Another good-to-know fact about scholarships
We discovered a new scholarship wrinkle this fall that we thought others might want to be aware of. We were counting on $2,500 in private scholarship funds for the fall semester. The problem? The three scholarships didn’t come in by the date the university required payment in full. The scholarships will help, but they weren’t in time for the first semester.
One scholarship (from the Elks, for those making mental notes) required a letter from the university stating that the student was enrolled. We had attempted to start this process earlier, but were told by the university registrar that it couldn’t be done until the drop date for classes had passed. That date, of course, was a week after fall tuition was due.
Our message to those for whom the scholarship process is new is that you need to be aware you may not have all of your funds by the date you enroll. Every scholarship has different guidelines as to how and when the funds will be submitted. Some allow you to start the process in time to begin the semester; others do not. You will need to factor that into your finance plan.
We invite those of you who have good or bad scholarships experiences to share your story. Email us and we’ll post it on the Share Your Experience page. Your story will likely help other homeschoolers know what to expect as they begin their scholarship quest.
New–scholarship for Virginia homeschoolers
Today we’ve listed a scholarship available to members of The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers. For this scholarship, an essay is required. The first place winner receives a $1000 college scholarship, while runner-ups receive prizes. For more information on this scholarship for Virginia homeschoolers, as well as a listing of 30 more scholarships just for homeschoolers, visit our List of Homeschool Scholarships page.
Writing lots of essays? Win this contest!
If you’ve spent the last year writing essays for scholarship competitions, you may have already won the contest we’ve just added to our Etc. category. The Homeschool Writer of the Year title is based on the number of essays you submitted, whether you won the competitions or not. The deadline is Nov. 30, 2010.
We also added a regional homeschool competition for those of you who live in the Fort Bragg, NC area. The Home School Spelling Bee has a category just for high schoolers. It will be held Oct. 22, 2010.
Winning either of these events would look good on college scholarship applications. For more information and links to the sponsoring organizations, visit our Contests page.
College Fairs Designed for Homeschoolers
We’ve added a new page to the Etc section of this site–Homeschool College Fairs. By sending representatives to these fairs, colleges are also sending the message that they are anxious to have homeschooled students apply for admission. Homeschool college fairs are a great place to find out which colleges offer scholarships to homeschoolers, and present an opportunity to compare admissions policies for homeschooled students.
Beginning our list is the Pacific Northwest Homeschool Fair, to be held Nov. 6 in Bothel, WA. If you know of upcoming homeschool college fairs in your area, email us and we’ll post them.
New $5 million homeschool scholarship fund!
Today one of our viewers sent us the link to an incredible news story where homeschool scholarships are concerned. It’s big news, whether or not Letourneau University is in your future plans. Hopefully, it will set the stage for more colleges and universities to follow suit. The story begins as follows:
Wednesday, August 25, 2010 – 2:21pm
LONGVIEW, TX – LeTourneau University (LETU) has received a $5 million gift to establish an endowed scholarship fund for home-schooled students. The gift, from an anonymous donor, announced today at the university convocation by LETU President Dr. Dale A. Lunsford, is believed to be the single largest endowment for home-school scholarships ever established.
To read the rest of the story, visit KETKNBC.com
Victory U offers homeschool scholarships
Apologia Mission Homeschool Scholarships
Today we received an email from the Director of Apologia Mission, a 501(c)3 non-profit arm of Apologia Educational Ministries. Apologia Mission was created to promote worldwide missions efforts while giving back and investing in the homeschool community.
Apologia Mission currently offers two college scholarships for homeschoolers. The first is an academic scholarship for homeschooled students in Indiana; the second for North Carolina homeschoolers who plan to train for the ministry or missions.
Apologia Mission also offers a homeschool scholarship for students planning to attend Impact 360, an outstanding Christian gap year program. Students from any state are eligible to apply for this scholarship.
For information on the two college scholarships, and a link to Apologia Mission’s site, visit our List of Homeschool Scholarships page. For information on the Impact 360 Scholarship, visit the Etc. page. To learn more about Impact 360, visit our Gap Year Programs page.
“Urgent Need” met in unexpected way
God always answers our prayers, but not necessarily in the ways we expect Him to. We were somewhat disappointed that the students who listed urgent financial need for the fall semester seemingly had not been helped. Yesterday, however, we received a letter from the mother of one of the students, wanting to share what has happened with her daughter.
It seems that someone who read about the situation on this Web site forwarded the information to the college’s financial aid director. He, in turn, asked for more information to be added as an “addendum” to her FAFSA. Within 24 hours of the student’s arrival on campus, she received an additional $4600 Pell Grant, enabling her to make the first tuition payment.
“I wanted to pass this information along so that you could somehow encourage the other families that the information is getting out there,” the student’s mom writes.
We will soon be updating the “Urgent Need” page, as many of the due dates were this week. For those who are listed, please email us with updates.
Gap Year Programs
Yesterday we decided to add a page that deals with “Gap Year” programs. For those who aren’t familiar with the term “gap year,” it refers to the year between high school and college that some students take off from traditional schooling. There can be numerous reasons for taking a gap year. Sometimes it’s for economical reasons. Some students work that year to raise money for college. Some who perhaps can’t afford college choose a less-expensive gap year program with many of the same benefits as college, but a program that results in a certificate instead of a diploma. A Christian student planning to attend a secular university may choose a gap year program at a Bible Institute in preparation for college. Many programs immerse the students into other cultures. As we started researching gap year programs, we were amazed at the wide range of options and prices. Some are more expensive than a year at college. Others are only about $8,000.
We will continue to add programs to the list in the upcoming weeks. You can find our Gap Year Programs under the Etc. tab.
We do have one word of warning for students considering a gap year. You’ll likely lose out on college scholarships, as many have to be used within a year of graduating from high school.
Wisconsin joins list of homeschool scholarships
Today we’ve added the University of Wisconsin–Rock County to our list of colleges for which homeschool scholarships are available. To find out if you’re eligible, visit our List of Homeschool Scholarships page. We have now listed 28 scholarships that are designed just for homeschoolers. Help us continue to grow the list by creating new college scholarships for homeschoolers or by letting us know of existing ones.
