$6,000 Dollars in Six Hours--Let Me Tell You How

Did that headline capture your attention?

Why?

Because it promised money for very little work.

Let me emphasize something about this blog and my new upcoming book, The SECRET Method to Winning the Scholarship Game: 50 Secrets for Financing Your College Education at Little or No Cost.

There is enough information and links here to get you started on your journey of financing your college education at little or no cost. But you have to start by taking the first step.

By March 31, 2009, you can write a 250 word response to a question and qualify for a $1,000 scholarship.

By April 30, 2009, you can create a profile at ScholarshipExperts.com and write a 250 word response to another question and qualify for a $5,000 scholarship.

Begin your journey and set aside six hours for it.

Here is the information about these scholarships: http://www.scholarshipexperts.com/apply.htx

If you study other posts, there are deadlines approaching for other scholarships that you can apply for.

Ask me questions on posts, share information, because these will help others who read this blog.

The headline got you to read, but the next step is up to you. And it has always been up to you.

God speed you on your journey.

Let Congress Show You the Money!

Aren't you glad that you have your friendly, neighborhood ScholarshipMan to do the heavy lifting for you?

Anyway, I discovered a treasure trove of information about scholarships and internships are available on various Congresspeople's web sites.

1. Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard has a wonderful students section:
http://www.house.gov/roybal-allard/students.shtml

Also on this web site she has compiled a Student Resource Guide (including scholarships, internships, fellowships, books, and websites). This resource guide has scholarships listed by monthly deadlines, spring deadlines, monthly deadlines, and no deadlines. This guide sent chills along my spine.

Here it is: http://tinyurl.com/cjvjw5

2. Congresswoman Corrine Brown has a section that lists scholarship and internship possibilities on her website:
http://www.house.gov/corrinebrown/scholarships.shtml

Links to other possibilities are included here: http://www.house.gov/corrinebrown/grants.shtml

There is also a link to Federal Funds Express, a full list of grants and other funding opportunities: http://tinyurl.com/dxhdet

Here is the section on Federal Funds Express that deals with Educational Resources for Students, Schools and Colleges: http://tinyurl.com/ccfrd7

3. Congressman Joe Baca has several resources on his congressional website, including many resources for Hispanic and Latino students: http://www.house.gov/baca/resourcecenter/educational_financial.htm

On this website, I discovered that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute has instituted need-based scholarships. You can go to the CHCI web site for these opportunities: http://www.chci.org/

In looking over the CHCI website, I discovered another guide, 2008-2009 National Directory of Scholarships, Internships and Fellowships for Latino Youth. Here is a tinyurl link to that guide: http://tinyurl.com/cfbw3d

The document is a PDF document of 191 pages, 2.57 mb, so it might take a while to download.

In my upcoming book, The S.E.C.R.E.T. Method to Winning the Scholarship Game: 50 Secrets for Financing Your College Education at Little or No Cost, I will tell you how you can easily find more web sites like those above.

I might have to change the title to 51 or 52 Secrets.

Government Recovery--How it Can Help You!

If you are a parent of a student entering college or a student yourself, any time you can receive help paying mortgages or other expenses, you can put that extra money towards college.

Many people are having problems paying their mortgage,so you can go quickly to this web site to see if you can receive assistance: http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/

I found this web site off of HUD's web site ( http://www.hud.gov) ; also you can get reliable foreclosure avoidance counseling locations: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/fc/

Remember, I have mentioned this web site before; you can go to this web site, put your information in anonymously, and see what government programs you can apply to: http://www.govbenefits.gov/govbenefits_en.portal

Matthew Lesko, the guy running around TV late at night wearing a question mark suit, says that much of the information he compiles comes from the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: http://www.cfda.gov/

To follow programs involved with the recovery act, you can check out this web site: http://www.recovery.gov/

Your local library is a good place to also begin searching. Just ask your reference librarian if there is any information about whatever problem you're facing.

If you live in Nashville or Davidson County in Tennessee, you can check out this web site about housing assistance: http://www.nashvillehousingfund.org

U.S. News and World Report E-Learning Guide

U.S. News and World Report has an E-Learning Guide, which explores distance learning, e-learning, and technology.

Here is the tinyurl: http://tinyurl.com/blea9b

A description taken from the web site: "U.S. News and World Report has gathered information from more than a thousand traditional and virtual universities. We have a searchable directory of graduate and undergraduate providers offering courses, certificates, and degrees via the Internet and other distance learning media."

This web site is definitely worth exploring before signing up for any distance education program.

No Sucker Left Behind--Avoiding College Rip-offs

I was in Borders on Sunday, and I came across a book by Marc Scheer, No Sucker Left Behind: Avoiding the Great College Rip-off. What a provocative title!

Several interesting endorsements are on the cover, including Seth Godin, internet marketer, and Janne O'Donnell, a member of the Board of Directors for Americans for Fairness in Lending, so I decided to do a little research. The paperback book costs about $19.95 at Borders, and $15.56 at Amazon.com.

At Amazon, this book has several reviews, implying that the information was very good, describing the various "scams" and maneuvers that colleges use to encourage students to apply for school by taking out loans.

Many reviewers said that the title was misleading, and that the information was thoroughly researched. There are over 100 links to help in the college decision making process.

To get a taste of Marc Sheer's writing, you can check out his blog: http://nosuckerleftbehind.blogspot.com/

His most recent blog entry details "The Student Loan Scam."

Another interesting blog entry is a radio interview where he discusses how high schools and colleges can better assist students in career planning.

Also, on Amazon, I found a list of books Marc Sheer recommends that might also be helpful in your research: http://tinyurl.com/de9c82

You might disagree with some of his conclusions, but he seems to bring up some interesting issues that you might want to explore.

