Minority scholarship sees fewer applicants
OSU Sees an all to familiar problem
“A lot of students are missing out on the opportunity of making some money to help cover their college expenses,” said Ivan Figueroa, coordinator of Hispanic students. “This happens because a lot of students are just worried about what’s going on today and don’t think about the road ahead of them.”

KRT Wire | 02/23/2005 | States, colleges increasing merit-based financial aid: "o be sure, most of the more than $75 billion in annual aid for higher education remains need-based. But the growth is in merit aid. States now spend a quarter of their scholarship money on merit awards, up from 10 percent a decade ago, according to financial aid organizations. Merit aid's share of private college scholarships is 36 percent, compared with 27 percent in the early '90s."

ABC 7 News - College Scholarships Target Gay Community: "Michelle Marzullo tells The Washington Post that she was awarded $20,000 this year for a doctoral program at American University. She says some students challenge why she should qualify for so much aid just because she's gay. But Marzullo says there are scholarships for thousands of different things. She sees this as part of the evolution of gay rights. "

State: Rattling the status quo: "At Florida A&M University, a historically black college, white students often get their first taste of being outsiders. And that leaves many with a decision to make, integrate or separate"

TownOnline.com - Wakefield Observer - At a Glance: "Scholarships available In The Massachusetts/ New England"

Hiring diversity: Seek and you shall find: "'It's such a weird deal: We're trying to diversify our workforce, but we can't say that's what we're doing,' said Sandy Harris, former manager of workforce diversity at General Mills and now vice president of the Global Diversity Center of Excellence for Thomson Corp., the parent company of the online legal information resource Thomson West.
'But most companies serious about this have figured out how to be successful at it,' Harris said."

Changing school with the season | csmonitor.com: "Children of migrant farm workers like Christina, Jorge, Raul, Mickaela, and Juana occupy a shadowy place in the education landscape. As they slip between schools and states their progress - and setbacks - are extremely difficult to gauge"

Federal Trade Commission - Guide To Scholarship Scams: "Need Money for College? Doesn't everybody? Unfortunately, in their efforts to pay the bills, many students and their families are falling prey to scholarship scams. "

BostonHerald.com - the Edge: Web sites make the grade: Choose colleges, search for scholarships with online help: "My student testers and I have tried out several of the online college-match options. Some of them are free; others are reasonably priced, especially if you compare it with the cost of sending a kid to the wrong college, or hiring a private counselor. These search engines also can shine light on schools that local counselors might not be familiar with. "

Pridesource.com/BTL News - Scholarships available to LGBT journalism students: "Self-identified LGBT high school seniors and undergraduate college students who plan to pursue a degree in journalism or communications at an accredited four-year college or university are encouraged to apply.

For application guidelines and to download an application, visit www.thetaskforce.org/aboutus/messenger.cfm or call 202-393-5177.
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Seattle Post-Intelligencer: State universities: Race should be considered in admissions: "Supporters say the legislation would bring Washington's approach in line with a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld consideration of race in admissions at the University of Michigan's law school, saying the policy was narrowly tailored and focused on the benefits of diversity.

In 1999, the year after I-200 passed, the percentage of minority students at the University of Washington dropped. Those numbers have since recovered, the school reports.

Statewide, minority students accounted for 17.8 percent of student populations at four-year institutions last year, down slightly from the 18.1 percent reported in 1999, according to House staff research.

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CITIZEN-TIMES.com: World's largest scientific society seeks minority students for scholarships: "The goal of the American Chemical Society Scholars Program is to diversify the chemical sciences, both in academe and the work force, by helping underrepresented minority groups obtain undergraduate degrees, and to encourage them to advance in chemistry or a chemically related field. The society expects to award about $850,000 this academic year to current and new scholars.

The deadline to apply for the 2005-06 program is March 1. For more details about the ACS Scholars Program and an online application form, visit www.chemistry.org/scholars or call (800) 227-5558, Ext. 6222."

ParkesBurg Post Ledger - News - 02/10/2005 - Hershey announces PHEAA scholarships - FOR PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENTS: "The program is funded by PHEAA and comes at no cost to local taxpayers. NETS is divided into two fields: The SciTech Scholarship and the Technology Scholarship. Those receiving either scholarship must agree to work full-time in Pennsylvania for one year for each year the scholarship is received. Failure to comply with these rules will convert the scholarships to loans that must be repaid with interest.
SciTech Scholarships provide up to $3,000 per academic year to residents enrolled full time in approved science or baccalaureate degree programs for a maximum of three years to five years. Qualified students must be Pennsylvania residents and at least a sophomore in college with a 3.0 grade-point average at the time of application. All grade averages must remain at or above 3.0 in order to maintain scholarship funding.

Students seeking additional information about the NETS programs can call 1-800-692-7392, or visit PHEAA's Internet site at www.pheaa.org."

The Sallie Mae Fund: "The Sallie Mae Fund American Dream Scholarship Program
The American Dream Scholarship Program, established in partnership with the United Negro College Fund, Inc. (UNCF), aims to increase the number of African-American students attending college. Scholarships range from $500 to $5,000.

Application Deadline
April 15, 2005 "

The Sallie Mae Fund: "The Sallie Mae Fund First in Family? Scholarship Program
The First in My Family? campaign, geared to raise awareness among the Hispanic-American community of higher education opportunities, was developed in partnership with the Hispanic College Fund, The Latino Education Achievement Project (LEAP), and the Self-Reliance Foundation.
The First in My Family Scholarship Program, administered by the Hispanic College Fund, offers scholarships to Hispanic students who are the first in their family to attend college. Scholarships range from $500 to $5,000. "

Application Deadline
April 15, 2005

The Sallie Mae Fund
The Sallie Mae Fund Unmet Need Scholarship Program
For many students, the unmet need—the gap between the college cost and the financial aid package—is too big to manage. The Sallie Mae Fund will provide $1 million in 2005 to help meet last dollar needs of low-income students through the Unmet Need Scholarship Program, administered by Scholarship Management Services, a department of Scholarship America.

