Free Scholarships Blog

A recent article in the Huffington Post suggests that in 2010 – 2011 students relied more on scholarships and grants to pay for college and less on family savings. In 2011 scholarships and grants covered a third of families’ college costs, up 10 percentage points from a year earlier. More families also used grants to cover some of the costs of education, 46% in 2011 compared to 30% in 2010.

The article also suggests that families are shifting away from expensive 4-year private schools toward less expensive public schools eliminating the need for massive college savings plans. The average cost of college overall fell 9% this year to $21,880. High-income families paid 18% less for college in 2011. Middle-class families also cut their college spending while low income families on average spent 14% more on college.

What do you think? Are students receiving more scholarships and grants? Are families saving less for college? Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Read the entire article.

Happy Thursday everyone! If you are not already back at school I am sure you are getting excited to start this week or next. While you still have a little bit of time before classes get too crazy, why not sneak in some extra scholarship searching? Here are a few to get you started:

Joseph A. Levendusky Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship provides funding of up to $7,000 per year to an undergraduate student in mechanical or chemical engineering who demonstrates an interest in the field of water technology. The deadline for completed applications is coming right up on September 2nd.

PsychologyDegree.net Honors Scholarship

The PsychologyDegree.net Honors Scholarship is open to any student who is a US citizen or permanent resident, enrolled at an accredited college or university, and had received some form of academic recognition. For a chance to with this $500 scholarship, submit a completed application by October 1st.

Vacancy.com Blog Scholarship

Vacancy.com realizes that when you are a student deciding where to live is almost as important as declaring a major. This is a great opportunity for applicants to tell Vacancy.com about their ideal apartment for a chance to win a $500 scholarship. Instead of submitting an essay applicants can post their thoughts on their blog or website by November 1st.

That is all for today! Check back soon for another scholarship alert and make sure you check out all of the new scholarships on Student Scholarship Search.

Last week the Washington Post released an article that contained the results of a Pew Research Center Survey. The survey found that half of all female college graduates thought that their higher education experience was excellent or good in terms of value, as opposed to only 37% of men. This finding would lead most to believe that overall, women enjoy college more than men. The survey also found that women are more pessimistic than men in assessing the affordability of college and that women get more financial help from their parents than men.

Do you think it is true? Do women really enjoy college more than men? Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Read the entire article.

Happy Friday, scholarship seekers!

As this week is coming to an end, we are jumping at the opportunity to fill you in on a few of the latest scholarship opportunities on Student Scholarship Search. Without further ado, we bring you the following additions:

National Rice Month Scholarship Program
Because September is National Rice Month, The USA Rice Federation is encouraging high school seniors in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas to make U.S.-grown rice the center of a promotional activity they conduct throughout the month. Some sample topics include:

• The economic importance of U.S. rice production and processing
• Nutritional benefits of U.S.-grown rice
• Conservation and environmental benefits of the U.S. rice industry

Be sure to tell The USA Rice Foundation about your activity by submitting your entry no later than October 14. One grand-prize winner will receive a $4,000 scholarship, while second and third-prize winners will be presented with $3,000 and $1,500, respectively.

Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship

The Gallery Collection, a leading publisher of premium quality cards in the United States, is inviting all students age 14 or older who are enrolled in school to participate in their 5th annual $10,000 scholarship contest. To win both the scholarship prize, along with $1,000 for your school, applicants may submit original photo, artwork, or computer graphics to be displayed on a greeting card. Submissions are currently being accepted, and will continue to be until January 14.

Natural Resource Excellence in Education Scholarship

Both The Texas Wildlife Association Foundation, Inc.  and San Antonio Livestock Exposition, Inc. award five $10,000 scholarships to Texas high school graduates enrolled at an accredited in-state college or university with natural resource or agricultural degree programs. Applicants must plan to major in a natural resource related field, and maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA per semester.  Documentation required to accompany the scholarship application includes a high school transcript, two recommendation letters, and answers to essay questions. To be considered, each eligible student’s application package should be postmarked by September 14.

So there you have some of this week’s great scholarship opportunities. To find out more information about other new scholarships on StudentScholarshipSearch, be sure to follow the link, and to remember to catch us next week when we publish another alert. See you then!

In a blog post last week we asked you what you thought about the new law in Missouri that will make it illegal for teachers to friend their students on Facebook. Many of you had strong opinions and weighed in to let us know what you thought. Here is what some of you had to say:

• I think it’s ok to be friends after you’ve had the teacher. I’m  friends with some of my high school teachers but it wasn’t til after i graduated. i think if it was during the time you had the teacher it could create a bias for the teacher and also they could see/read some things they don’t agree with or know is breaking the law or something and say something to the proper authorities.

• I don’t agree with it at all. It is going to create an obstacle for students to interact with their teachers regarding their school works, club activities and so on. A social networking site is just like hotmail, yahoo, gmail etc, but not a predatory community website for socially unacceptable people.

• I am not friends with my teachers on Facebook, because our school has a strict policy but I am close with them. They have told me they would gladly add me after I graduate and help me with my college work if I need it.

• I don’t feel that the teacher should be allowed to do this with current students. I feel that it could be an invasion of privacy, and I don’t need or want my teacher to know who my friends/family are. And if a student were to be absent or have some sort of problem going on then, keep the lines of communications open, open office hours, phone number that the teacher can be reached at, email. And if the student is a minor- the parent/legal guardian should be helping inform the teacher! NO FACEBOOK FRIENDS FOR CURRENT TEACHERS/STUDENTS!

• I think its okay for College students to be friends with Professors. High school I don’t think its so appropriate just because of they are minors and I don’t think that they need to be Facebook friends.

