I am a senior in high school looking to go to college. One of the many. However, I cannot afford college on my own, and my parents can't either. So, logically, I'm looking for scholarships. In fact, that is the primary reason why I am blogging here, instead of the usual on myspace. I understand that it may seem very selfish to all of the people on this website
trying to get their ideas across, but I just don't have any other alternatives.
My father is from Morocco, a country in Northwestern Africa just south of Spain. Naturally, I figured that I could apply for minority scholarships due to my ethnic background. However, as I searched, I found that Morocco simply goes under the radar for minorities. My father is not black. He looks Middle Eastern if anything. So applying for African American scholarships is out of the question, although by the definition of the words in the phrase, that is exactly what I am. But my dad isn't from the Middle East either, and scholarships for people of Middle Eastern descent are very hard to come by. So, racially, I am stuck.
I decided to move on to looking for more need-based scholarships. Our family is fairly tight with money, so I thought maybe something might pop up there. Unfortunately, my father makes too much money, so the amount of federal aid I would recieve would be slim. However, because of my mother's health issues we spend too much money in a month on medicine alone to really afford to save up enough to help pay for my college tuition.
I have always gotten really good grades and tried hard, but unfortunately for now I'm stuck. I can only hope that the scholarships that I am able to apply for will carry me through, so that I can effectively educate myself.
I wish you so much luck! I went through that last year, and am still going through it. I can't get ethnic scholarships despite being a mutt because my family has been in the States too long. I also can't get scholarships for being a Christian, because all of those are for people going to Christian schools. I got absolutely nothing from FAFSA, merit-based scholarships aren't working out at all, and my college is too small to offer a lot of scholarships.
A big suggestion to you. Once you decide on the college you want to go to, they should have a to of scholarships you can apply for. Check it out, and apply for all that you're eligible for. There could be other alternatives, too. My friend, on a visit to the community college, was offered a full ride scholarship to the four year school of her choice if she would attend the community college for two years. Things like that can actually happen. So don't give up.
And don't feel selfish for coming here just for the scholarship competition. That's what I did, and ProU kinda just pulled me in. I'm here to stay now, should I win the scholarship or not. I wish you the best of luck! Happy blogging!
And that's comin' at ya' from yer local redneck hippie.
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Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!!!
wow. good luck finding scholarships! when i was a senior, i applied for a lot of local scholarships. if you search, maybe talk to your guidance department, a lot of towns and county organizations such as the lions or rotary give out scholarships. since there is a much smaller number of people applying for these than for the ones you see on fastweb, they are sometimes more obtainable. I found this super effective - as i was in a similar situation, but managed to get about $6000 from local scholarships.
also, i am writing a weekly blog about making money while in college. i was in a situation with no financial aid and no access to a job (because i had not financial aid) and so i am writing about proactive ways to make money. this is only the second week, but hopefully throughout the course of the next few months, an idea might come up that will help you!
When I started looking for scholarships much like this one hear, I was introduced to a website called fastweb.com. I found a lot of good scholarships there and did alot of homework asking around. I went into book stores and found that alot of scholarships exist that are not online, but require for you to write them and send all of the information via the mail or by email to them. In addition, many not for profit organizations offer scholarship opportunities.
You may be able to email some local teachers at community colleges or local universities with the same background as yours, that may be able to assist you. Local government officials, state government officials, and national government officials will respond to you if you email their offices or contact them by phone or mail with a lack of access to scholarships and aid for ethnic history. They may be able to direct you to specific organizations, scholarships or groups. That has been my personal experience.
The state of economy has had a huge effect on the number of scholarships offered the last few years. It is hard to find scholarships and especially with your situation, money is scarce. I think I can relate and I understand.
I wish you the best and I hope that all works out well with your mom's health and with your education.
Take care.
also, somethings change when you get into college. i received a few scholarships to offset a bit of the cost my freshman year, but now during my sophomore year, I am earning that money instead as work study. Some jobs at school are great, because you pretty much get to do your homework and are paid for it. when you are looking at/deciding on schools, see what their work options are, because it is a great way to at least cover the cost of books. it is not a scholarship, but it really does help.
Work Study is a great option for you, once you decide where you want to go. Fastweb is ok, I guess, but I never had any luck through there. We offer a number of other search engines for scholarships on our links page. Local scholarships are also a good option. If you're involved in any organizations, they might be able to help you out as well.
Also, don't be afraid of student loans. I know everyone hates them, but it's better to take out loans to get a better job than to just sit and wait for the money to come for you to go to school in the first place.
~C
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I agree. I do not know what I would without work study. Plus on my campus at least, you can get a job where you can do your homework, so your hours are not cutting into your ability to do work. On the other hand though, you can also get lab positions or paid internships. There are a lot of work options on college campuses! And the most options are open to work study students!