We have a senior who wants to go into mechanical engineering, did well on his ACT's (30) and had a 4.073 out of 5.0 at a small Christian school that doesn't rank beyond 1 and 2. We knew we wouldn't qualify for any need-based financial assistance beyond a Stafford loan so we did our homework very early starting with college visits his junior year. He applied very early to 7 schools. He was accepted at 6 with scholarships at each.
I agree with keeping all the award information, clubs, activities, part-time jobs, volunteer work and mission trips all in one place with dates and contact names, etc. Start this folder when your student is a freshman. Get letters of recommendation early from a guidance counselor, teacher and/or principal. Have your student take the ACT/SAT at the very earliest opportunity, you get the results in about 2 weeks. If they are low, get your student enrolled in a prep class. If they are decent, still have your student take it again towards the end of junior year, it helps especially to have more trig and pre-calculus under your belt. Our son's score went up from a 28 to a 30. That's when we thought we might have a good chance for scholarships.
One of the best things we did was sign up for a 3-month premium subscription to the online US News and World Report website. There you can search for colleges every which way and compare them; which one gives the most scholarship money, which is the best for a B students, tuition costs, how difficult it is to get in - if they base acceptance on ACT or more on GPA and class rank, how many miles from home, etc.
I think it is critical to apply early because often that is when the first set of scholarships are offered. Our son had a good basic application letter which outlined a specific career goal (roller coaster design) and he sent that and a school profile along with each application, even though it wasn't required. Likewise a recommendation from his science teacher. Often there are guidance counselor forms that have to be filled out as well.
He was accepted by Milwaukee School of Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology (the biggest scholarship, $65,000), Kettering, Bradley, Southern Illinois University, University of Central Florida and Rose-Hulman. Six scholarships! We were amazed when the letters came in with scholarship offers. This is not an A student, and engineering is tough to get into. The only school he did not get accepted was University of Illinois, and we heard that the minimum ACT this year accepted for engineering was 34. Not sure if that is true or not, but it is definitely a competitive curriculum.