• I would never really consider friending a teacher that I currently have. In fact, most of my teachers wouldn’t accept it. A basic rule to live by: only friend teachers once you’ve graduated. If they are close to you for some other reason: religion, family, etc okay. Otherwise leave it in the classroom.

• Honestly I can see the benefits and downfalls of this idea. However, a fact that has yet to be brought up is that Facebook is a fad. Just like MySpace it will have it’s turn at falling out of favor. It is the unfortunate side-effect of all things popular and when it does it will no longer be useful. But don’t think that I am going to burst anyone’s bubble. I think that it would be useful for many students if schools had an online system in which to post reminders and such students so that they remember when major homework assignments would be due. Even so that is also what organizers are for.

Thanks for all of the great feedback! To see the complete article and all of the comments you can visit the post here.

One student will start their academic year with an extra $10,000 to help pay for their education.

QUINCY, MA (August 16, 2011) – ScholarshipPoints.com  (http://www.scholarshippoints.com), an Edvisors online education company, recently announced that it will award a $10,000 scholarship to one lucky member on September 15th. This scholarship drawing comes as students are heading back to school and paying for college is on the forefront of most students’ minds. The $10,000 scholarship drawing has become a quarterly tradition for ScholarshipPoints.com. Since the program started in 2006, 12 students have received a $10,000 scholarship award. To ensure funds are used for educational purposes, awards are sent directly to the student’s financial aid office.

With the cost of college rising every year and the potential for federal financial aid resources to be cut, it is more important than ever for students to seek out scholarship funds. ScholarshipPoints.com aims to help high school and college students pay for college and earn their degrees. The quarterly $10,000 scholarship drawing is just one of the many ways ScholarshipPoints.com strives to connect students to the funds they need for college.

Chase Ojala, a student at Pierce College, was the last ScholarshipPoints.com $10,000 scholarship winner. With the help of the award Chase plans to transfer to the University of Washington Tacoma to finish his bachelor’s degree. “With tuition rates rising along with the cost of living this scholarship is a true blessing,” said Chase. “It will be a motivational gift to carry with me every day.”

To enter the September 15th $10,000 Scholarship drawing and become a member, visit www.ScholarshipPoints.com.

Thank you all for you feedback on #ScholarshipChat! We have picked a date and the first #ScholarshipChat session will be this Sunday, August 14th at 9:00pm EST on Twitter. The topic for this first week will be: An Introduction to Scholarships.

#ScholarshipChat is an opportunity for students to ask their scholarship questions and connect with financial aid officers and scholarship providers. @kferguson10 from the ScholarshipPoints team, along with @winscholarships, will be moderating and have a list of questions prepared to get the conversation started. Just follow along and be ready to learn and share!

How can you follow along and participate? Just search #ScholarshipChat on Twitter and follow along with the stream. It is that easy! Also, don’t forget to tag all of your tweets with #ScholarshipChat!

The chat will run for about one hour and at the end we will give everyone an opportunity to weigh in on the topic for the next #scholarshipchat.  We will have a code worth 50 scholarship points for all ScholarshipPoints members who participate.

We look forward to chatting with you Sunday night!

Hey there, scholarship seekers! I hope everyone has been doing well since last week’s New Scholarships Alert. I bet many of you even took your chance to apply for one. Whether you were able to take a look at the new scholarships on StudentScholarshipSearch last week or not, we have several more that might be worth your attention:

College Peas Standout Student Scholarship
The College Peas Standout Student Scholarship is for students with a certain characteristic or two that distinguishes them from their peers. This could be through engagement in a Non-Teenager Activity, or NTA, in which other teenagers do not typically participate. To qualify for the $500 scholarship, you must be a current high school student intending to enroll full-time at a four-year college, have a minimum GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, and submit an essay of no longer than 100 words that describes the special skill, talent, or interest setting you apart from your peers. The application deadline is August 30.

GO! Study Abroad Scholarship!
The GO! Study Abroad Scholarship! is sponsored by GO! Overseas in support of educational funding through scholarships for students partaking in study abroad programs. A $1,000 scholarship is awarded to the most creative and analytical thinking applicant, as demonstrated through writing samples or video submissions. The deadline for the fall semester scholarship is September 15.

2011 Blogger Scholarship
Created by The Political Chamber, The 2011 Blogger Scholarship is meant to encourage those currently studying politics to think about how they would solve some of the country’s biggest concerns. To be considered for the $500 scholarship, applicants must be between 17 and 26 years old, attend or be accepted into an accredited college or university, and be enrolled in a college level political science course during the current semester of study. Applicants must submit at least one blog, of no more than 1500 words, that addresses one or more of the public policy issues suggested by the organization. All blogs are due at 11:59 pm, November 6.

Make sure you take a chance to look through any of the scholarships that sound appealing to you! You can also find out about many more on StudentScholarshipSearch. Good luck!

Twitter provides the ability for people all over the world to chat about a particular subject in real-time. We know there are a lot of people out there who have questions about scholarships and information to share. Because of this, we are starting up #scholarshipchat on Twitter. Click the button below and take the survey to let us know what you think about it. Then, stay tuned for more information about a date and time!

Later this month Missouri will become the first state to make it illegal for teachers to be friends with their students on Facebook. A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle explains that this is part of a bill that is meant to protect students from predatory teachers. The bill says that “teachers cannot have a network-related website that allows exclusive access with a current or former student.”

There are already a lot of opinions coming down on both sides of the bill. Some people support the law and agree that is is inappropriate for teachers to friend students. Others think that the law will do more harm than good because it assumes that all teachers have negative intentions when “friending” their students. The reality is that most teachers who use Facebook with their students are using it as a teaching platform to communicate about homework assignments and projects, or to keep an eye on the student body.

What do you think? Should it be ok for students and teachers to be friends on Facebook? Leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Read the entire article.