Scholarship awards, ranging from $1,000 to $3,800, will be made payable to the school on behalf of the student and are intended to supplement, rather than substitute for, aid received from an institution.

Application Deadline
May 31, 2005

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah: "Applicants for Westminster's 'exemplary achievement scholarship' must be first-year or transfer students in good academic standing with a minimum B-grade average. They also must include a personal statement or essay; a resume that lists activities, awards and achievements; and at least two letters of recommendation.
The deadline is March 1. Finalists will be notified by March 15. Applications are available on Westminster's Web site at www.westminstercollege.edu."

Frontiersman.com: "Government, education and public service scholarships available"

Small business group offers scholarships for young entrepreneurs - 2005-02-08 - The Business Review (Albany): "Under the annual Young Entrepreneur Foundation awards, 300 scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 will be awarded nationwide. Applicants must be entering their freshman year at a university, college, vocational school or technical institute. In New York, applicants must be nominated by a New York member of the National Federation of Independent Business.

The deadline to apply for the scholarships is March 15.

Call 518-434-1262 for more information."

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: "Child of war" fights for education: "Mary is one of two female students at a crumbling school for former child fighters in this southern Sudanese town about 350 miles from the Kenyan border. Her education was interrupted by Africa's longest war, a 21-year conflict between the Islamic and Arab government in the north and the Sudan People's Liberation Army, a largely animist and Christian rebel group in the south. "

Opening doors for women in computing | CNET News.com: "Spurred by the furor over recent remarks by Harvard University President Lawrence Summers, the topic of the declining participation of women in IT is now prominent among concerns about the future of high technology in the United States. "

EducationGuardian.co.uk | Special Reports | Why I wrote the 'ESN book': "Thirty years ago a book by a Grenadian writer about the number of black British children being sent to schools for the educationally subnormal caused outrage in the community. Here author Bernard Coard describes how the 'ESN book' came to be written and its relevance to today's black children "

Vanguard Offers Scholarship Opportunities to Minority College Students: "The Vanguard Group has established a merit-based scholarship program designed to assist ethnic minority students. For the program's first year, the 2005-2006 academic year, Vanguard plans to award as many as ten scholarships of as much as $10,000 each. "

" For further information or to access the scholarship application form, students may call 1-800-537-4180, Ext. 418, or visit http://www.vanguard.scholarshipamerica.com. All applications must be postmarked by February 15, 2005."

Free Credit Reports Available Soon - Update - Law Store - Nolo: "If you'd like to see a copy of your credit report, it's about to get much easier and cheaper. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a rule that will allow consumers to receive a free copy of their credit report from each of the major credit reporting agencies every twelve months. (While some states already mandate that credit reports be provided free of charge, consumers in most states have, up to now, had to pay a nominal fee, usually $8 - $9, for the report.) If you stagger your requests to the different agencies, you can actually get three credit reports over the course of a year."

FAFSA tips when you need them most: "When filling in the estimate of taxes paid, don't use the withholding on your W2. That's almost never the exact amount you're going to pay. Instead, look at a simple tax form like a 1040A or EZ and figure out your adjusted gross income, subtract the standard deduction and look at the tax tables. It'll be a much closer estimate."

How to get the most aid: "It's not a good idea to try to shift assets around in the last year before your child goes to college, because it'll be apparent on your financial statements that you are trying to shelter income. But if you have at least two years to plan, here are some ideas to consider:
Sell any stock that you plan to use for tuition two years before you apply for financial aid. You don't want the capital gains to be reflected in the previous year's income, since that's what is used to calculate your income for the forms.
Put the money in your own name, not your child's. The tax savings you miss out on will be more than offset by the difference in the financial aid your child is eligible for.
'Never, ever put money in the child's name, unless you expect to get no financial aid,' says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of www.finaid.org. He explained that while the federal formula expects contributions of 35 percent of your child's savings each year, the parents' maximum contribution is 5.64 percent of their own savings. But even then, only 10 percent of parents have any of their assets considered at all, thanks to exemptions for the primary home, cars, life insurance and retirement accounts.
Parents who qualify to file their taxes using the 1040A or 1040EZ forms who have less than $50,000 in income a year don't have to consider their assets at all, Kantrowitz says. Otherwise, the first $40,000-$45,000 of income is disregarded.
If you have special circumstances -- you're losing your job, or you have medical expenses for people who live with you, or expenses to care for folks who aren't your children, or you're paying private school tuition for other children in the family -- send a letter directly to the financial aid office of the school your child plans to attend. Include documentation."

Free Press guide to getting college financial aid: "The FAFSA is the single most important financial aid form for college-bound high school seniors. It determines whether they're eligible for federal grants or loans, but is also used by most colleges to determine whether local grants, scholarships or loans will be given, including those not based on need.
The actual form itself is only four pages long, but many of the questions ask for financial information that takes parents hours to compile. And deadlines are extremely short: The forms can't be completed until you can figure out what you got paid last year (using your last pay stub or W2s), but it must be filed in time to be processed and sent to individual states by March 1.

That means parents filing the paper forms have to get them in now, since they can take four weeks to process. Even the Web-based form (at www.fafsa.ed.gov) takes up to 10 days, although filing online gives you a speed advantage.


Getting the form in early is important for other reasons besides making the deadline. Financial aid is handed out by colleges on a first-come, first-served basis for the most part, which means if your child applies late, there will be fewer dollars available to draw on.

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