part of an application. In many cases, recommendation letters can be a major deciding factor for a scholarship applicant. This episode covers a variety of strategies related to completing the recommendation letters and transcript portion of the application process.

One of the very first questions I encountered when I began my scholarship journey, was is this scholarship legitimate. I didn't want to waste my time or my put my information at risk. This episode covers some good strategies to avoid the scams, and how to report a scam if you come across one.

On request, this episode is a conversation on how to manage feeling average, and winning scholarships even when you think you won't qualify for any. Specifically, students should search for one or two exceptional qualities or skills, focus on topic scholarships if experience-focused scholarships are a weakness and explore possible niche scholarship opportunities.

Outside of the specific rules outlined for each scholarship, there are several other rules to keep in mind. This episode we discuss some great strategies to implement on experienced-focused scholarships including using SMART goals and storytelling.

Full time college students must manage their time well to be able to apply for scholarships while also finishing homework and sometimes managing a full or part-time job. Working in an entire list of activities into one day is difficult but possibly if you employ time management strategies. In this episode, we discuss some strategies that helped me maintain motivation during exhausting seasons.

Jodi Okun is a financial aid expert who regularly helps families and students navigate the college funding process. She is an author and she host #CollegeCash every Thursday on Twitter. In this episode, she discusses some important strategies she has learned through her years as an advisor, and other important topics related to financial aid.

Many students get discourage when applying for a scholarship that is only a few hundred dollars and a lot of work, but strategic scholars never undervalue any scholarship. Every dollar in scholarship is one less dollar in debt, which is why we work hard and apply for every opportunity. This episode features two $500 scholarships, if you win them both that is probably at least a credit hour covered at most universities. Most of the work in this episode's feature scholarships will take less than ten hours to complete. 

This is the second week of the three-week scholarship marathon. The purpose of the marathon is to apply for many scholarships in three weeks. The two strategies discussed in this episode with the two featured scholarships are how to handle scholarships when your prospective differs from the scholarship committee, and how to choose an essay format or video format if there is a choice on the scholarship application.

A big part of winning scholarships is completing scholarship application. Now that the Spring semester has ended, it is time to really get to work on scholarships. This is the first episode of three featuring various scholarships most students are eligible for, and great strategies to utilize. This episodes main strategies are the power of past winners and making the most of annual scholarships.

For about five years, Jenica has been paying back her loans, one small payment at a time. After graduating, loan repayment can seem daunting, but Jenica discusses how she handles the payments by making them a priority.

Randy Levin is a college admission essay coach and he serves up some great tips on writing better scholarship essays such as staying positive and avoiding cliches. He also encourages students to be authentic in their writing endeavors. Find more information about Randy at www.writeforcollege.com

It is not uncommon for students to struggle with knowing the different types of financial aid, and how the aid will impact personal finance. This episode defines various types of financial aid to help students be more prepared to make important decisions.

Lauren provides some incredible insight on standardized testing, which is a great way to earn merit aid to public and private universities.

Alyssa Bailey discusses her experience teaching abroad in South Korea. Some students use teaching aboard opportunities to help reduce their student loan debt or increase their savings. International teaching programs often come with housing and meals provided, which helps students reduce living expenses and increase earning power.

A lot of students wonder if all the work is worth it, and especially if the debt is worth it. Here is the basic answer to that question.

Scholarship misconceptions are often the cause of students avoiding the pursuit of scholarships or grants. The one misconception I hate the most is scholarships are free money. Actually, scholarship awards require a lot of hard work.

Avoiding student requires a two-fold approach: reducing costs and finding additional funding. Here are some tips to avoid becoming another student with crippling debt.

The scholarship process includes many steps and this episodes defines each part. The feature scholarship requires a statement about e-waste in 140 characters or less, and we discuss a law student who bankrupted out of a student loan.

Like it or not, a lot of scholarships require story telling. This episode discusses some story telling basics, features a $10,000 scholarships and briefly explores how to avoid debt repayment scams.

The four types of scholarships include Lottery Scholarships, Experience-focused Scholarships, Topic Scholarships and creative content. Organizing scholarships based on time commitment will allow you to strategically apply for more opportunities. However, once you know the rules, it is okay to occasionally break them.