Are you and your student ready for the college acceptance and scholarship interview marathon?
The school year is coming to an end. Students are looking forward to a long, lazy summer filled with fun. This may be true for most kids, but if you have a child approaching senior year in high school, you and your child may be training for the college acceptance and scholarship interview marathon.
Have you overheard your student and their friends discussing the trendy “in” or “reach” colleges they only dream of attending? Maybe your child has mentioned a few colleges they want to visit. Be honest and admit how your heart skipped several beats and you began to sweat when you searched the schools your child mentioned and found the tuition and associated costs! It’s overwhelming to say the least. Then we ask ourselves, “How will I be able to afford this?”
Many students opt to take out student loans in order to finance their higher education. Forbes.com reports more than 44 million borrowers collectively owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt in the U.S. alone. Forbes.com also notes, “the average student in the Class of 2016 has $37,172 in student loan debt.” Add on many more tens of thousands of dollars for the more advanced degrees that require an additional year or so to complete like a Physical Therapy degree or some PharmD programs. No one wants their 22-year-old graduate to begin a career with massive student loan debt.
So, like every parent, you “sign up” for the college scholarship marathon searching for the best, most lucrative college scholarship your child qualifies for. It’s a time-consuming process for your student (and let’s be honest, for you as well). Searching through books and online forums, filling out the application perfectly, writing the most outstanding essay and then finally interviewing (if necessary) for the prized scholarship. Let’s take a look at some sobering statistics to fully understand the competition involved with this scholarship marathon.
Mark Kantrowitz, publisher and vice president of research for Savingforcollege.com has a real talent for breaking down all the college scholarship statistics. He writes, “A total of $6.1 billion in scholarships was awarded to 1.58 million recipients. That’s 8.1 percent of students and an average of $3,852 per recipient. If you limit the data to students who are enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs, the figures are 12.7 percent (1 in 8 students) and $4,202 per recipient.” That’s not going to cover a lot of costs.
Bear with me through a few more interesting statistics. A Washington Post blog states, “Only 0.2 percent of students got $25.000 or more in scholarships per year based on 2015-2016 National Postsecondary Student Aid Society...” Now that can make a nice dent in the yearly outlay for schooling, right? But what about the gold standard of the “full ride” we all dream about for our children? Mark Kantrowitz found that “1.5 percent of students in Bachelor’s degree programs got enough scholarships and grants to cover 100 percent of the cost of attendance.” That percentage is small, but it happens and we all know someone who has benefitted from one of these unicorn-type, coveted scholarships.
There are thousands of different types of scholarships and grants available (For a laugh, Google some of the weirder, but very interesting types of scholarships available). When my son was entering college, I jumped into the scholarship marathon with both feet and purchased one of those huge books containing thousands of scholarships, the requirements, as well as how to apply. Granted, most are not the “full-ride” but it all adds up. These scholarships are there for the taking, so eat your Wheaties and dip your toe into the scholarship acceptance and interview marathon!
The scholarship marathon is a pressure cooker in itself, but there’s another big factor at play contributing to the pressure. A child’s senior year is laden with emotions that subconsciously increase the tension that is already apparent. College is the most important and most difficult transition your child will make. It signifies the end of childhood, separation from parents, and a developing adult autonomy for your precious child. The secret fear of letting go can have parents wondering, “Have I done enough?” This boiling cauldron of mixed emotions can make the scholarship marathon even more exasperating. Understand that you aren’t alone in your quest for scholarship money. Most parents are assisting their child with this process in some way so you probably have a built-in support group to share with.
It’s important to recognize that the large, prestigious college scholarships invite only the best and brightest to the face-to-face interviews with the final decision makers. Understand that all of these “final round” kids have straight A’s, high SAT and ACT scores, leadership skills, club memberships, and have all been on a mission trip building water treatment plants in Botswana (and other very worthy projects). The cream of the crop make it to the final decision panel and that alone is a huge honor.
Your child must shine throughout the entire college acceptance and scholarship interview process. These students have never faced questioning like they will endure during these interviews. The questions that will be thrown at them are tough and they must present their best possible argument. They need to be able to discuss their skills, talents and abilities, as well as describe their experiences to differentiate themselves from the rest of the applicants who have the exact same qualifications as they do.
How did they convince their club to raise money to buy snacks for an underprivileged day camp? What was their process to build that water treatment plant in Botswana and how did it affect the community? Add to these routine questions and questions they aren’t expecting which are taken from the decision panel’s secret bag of tricks. They must present themselves as self-assured, confident, and very bold so that the decision panel will recognize that they are indeed unique and have separated themselves from the other applicants conveying their high school experiences in an interesting, memorable and persuasive manner.
The college admission and scholarship marathon is messy and recent news of the college admissions scandal where Aunt Becky from Full House fame shelled out half a million dollars in bribes to get her daughters onto USC’s crew team along with the recent announcement that the College Board will allow the SATs to assign an “adversity score” to student tests only adds to the odds already being stacked against students.
We want the absolute best for our kids. We’ve dreamed of their success since we first held them in our arms. It’s only natural. Dropping your child off at college for the first time is a bittersweet and emotional moment. If you have a senior in high school, you’ve probably already thought about how that moment will unfold. Sniff sniff!
If you and your child are training for the college acceptance and scholarship marathon and you want your child to perform at their highest level, please contact me.
The ability to clearly and concisely articulate who they are as well skillfully verbalizing their wants and needs are skills that will serve your student well beyond them simply interviewing for college. I can help prepare your student to project confidence and boldness and be highly prepared for the questions they will receive during these college interviews. Hiring an interview coach for your child during this marathon will be like adding wings to their running shoes!
I offer a free ½ hour introductory job interview coaching session. Contact me today to prepare for your tomorrow!