5 Steps for Getting Great Institutional Merit Scholarships

A tutorial from meritscholarshiplist.com

Step 1 – Find the Scholarships

The Best Way to Find Institutional Merit Scholarships

Subscribe to meritscholarshiplist.com

Why use meritscholarshiplist.com?

• It contains only institutional merit scholarships, unlike other scholarship websites that focus primarily on private scholarships

• There is no advertising on the site and I don’t sell names to other businesses

• The site is highly searchable with the following primary search categories:• State & Scholarship Type• Scholarship Amount• School Name (if you’re curious about what a specific school offers)• Scholarships open to International Students

• Within these categories, you can filter down your results

• You can save scholarships your student may qualify for to use in the next step

• You can link directly to the scholarship details on the school’s website

Step 2 – Build a List

How to Build a Scholarship/College Search List

1. Download the free College Search Spreadsheet template on meritscholarshiplist.com that is set up to correspond with the data included on the Merit Scholarship List.

2. Go back to all your saved scholarships on meritscholarshiplist.com and start listing out the schools on the College Search Spreadsheet.

3. Add basic merit scholarship detail for each scholarship you are interested in at each school in Column G, like scholarship name, scholarship type, etc.

4. For each school, do the following: Add the amount for the lowest scholarship you are looking at in Column H. Add the amount for the highest scholarship you are looking at in Column I.

5. The cost range for tuition plus room & board minus merit scholarship low and high will calculate in Columns J & K.

6. You can enter the information for visits and application requirements as you go further in the process with each school.

Feel free to add any other columns to the list that will help you in the search process. I like to add things like:

• Special programs of interest (like honors programs)

• Majors your student is interested in

• Sports or activities your student is interested in

Keep your spreadsheet handy as you continue through the process -to refer back to, add new information and add or remove schools

Step 3 – Assess Your Student’s Chances

Start with the data on meritscholarshiplist.com

• Mid-50% ACT/SAT scores for the school

• Percent of applicants admitted

Why?

• The admission rate will tell you how many students who apply are admitted.

• The lower the admission rate, the more competitive the school.

• The mid-50% test scores will tell you where your student falls with respect to admitted applicants’ ACT and/or SAT scores.

• Generally speaking, if your student has an ACT or SAT score above the mid-50%, his or her chances of being offered a large scholarship are much greater.

• Also, the lower the admission rate, the lower your students chances for a large scholarship, especially if your student is not above the mid-50% for ACT or SAT

Find Data on How Generous the School Is

Start with a website that lists IPEDS data.

Collegedata.com is the best one I have found.

On the next slides, I will explain what to look for and where to find it on collegedata.com.

Using collegedata.com

• Go to the College Match feature (click on Search for Colleges) or just enter the college name in the search box on the top right part of the Home Page.

• You will then see the grid view. Click on the college name to access complete college data.

• Go to the Money Matters tab for the college

• The section you want is the Financial Aid Profile (the one I am looking at is titled “Profile of 2014-15 Financial Aid”)

• You want to find “Merit-Based Gift”• You should see the average merit-based award for students both with and without

financial need• Look in both the Freshmen and All Undergraduates sections to see if merit-based aid

goes down significantly after freshman year

What is collegedata.com really telling me?

• You will see the % of students who receive merit aid

• This will be broken down for students with need and students without need

• The higher the %, the greater your student’s chances of receiving merit-based aid at this school

• You will see the average merit-based award – keep in mind this is just an “average” – some students might get a lot more and some a lot less

• Use this in conjunction with the meritscholarshiplist.com listing of merit scholarships offered by the school

Step 4 – In-Depth Exploration

Explore the College Website

• Have your student look through the college website to find:• Majors that are offered

• Statistics on admitted/current students

• Admission requirements

• Application requirements

• Housing options and campus activities

• Campus pictures or virtual tours

Understand All the Scholarship Details

• If you can’t find answers to everything you want to know on the college website, ask the college’s financial aid office.

• They should be able to tell you how many students receive scholarships, what the average scholarship is, and what criteria they use to award these.

