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Printer-Friendly ModeScholarship opportunities await eager students
October 19, 2009 —
With the Michigan Promise Scholarship still up in the air, many students may seek alternative, often untapped scholarships to help pay for school.
Students will need to put forth some effort to utilize many of the scholarships out there.
A good starting point is the University’s Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid Web site.
The site contains several sources to obtain scholarships and information such as what students need to do at SVSU to complete the process.
Though many scholarships for the fall semester are already tapped into, more opportunities will surface on the site in February.
Robert Lemuel, the director at the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid recommends a word of mouth strategy to track down additional scholarship opportunities.
"Talk to everyone you know," Lemuel says. "You never know who might be offering a scholarship — whether it’s an employer from a summer job or your local church.” Many jobs also offer tuition scholarships, especially if it’s a job related to a student’s field of study.
Another online resource for students is Saginaw Scholarships. Put together by the Public Libraries of Saginaw, the site is specifically geared toward Michigan students.
The Web site is a comprehensive database with more than 400 scholarships, grants and loans available.
Saginaw Scholarships provides all the details needed for each individual scholarship, such as the amount of money, how many are given and who to talk to in order to apply.
The site also offers several tips on applying for scholarships, including having others proofread your forms.
While the Internet is remains a helpful resource, there are signs to look for when assessing a Web site’s credibility.
Sites that have paid searches, guaranteed results or application fees are some of the red flags that should tip off scholarship seekers to look elsewhere.
Credible scholarship sites will almost always have a few things in common, such as a mailing or e-mail address.
Illegitimate sites rarely have avenues for contacting the people who maintain them. FinAid, an online financial aid guide, has a section dedicated recognizing scams.
Students may also arrange to meet with SVSU academic advisers to determine their financial needs and possible options for paying for school.
“It can take time to finding a scholarship,” Lemuel said. “But spending three or four hours finding a scholarship for a thousand dollars or more is easily worth the effort.”