Scholarships for moms?

[wedindis'00]

I see these pop ups all the time. Is it legit? Is there one better than the other?

Has anyone done this?
Your input would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

[mrsboz]

I am interested as well. I hear everyone say that there is money out there that no one uses all the time. Where? Anyone know?

 

[MrsPete]

I just looked at the website, and it does not appear to be legit. They do not ask for ANY information that would actually qualify you for a scholarship. They do not ask anything about your grades, your intended major, your background . . . they just want your contact info. This is a big indication that they want to send you information about loans -- in fact, this site has more links to loan information than to scholarship information.

When I was in college back in the 1980s (no internet) we had flyers all over campus about places that'd find scholarships for you. They didn't. They wanted money, and then they'd tell you how to get loans -- and you can get that information for free. This appears to be a variation on that scam.

Also, the idea that there's college money out there going un-used is largely false. Here's the type of scholarship that's going un-used: My daughter is very into scouting. She will qualify for a scholarship through Girl Scouts -- wonderful, right? Not so wonderful. NONE of the schools where these scholarships can be used are in our state (or even in a state bordering our own). Most of the schools where these scout scholarships can be used are small, expensive private schools. And finally, the dollar amount is small (think 10-15% of the tuition cost). Although my daughter'll qualify for those scholarships, she'll never apply -- she's not interested in those schools, and she's not going out of state. It's just not a realistic option. This is the type of scholarship that's a great deal for the right person, the person who's already decided to attend that specific school and who says, "Wow, look, I qualify for this money! What a nice perk for me!" It is not nearly enough to make anyone say, "I'll consider this school."

So that type of scholarship money DOES go un-used . . . but the truth is that few, few, few people meet the requirements AND choose those particular few schools.

 

[StephMK]

I don't know why there are so many ads for that, I see them all the time too. I'm a mom in school and have found no unclaimed scholarship funds or anything like what they advertise. I do have Stafford loans but that's the best I've been able to get. I WISH there were funds!

If you are at all interested in the education field, there are loan forgiveness and grant programs if you're willing to teach at a low income school in certain fields.

 

[ohlas]

you could alway call local high school to see if your city or county has a program for school funding workshops most of them are free...

 

[ReneeA]

Your best bet is to fill out a FAFSA and then visit the college you want to take classes at. I am a 30 something mom and went back to nursing school 3 years ago (just graduated a few months ago). Anyway, I became great at digging out all of the grant and scholarship money I could. It was a bit easier for me to qualify since my DH was laid off at the time and we had very little income.

Anyway, I was told that I should take out the loans I qualify for since many hospitals will pay back student loans when you sign on with them. Between the loans, scholarships and grants, I received $12,000 a year. School only cost me $5,500 and I received the remainder back in cash to pay for living and additional school expenses. I did not apply for things online, or "advertised" money. I did get a job right out of school that has paid off my student loans since I was willing to sign a contract to work for them for a few years.

I spent lots of time, applied for lots of private scholarships, and had to write essays, etc in order to be considered for most of them. After accepting, many times I had to attend banquets and luncheons in order to be recognized as their recipient. I met many wonderful people along the way. It was work, but work every second.

 

[timmac]

I see these pop ups all the time. Is it legit? Is there one better than the other?

Has anyone done this?
Your input would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

Just to piggy back on what others are saying...

You start out by saying you see these "pop ups". That's your first clue.

Remember, that anytime you're seeing an "ad", of any kind, they're paying money to publish that ad, which means they must be somehow making money, hence they aren't just telling you where to get free money.

I'd even go one step further and warn about actual, genuine scholarships, too. (This is more true for students about to graduate high school, but probably applies equally well beyond that.) There's a lot of scholarships offered by large companies (Coca cola comes to mind), and there are a lot more that are offered by companies you've never heard of even. Two big considerations, however, are "is there an application fee?", and "how many people are applying for how many scholarship awards?" In the former case, you're basically sending in money, and then every so often they send someone a scholarship (may not even be based on anything more than randomly picking one out of a hat). In the second case, competing among a large field of candidates for a relatively small award, isn't even worth the 'free money'.

Regarding "college is affordable" type workshops, it's worth understanding going into it, that none of them are going to tell you where to sign, or what form to fill out, or what hoop to jump through, to get a free education. They're going to explain differences between local/community colleges and larger schools, in-state vs out-of-state status, budgeting, payment plans, loan options, etc. All that said (sorry if it sounded too soap-box), learning all the details of that stuff is helpful.

 

[ajh88]

I'm calling this one a scam too. I've seen the ads also and it just doesn't seem legit to me. However, I have never personally clicked the link.

Depending on if you are going to school for the first time or going BACK to school, there may be different scholarships available to you. Check with the school where you want to go - often there may be endowments or other scholarships for students only going to that school (call the financial aid office if you have no luck on the internet). If you currently work for a company, see if they offer anything - or check out places you might want to work for later.

For example, my pharmacy school offered me a $2000 renewable scholarship based on academic record when I was accepted (like spitting in the ocean when you consider the tuition, but hey, I won't turn down $8000 over 4 years!). They also have university specific scholarships they award every year (you have to finish your first year to be eligible) - these aren't renewable and you have to apply every year, but it seems they try to give everyone who applies at least a little bit. Some of these are sponsored by large companies (Kroger, Wal-Mart, CVS, etc.) while others are endowments from individuals. Finally, some companies will give you money for service - for pharmacy, Walgreens will give you money for school but you have to commit to work for them for a period of time after graduation (or else pay the money back).

There IS money to be had but you're much better off going to the "source" than through an online ad. It might not hurt to google some scholarship offers, but I wouldn't rely on it as my only source of information.

Best of luck!

 

[wedindis'00]

i wasn't about to trust the "pop-ups" for that very reason. But they all say the "Obama" blah... blah... blah...loan. So there must be something behind that. Was there some legislation actually passed, or are the ad's just using this to suk us in?

 

[taximomfor4]

Your best bet is to fill out a FAFSA and then visit the college you want to take classes at. I am a 30 something mom and went back to nursing school 3 years ago (just graduated a few months ago). Anyway, I became great at digging out all of the grant and scholarship money I could. It was a bit easier for me to qualify since my DH was laid off at the time and we had very little income.

Anyway, I was told that I should take out the loans I qualify for since many hospitals will pay back student loans when you sign on with them. Between the loans, scholarships and grants, I received $12,000 a year. School only cost me $5,500 and I received the remainder back in cash to pay for living and additional school expenses. I did not apply for things online, or "advertised" money. I did get a job right out of school that has paid off my student loans since I was willing to sign a contract to work for them for a few years.

I spent lots of time, applied for lots of private scholarships, and had to write essays, etc in order to be considered for most of them. After accepting, many times I had to attend banquets and luncheons in order to be recognized as their recipient. I met many wonderful people along the way. It was work, but work every second.

I am so unlucky -- I did this SAME thing, except by the time I was nearing graduation and began sending out resumes, etc, every place near me had stopped doing the repayment for contract. They also stopped sign-on bonus (I worked as division secretary at a hospital, and was going to do the bonus once I graduated and took an RN position there. I was BUMMED!) So now I have lots of student loans that I will be repaying all by my self. Ya know what they say about "the best laid plans", lol.