Hobby Based College Scholarship Opportunities

Spending time playing sports or a musical instrument, or engaging in a favorite hobby, may have an unexpected benefit.  It may end up being the source of a college scholarship.

Millions of dollars of scholarship money is available to students who have a particular talent or interest or are involved with a wide range of organizations.  The best way for students to access these funds is to make a list of all their activities and then search on free scholarship websites for relevant grants.

 

Discover.com, for example, offers a free scholarship search tool providing information on a wide range of scholarships in fields including aviation, band, business, choir, civil rights, community service, computers, cooking, dance, entrepreneurship, environment, esports, fashion, feminism, film/TV/radio, gardening, health, LGBT rights, literature, mock trial, music composition and performance, journalism, camping, performing arts, photography, playwriting, poetry, politics, robotics, scouting, debate, student government, technology, volunteer fire fighting, and youth ministry.

August SAT Exam is Extremely Popular

Students planning to take the next SAT, which will be offered nationwide on Saturday, August 26th, should register immediately, if they haven’t already done so.  There is a supply and demand issue that occurs each year in New Jersey, only with the August exam.  There are a limited number of seats at local test sites with an abundance of students wanting to take the exam before immersing themselves in the next academic school year. Students who wait too long to register often find themselves taking a road trip of several hours to a testing center with an available seat. 

Students get unlimited “do-overs” on the SAT, which they can take as many times as they like during their high school years.  It is offered each year in March, May, June, August, October, November, and December, and is available to freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors.  When the time comes to file college applications and submit their scores to colleges, students can choose which scores to send and which to pretend never happened.  Colleges have no way of knowing how many times a student has taken the SAT.

 

Many colleges allow students to “super-score,” listing on their Common Application (which is accepted by more than 900 colleges) their highest Evidenced-based Reading and Writing score from one test date and their highest Math score from another.

5 Latest Trends in College Admissions Process

Students about to embark on the ever-challenging college application process would do well to know the latest trends, and use this knowledge to their benefit.

1. The volume of college applications has continued its upward spiral. More students are applying to college than ever before, and they are applying to a greater number of schools. The Common Application reports the overall volume of college applications increased by 30% over the past three years.

New York University (NYU), for example, received 120,000 applications from high school students graduating this year, and 85,000 applications from those who graduated in 2020 – an increase of 41%. As a result, the acceptance rate has fallen to record lows at many of the most sought-after universities.

2. Tuition and fees have also continued to rise. Over the past 20 years, costs for in-state students to attend public universities increased by 175%, while costs to attend private national universities increased by 134%, according to Forbes. Colleges and universities with a sticker price exceeding $80,000 per year (including tuition, fees, room, and board) include University of Pennsylvania, Boston College, Cornell University, Franklin & Marshall College, Tufts University, Brown University, Amherst College, Wake Forest University, and the University of Southern California. The exact figures can be found in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges.

SAT verse ACT: Which Exam Should Students Take?

There are two exams that are widely accepted for the purposes of college admissions and the distribution of merit scholarship money: SAT and ACT. While students throughout the U.S. know that they can choose whichever test they want, geography tends to play a major role in their decision.

 

In New Jersey, for example, 90.3% of students choose the SAT, while only 9.7% choose the ACT, according to statistics from Niche.com. This ratio of 9 to 1, or even greater, in favor of the SAT is also reported in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., and Virginia.  

 

Local students find the SAT to be a natural progression from the PSAT which they typically take in the fall of both their sophomore and junior years.  Also, students often find the SAT to be an easier test as it covers fewer subjects and gives students more time per question than does the ACT.

15 Picturesque College Campuses Across The Country

College bound students have the unique opportunity of choosing a new home for the next four years of their lives, and potentially even longer. While many factors play into a student’s college choice, the appeal of its campus is likely one of those criteria.   

Students certainly need to consider their choice of major.  But many of the most popular majors, including business, nursing, psychology, and biology, are offered at hundreds, if not thousands, of colleges across the country. This gives students a great deal of leeway in allowing other factors to impact their decision. One of those factors is often campus beauty.

