The Scholarship & Financial Aid Solution: How to Go to College for Next to Nothing with Short Cuts, Tricks, and Tips from Start to Finish
College costs are continuing to rise, with a four-year private school averaging $22,218 and a four-year public school averaging $5,836 for the 2006-07 school year. The good news is that more than $134 billion in financial aid is available. The Scholarship & Financial Aid Handbook will show you how to earmark some of that money for your college education, ensuring that you will be able to afford a higher education.
In this book, you will learn about the different types of scholarships, including those based on academics, awards, honors, leadership, test scores, extracurricular activities, majors, community service, volunteer work, essays, financial aid, minority status, even some unusual ones. You will learn how to determine your eligibility for these scholarships, as well as how to enlist the help of your parents, how to recognize and avoid scholarship scams, how to create a résumé, how to ask and who to ask for letters of recommendation, how to ace interviews with scholarship committees, and how to prepare for your interview.
Additionally, you will discover where to look for scholarships, from your school to local organizations, businesses, and online. You will be provided with tips on filling out applications and tips for writing essays, as well as how to alter your essays for multiple uses. Also included are possible essay topics, sample interview questions, and information on state grants, FAFSA, and work study.
The Scholarship & Financial Aid Handbook is intended to be a guide for students, parents, and school personnel to assist students in finding and obtaining scholarships. The author uses her years of experience and exhaustive research to help you benefit from scholarships. Even if you do not have above average grades, participate in lots of extracurricular activities, or have an abundance of extracurricular activities, you can find money to go to college. Just read this book and apply the techniques found within.
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The Scholarship Solution Financial Aid How to Go To College for Next to Nothing with Short Cuts, Tricks and Tips from Start to Finish by Debra Lipphardt
You may remember the intimidating, giant book in your high school library filled to the brim with potential scholarships. Your counselor mentioned it, your parents have told you that they can only give you a minor percentage of college funding. When you finally haul the scholarship book to the melamine table, you have no idea what you’re looking at.
Right in Chapter 1 Lipphardt explains scholarships, and moves on to the types and what they mean. The first three chapters are dedicated to the subject. What’s fascinating is that there is always an overlooked scholarship to which few apply – giving the applicant a decided edge. Those deep in “the real world” aren’t the only ones with well-written resumes. This book emphasizes the essentials so that you can put an utterly engaging resume together that’s wholly truthful.
The naturally distrustful will be pleased to note that she dedicates a section to “scams.” In other words, it’s the proverbial, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Lipphardt’s resource book is researched and presented with such attention to detail, it’s as though she carefully prepared it for for her only child, currently a junior. She’s got that smart mom thing going and a good thing for those who need a boost of the green to fund their higher education.
Comment by nfmendoza — March 3, 2008 @ 2:04 pm
The Scholarship& Financial Aid Handbook is an excellent source for anyone planning to attend college, especially if you want to know more about scholarships. The author has worked for years as a financial aid adviser, plus helping her own children with the financial aid process.
The book tells you exactly what to do as a freshman in high school to prepare for college. She explains the various types of scholarships – Academic, Major, General, Minority and Unusual. With each type she explains what is needed to qualify such as GPA, Honors, Leadership, Test Scores (SAT & ACT), Extracurricular Activities, and Community Work. At the end of the book there is a list of state agencies to contact for information and a list of web sites. She also talks about how to uncover local sources of scholarship money.
Lipphardt believes there is sufficient money for anyone wishing to attend college but you have to do your research and continually apply to numerous sources. The book tells you how to complete applications, answer essay questions, prepare for interviews and even what to do after you have won the scholarship. It is filled with lots and lots of points that the average person is probably unaware of but could determine if you fail or succeed. One of the most helpful sections gives detailed instructions and examples on how to prepare a resume.
Though the book primarily deals with scholarship money, she gives a good overview of the total financial aid process. FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), State & Local Grants, and Student Loans are explained in easy to understand language. With knowledge, preparation, hard work and persistence the author has helped hundreds of her students secure scholarships and financial aid. Readers of this book should also be able to do the same.
Comment by Margaret Norton — March 3, 2008 @ 2:53 pm
Worried about getting the money for college? Debra Lipphardt, a scholarship coordinator for a high school in Florida, has written a practical manual to get the money you need. She peppers the text with stories of students she has helped and solid advice.
While basic, it is a good and useful guide to getting scholarships. Lipphardt’s chatty style makes you feel as if you’re sitting down in your best friend’s mom’s kitchen for cookies and some advice you wouldn’t take from your own mom. She recognizes that life in the 21st century is a bit more complex than the mythical suburban lifestyle the media likes to portray as “normal” and offers creative solutions for the students with complex needs. Recognizing how our world works, the book includes a chapter discussing various scams used to prey on the student desperate for money for college.
