College Scholarship Woes {How We Got Through It}

Got a junior or a senior in high school this upcoming school year? Thinking about scholarships? Tackling scholarships is a team effort, parents! No one tells you about the pain and agony of scholarship applications. I am a first-generation college graduate, and I wasn’t told there were scholarships or grants out there to help pay for my college education. My parents didn’t know anything about that—they encouraged me to go to college because they wanted me to have a good career, but as far as paying for it? I was on my own. And for me that meant college student loans.

Though I am drowning in college debt today, I am grateful for the degrees I have earned and for the career I have. But the reality is with my own college debt, I cannot afford to pay for my kid’s college tuition despite what FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) says! Did they somehow forget how much I owe them? They sure didn’t take that into consideration when they reviewed my son’s FAFSA form. But that’s a whole other debate for another day…

Who’s Paying For College?

So, as a mom of three, I made it my mission to research as MUCH as I could about how to get my kids into college and get their tuition paid with scholarships and grants. The process is grueling. But I don’t regret the heartache and tears this process put my oldest son and me through. The essays are a piece of cake for the applications; it’s the mountain of paperwork you must gather and share for these scholarships that will make you absolutely lose your mind!

Nothing is guaranteed, even if your kid is ranked in the top 10% of their class. We also found out that it is difficult for middle-class families to receive scholarships because of the FAFSA student aid report, so we had to work harder and complete more scholarship applications. The student aid report shows how much money your family can contribute to your child’s education, and many scholarship committees use that report to determine if you are eligible for a scholarship. So again, FAFSA didn’t consider my college loan debt and assumed I could pay way more for my kid’s education than what I really can (or can’t). I just don’t know where they think I have this money stored.

The Struggle is Real

My son, valedictorian of his class, struggled to be awarded scholarships. Yes, can you believe it? Being ranked first in class isn’t as big a deal as we had thought. We filled out countless applications. We had to gather so much information to help him complete and submit these applications on time. I was surprised no one asked for a DNA sample for as much info as they were requiring!

The subject of scholarship applications became a hot topic in our house this past school year; it sometimes led to an argument with my son over how many applications a week he could fill out and turn in before the deadlines passed him by. I first assumed he could fill out 3–5 a week, but it turned out that was an impossible feat! It was more like one a week because of his extracurricular activities, schoolwork, dual-credit assignments, and working 20 hours a week after school. 

How to Tackle Scholarships

Parents, here is my advice, whether you plan to help your high school student with this or not. These are tips I wouldn’t pass up! Before doing any research or visiting colleges (which should start in their junior year), make a spreadsheet to collect scholarship and college info. (I have a spreadsheet available if you want it, just reach out to me via this post.) Also encourage your child to meet with their school guidance counselor; they are a great resource for scholarship info!

College Scholarship To-Do List

• SPRING OF JUNIOR YEAR
  • Make those college tour visits! Visit anywhere from 3–5 of your child’s top college choices.
  • Collect application process info and deadlines. Add them to your spreadsheet.
• SUMMER BEFORE SENIOR YEAR
  • Research national scholarships that are of interest and add them to spreadsheet.
  • Parents, begin gathering last year’s IRS tax financials.
  • Apply to colleges that have early registrations.
  • Find out if your senior needs to take their SAT/ACT for scholarship considerations and schedule those exams.
  • Make college tour visits.
• FALL/WINTER OF SENIOR YEAR
  • Continue to apply to colleges before their fall deadline for early decision.
  • Make college tour visits if you didn’t get to it over the summer.
  • Apply to national scholarships.
  • Research local scholarships and include them in your spreadsheet.
  • Complete FAFSA (help your kid with this).
  • Accept any award/scholarship from your university of choice IF your student applied early enough and didn’t miss that Decision Day deadline.
• SPRING OF SENIOR YEAR
  • Apply to local scholarships.
  • If your senior graduates as valedictorian from a Texas high school, they qualify for a tuition waiver that can be applied to their freshman year at a Texas public university. 

By graduation, you should have an idea of what scholarships have been granted.

Celebrate Your Graduate!

They are closing this chapter in their life in order to start a new one. Encourage your college-bound kid to continue to apply to scholarships while in college! 

I have two more kids who will be going through this process at some point. Going through the scholarship process, the rejection letters, the tears, the praying…it aged me. In the end, my son was awarded enough scholarship money to help him get through his four years of college. We have to start thinking about how to pay for law school next! We are grateful and so proud of his accomplishments. Despite the stress of it all, we can breathe a little better this summer knowing it was all worth it.

Read More: Start Saving for College Now :: Tips and Resources {Free Planning Printable}