 

While beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, certain campuses have been particularly noted for their visual appeal. Fifteen colleges were singled out by U.S. News & World Report for touting such attributes as “stunning architecture, a picturesque setting or eye-popping landscaping.” The schools gracing this list, which represent twelve states throughout the country, are Baylor University, (TX), Flagler College (FL), Harvard University (MA), Indiana University: Bloomington (IN), Kenyon College (OH), Pepperdine University (CA), Salve Regina University (RI), San Diego State University (CA), Stanford University (CA), Swarthmore College (PA), University of Colorado: Boulder, University of Notre Dame (IN), University of Vermont, University of Virginia, and University of Washington.

High School Course Selection Effect on College Applications

Throughout their high school years, students are making decisions that will ultimately impact the success of their college applications. Most notably, they are choosing the high school courses they will take, and the level of difficulty of those courses.   

There are certainly guidelines required by the State of New Jersey, including four years of English and Physical Education/Health, three years of Math, Science and Social Studies, and an array of courses in World Languages, Visual or Performing Arts, and Financial Literacy. But students are given great latitude as to the specific courses taken within these fields and the level of rigorousness of these courses.  Also, students with the goal of enrolling in an elite college or university should seek to surpass the minimum high school graduation requirements.  

 

Regarding Math, for example, students are required to take Algebra I, Geometry, and one higher level course. But many colleges strongly favor students who have studied both Pre-Calculus and Calculus during their high school years, particularly if they will be pursuing a major in Business, Engineering, Architecture, or other math-intensive field. Such students need to carefully plan their four-year course of study, as they may need to double-up on Math during one high school year, or take a summer course for which they will be given credit.  

Strategies to Cover College Costs with Merit Money

 

Students seeking to cover their college costs without taking on significant debt should focus on securing merit money. This is scholarship money awarded for academic accomplishments or a specific talent that is not tied to a family’s financial assets and does not get paid back.  

 

One impressive source of merit money is based on students’ scores on the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which is taken in October of one’s junior year.  This test is also referred to as the PSAT. More than $35 million dollars will be awarded next year to some 8,000 students who earn impressive scores on this exam.    

 

Many more students will earn merit money based on their SAT scores.  The majority of colleges award merit money – which is renewable each year – to applicants who score higher than the median score for their student body.  Colleges want to attract students who raise the reputation of the school, and awarding merit scholarship money is an effective tool.  Since students can take the SAT as many times as they choose during their high school years, and then submit only their highest scores, this is typically the easiest way to earn merit scholarships.    

 

To have the best chance of receiving substantial merit money, students should apply to colleges a tier below those to which they could likely gain acceptance. For example, students expecting to be admitted to NYU’s Stern School of Business (where annual tuition, room and board fees exceeds $75,000) would have a great chance of being awarded substantial merit money by St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and St. John’s University in NYC. Both host impressive business colleges with lower tuition rates and more generous scholarship packages. 

 

Students should be proactive and reach out to all colleges of interest to learn about potential merit scholarships, as some schools are particularly generous. Fairfield University in Connecticut, for example, offered merit aid averaging $17,388 to more than half of its students this academic year, according to U.S. News & World Report. 

 

Students should also be aware that many public universities offer out-of-state students more merit aid than they offer in-state students, to help compensate for the different tuition fees. This may help New Jersey students who are eager to attend such popular schools as Penn State University, University of Delaware, and the many SUNY campuses.

 

It's beneficial for students to start their merit scholarship search during their junior year as applications frequently require essays, recommendation letters, or other materials. Upon receiving merit money, it’s vital for students to be aware of the requirements for renewing that aid for the remainder of their college years.  Usually, students need to maintain a minimum GPA, but other stipulations may also apply.    

 

Susan Alaimo is the founder and director of Collegebound Review which offers PSAT/SAT^® preparation and private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362