She re-iterates things a high school student should know: deadlines are important, neatness counts, read all directions carefully and follow them exactly. Having worked in academia at the college level, myself, I can say that these things are not in the least obvious and it was a good thing she included them! She discusses organizational techniques for keeping track of scholarship applications, and even offers a bit of unique advice for the high school freshman – start a Scholarship Folder your first year!
Comment by Noel Lynne Figart — March 6, 2008 @ 10:28 am
Rating *****
Where was this book when I was looking for help to finance college myself? I recall my guidance counselor handing me a single scholarship application, not the dozens (or hundreds) that today’s student has available to them. Fortunately, I did receive that scholarship; I can attest, it’s a great feeling to read the words, “You’ve been awarded…”
As the “semi-retired” parents of a junior high school student, what we have learned from this book is that it’s not too early to make use of this comprehensive guide to college scholarships and financial aid. It helps us to keep our “eyes on the prize” and gently steer our son in the right direction, in terms of his current academic studies, as well as his extra-curricular activities. Unless you get 1600 on your SATs, you’re likely not going to get a scholarship without being a well-rounded individual, with more than just book smarts.
Ms. Lipphardt addresses the process step-by-step, from helping you determine which scholarships you’re eligible for (and it may be a single criterion that qualifies or disqualifies an applicant), filling out the application (“neatness counts!”), obtaining letters of recommendation or referral (who to ask, who not to ask, proofread well, and thank you notes afterward), and providing tips for the dreaded “essay” portion (know your audience, be truthful, etc).
This book provided a thorough, simple, easy to understand discussion on the role of both the student and parent, and what it takes to get successfully navigate the scholarship labyrinth. From my reading, it’s obvious that it’s not an easy effort, but rather time consuming and tedious, to weed through the available scholarships, sort out the good from the bad, and the eligible to apply from the ineligible to apply. Ms. Lipphardt does this full time for a school full of students; that tells you how much time you need to devote to this, as well, for your own child.
This book won’t give you is a giant list of available scholarships. But what it will give you is the starting point, where on the Internet to begin your search, what physical searches you can do (school guidance office and college financial aid office), state-based resources, and equally important, what scholarship “scams” to avoid. She has the insider perspective, given her proven track record, and knows what the scholarship boards are looking for from a student; she’s helped hundreds of children, including her own, to find and win scholarships.
Comment by Barbzzz — March 10, 2008 @ 9:37 am
This book should be given to every student and his or her parents
during a “Welcome to the rest of your life” meeting the first month of
school in ninth grade, and then revisited annually through the twelfth
grade. In order to get a scholarship, a student not only has to have
good grades, he or she has to become involved in the community as a
volunteer and must be active in school clubs and activities. A
part-time job also doesn’t hurt. So many students float through school
and then realize, as they’re filling out scholarship applications, that
they just don’t have much to put down other than a 3.0 grade average.
Grades just aren’t enough to put one person ahead of another in the
competition for free money.
“The Scholarship Solution” gives the student and his parents an
excellent blueprint for working toward junior and senior year when the
application process begins. It’s a tiny book, but it covers a lot of
ground, from where to look for scholarships to creating a resume to
filling out the application. Tips on writing essays, securing letters
of recommendation and how to present yourself at a scholarship
interview are offered. If you have elementary or junior high students,
get this book now. Start a college file that will include their
personal essays, their school and volunteer activities - and if they
don’t have any, encourage them to start looking for them right away.
It’s prep work for the rest of their life. (Four stars)
Comment by Linda O'Dell — March 10, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
Debra Lipphardt’s “The Scholarship & Financial Aid Solution: How to Go to College for Next to Nothing” is perfect for a college student like me who is trying to find ways to cut back on the costs of ever-increasing tuition and book payments. There are many books on the market that help students find ways to secure financial aid and scholarship funds but Lipphardt’s book is quite helpful because it details a number of options available to students and their parents who are looking for ways to pay for college without having to mortgage the house.
Lipphardt’s book covers all everything one needs to know about obtaining scholarships and financial aid, including where to look for college funding opportunities, how to write resumes and essays, tips on filling out applications, and even advice on interviews. While this book has a brief list of resources for all fifty states and a rundown of some scholarship websites, this book is NOT simply a list of scholarships and financial aid programs. It is a general guide for anyone trying to find out the basics on how and where to apply for funding and what steps need to be taken to better your chances of landing the money for school. Something I was especially glad to learn from this book was on how to avoid scholarship scams.
Something that makes this book stand out from the rest is that Lipphardt speaks to the reader literally one-to-one. Her friendly personal approach makes reading this book feel more like I am consulting with a personal adviser than some distant, remote resource, which is the feeling I get with most book addressing college admissions. Also, Lipphardt’s book is a fairly quick read, making it easy to gain a lot of information in a short space of time. As a college student, I can say this is one book I really enjoyed reading; I certainly recommend it to anyone needing information on finding ways to pay for school.
Comment by Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez — March 17, 2008 @ 5:14 pm