Once again, your helpful friendly ScholarshipMan is at your service!

Deadlines Are Approaching--Start a Scholarship Calendar

Start a Scholarship Calendar

If you have a word processing program such as Microsoft Word, you can often get templates for calendars, which you can then print out.

Another resource for calendars is Printfree.com (http://www.printfree.com). Here is the direct link for calenders: http://www.printfree.com/Calendars.htm.

Basically, start putting due dates of scholarships on this calendar. Also put dates of when the FAFSA is due, as well as early admission deadlines for colleges you would like to attend.

Look through all the entries on the Scholarshipman blog and put the dates to scholarships you would like to apply for on your calendar.

Here are some coming up deadlines:

1. http://scholarshipman.blogspot.com/2009/02/march-16-2009-deadline-for-more-than-60.html

Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee—up to 60 scholarships, Deadline: March 16, 2009

2. http://www.scholarshipworkshop.com/highschool.html

Here is a list of scholarships and opportunities for high school students. Even if several of these award dates have passed, you can review the material and plan for next year.

For example, notice the deadline for Coca-Cola Scholarships is October 31 of your senior year. You can read and start planning for this, even as a sophomore.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards makes material available on its web site in September, the deadline being the last weekday in October. You can still read the material ahead of time and plan ahead.

The Yoshima Award is expanding its program, making its new material available in 2010. You can read ahead, seeing what you need to do to be nominated. Funds do not have to go toward college tuition.

3. http://scholarshipman.blogspot.com/2009/02/two-essay-competitions-let-words-lead.html

Writing Rewards Competition—only open to students in a developmental writing class, Deadline: May 31, 2009

SuperCollege Essay—Deadline: July 31, 2009

4. http://www.scholarshipexperts.com/apply.htx

ScholarshipExperts.com is noted by Forbes to be one of the best scholarship search engines. ScholarshipExperts.com will sponsor six scholarship programs in 2009, and they will award $30,000 in free scholarship money.

Some of these scholarships require a 250 word essay, and "US students who are 13 and up may be eligible to compete for these scholarships--high school students, college undergrads, grad school students, and adult learners are all invited to apply!"

The first competition is March 31 and requires a 250 word essay ($1000).

The second competition is April 30, requires you complete an online scholarship profile at scholarshipexperts.com, and write a 250 word essay on how $5,000 for education will make a difference in your life.

These both may take you up to 2 hours each, and the payoff is fantastic!

Break completing these scholarships into smaller steps.

For example, for the March 31 competition, you might break this down into these steps:

• study web site, noting the rules and what you need to have to apply
• create a profile at scholarshipexperts.com (required to submit essay)
• spend 30 minutes making notes and writing response
• look it over the next day
• have an English instructor look it over and make suggestions
• revise the essay
• if I have time, let the same English instructor look it over
• submit the essay online, double-spacing between paragraphs, paragraphs single space

You can then put these steps into your calender, making sure you follow through with the process.

AARP Foundation Women's Scholarship Program--Deadline: March 31, 2009

AARP Foundation Women's Scholarship Program is for women who are 40 or over, demonstrate financial need, and enroll in an accredited institution within 6 months of the scholarship award date.

More information here: http://www.aarpfoundationwlc.org/

And Now for Something Completey Different--PDF Document Finder and Hispanic Scholarship Fund

In my wanderings around the net, I found this search engine, PDF Search Engine:

http://www.pdf-search-engine.com/

Many individuals and institutions put PDF documents on the Internet. PDFs are Adobe documents that can be read with Adobe Reader, on both Mac and PC computers.

Anyway, I entered Scholarships into the search engine. I also recommend typing Scholarship. You can do variations of this, typing in women scholarships or African American scholarships.

One of these documents had the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

Here is the page for the Scholarship program of the HSF:
http://www.hsf.net/Scholarships.aspx?id=72&ekmensel=c580fa7b_10_0_72_1

Here is the front page of the HSF (sometimes referred to in posts as the front matter): http://www.hsf.net/default.aspx

In listings, often internal web pages are changed, so many times people will list the front matter so that you can go to the home page and click on the link for scholarships.

Check out the PDF Search engine and tell me what you discover.

Once again, if anything asks for your money as an entrance fee, don't do it.

Signing off, your friendly neighboorhood ScholarshipMan.

Three Resources for Everybody--Hours of Research Ahead of You!

I wanted to alert you to three sources that list all kinds of scholarships, fellowships, and other aid resources from high-school to undergraduate to graduate to postdoctoral.

1. http://staff.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3subject.htm

Jon Harrison of Michigan State University Libraries maintains this database of Grants for Individuals, mostly scholarships and financial aid. It stays pretty current, and John Harrison does a great job.

You can search by Academic Level (for example, Precollege Funding or Graduate Funding); by Population Group (for example, Disabled, Minorities, or Veteran); or by Subject (for example, Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine, Communications, and Writing).


2. http://scholarships.fatomei.com/

Nationally Coveted College Scholarships, Graduate Fellowships & Postdoctoral Awards

Here you will find, as the web site describes it, "Free financial aid, scholarship grants, fellowship awards, student loans, internships, prizes, and stipends. Highly competitive and prestigious scholarship, fellowship and internship awards for college study, graduate school and postgraduate research."

Some of the categories on this page include Women, College-Bound High School Seniors, Study Abroad, and Native Americans.

3. http://web.mit.edu/career/www/infostats/respostdoc.html

This is a list of Postdoctoral resources maintained by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Careers Office. Several good resources here to explore.

Just your friendly neighborhood ScholarshipMan working on your behalf, wishing you well and money galore!