• Either the admissions rep or a financial aid rep may even be able to assess your student’s rough statistics against their typical scholarship applicants.

Schedule a Visit

• If a schools still looks like a good fit, it’s time to visit.

• Important parts of an initial visit:• Campus tour

• Appointment with admissions rep

• Chance to talk to students

• A scheduled visit day or an individual visit are both good options• Visit days often offer things you can’t get on individual visits like student

panels

• Individual visits can often be more personalized to what your student is interested in seeing

After the Initial Visit

• Record your student’s thoughts about the school on the College Search Spreadsheet

• Make sure your student keeps in touch with his/her assigned admissions rep (see the topic of “demonstrated interest” on the next slide)

• If your student is ready to totally rule out a school after the initial visit, you can either take that school off the spreadsheet or color-code it as a “No”

Showing Demonstrated Interest

• This means that the Admissions Office knows your student is interested in the school

• Best ways to show demonstrated interest:• Keeping in contact with the Admissions Office

• Scheduling a second, more in-depth visit (more info on next slide)

• Your student should visit with the admissions rep if they come to his/her high school or a nearby college fair

• Possibly attending summer camps offered at the college

• Show interest not only in the school, but in particular scholarships

Second (and subsequent) College Visits

• A more in-depth second visit should include:• Meeting with someone from the academic department your student is most

interested in (or a few different departments if your student isn’t sure)

• Sitting in on a class or two

• A chance to meet current students (other than a tour guide)

Step 5 – Application Time

Summer Before Senior Year

• Make sure your student knows the application deadlines for the schools and any scholarships that require separate applications

• Document each school’s admission requirements on the College Search Spreadsheet

• Verify that the scholarships your student is planning to apply to are still the same for the upcoming year (some schools don’t update this information online until sometime in the summer). Check the college website.

• Look at any early decision or early action options to determine if these are a good opportunity for your child – often the scholarship chances are better with the non-binding early application process than the “regular” application process

Summer Before Senior Year (continued)

• Determine what to do about ACT/SAT scores• Is it worth taking the test(s) again in the Fall of Senior Year to try for a higher

score?• Would “test optional” be a good idea?

• Has your student asked for recommendation letters yet?• Ask at least 2 teachers plus a guidance counselor• Ask 2 community members – Pastor, boss, group leader, etc.• Check out my tips for great recommendation letters

• Does your student have an Activity Resume prepared?• I have basic instructions and a good template available on

mykidscollegechoice.com

Fall of Senior Year

• Plan for the essay – have your student review essay prompts from the schools he or she wants to apply to• Find the commonalities – can the same essay be used for several?• Think of a great essay topic – check out sites like essayhell.com and

collegeessayguy.com

• Have your student work on college applications in the order in which they are due

• If several schools use the Common App, have your student fill out the basic common app for the first school and work on any supplemental sections for each school as they come due

• Your student should request recommendation letters if he or she has not already done so

• Your student should complete or update his/her activity resume

Crafting a Great College Application

• Understand all application requirements and deadlines and follow them exactly

• If supplemental materials are allowed, encourage your student to provide any allowable materials that would strengthen the application

• If an “optional” interview is offered, your student should schedule one

• Make sure your student has you or another adult proofread his/her essays and the entire application to catch any typos or omissions

Crafting a Great Scholarship Application

• Follow all scholarship application requirements and deadlines

• The Essay Is Key• Make sure it conforms to the specified topic• It is fine to reuse an essay if it exactly fits the topic – if it doesn’t, write a new essay!• Make sure an adult proofreads the essay (and all scholarship application materials)• Don’t exceed the maximum number of words listed

• What makes your student stand out from the crowd?• Encourage your student to highlight any unique experiences or activities• This can be discussed in the essay, in the activity list, and/or as part of recommendation letters

• Recommendation Letter Tips• If planning to use the same letters used in college applications, make sure they are worded in a

way that they could apply to scholarship applications also• If the scholarship covers a specific topic like art, leadership, community services, etc., it is

beneficial to have a unique recommendation letter written by someone who can attest to your student’s talent, leadership ability, community service projects, etc.

Next Step

The Wait …

Preparation Meets Opportunity