Published December 2012. Financial aid and student loan rules change often, so some details may be out of date. Ask us about your situation.
For some parents, getting ready to finance their student's higher education is a process that begins years in advance. Aside from saving up money, parents should be encouraging their students to make themselves competitive candidates for awards and scholarship programs based upon academic excellence.
One of the first ways that students are able to give themselves an edge over their peers is when they take the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) during their sophomore year of high school. Although the results of this test aren't released to colleges, they are viewed by a governing body that rewards students for exceptional performance.
The National Merit Scholarship is a generous gift given to students based largely on their performance on the PSAT. If an individual scores in the top 1 percent of the test-takers in his or her home state, he or she may qualify for a $2,500 grant from the National Merit Scholarship Corp.
That isn't all, as students also need to have received remarkable grades and recommendations from instructors to set them apart from the rest of the pack. This makes qualifying for the award a highly competitive process, but one that will surely pay off for students in the long run.
Of the roughly 1.5 million sophomores who take the PSATs every year, only about 8,000 are given the award.
By becoming even a finalist for the National Merit Scholarship, students instantly gain eligibility for numerous other awards that could finance a huge chunk of their college tuition.
Additionally, every year the National Merit Scholarship Corp. provides recommendations to 34,000 students, making acceptance into a competitive school easier as well as helping students qualify for other grants.
The financial aid consultants at College Financing Group have experience providing scholarship assistance to students looking to make paying for college more affordable. Parents should contact us today to start planning for their student's future as soon as possible.