With the economy shifting and the job market becoming increasingly less penetrable, planning your college career before you’re already behind in student loan payments is crucial. One of the easiest ways to avoid a huge student debt is to apply for scholarships before you’re even in college.

You can start looking as soon as you enter high school just so you’re familiar with what’s out there!

Here are 9 college scholarships you can apply for today:

1. ScholarshipPoints.com
Deadline- September 15
Quick fact- Awards will be between $500-$10,000.

2. Ayn Rand “Atlas Shrugged” Scholarship
Deadline- September 17
Quick fact- 84 awards will be granted between $50-$10,000.

3. Hit the Books Scholarship
Deadline- September 30
Quick fact- High school seniors through master’s-level studies are eligible for this scholarship.

4. Just Poetry!!! Scholarship Awards 
Deadline- September 30
Quick fact- High school poets please apply!

5. Siemens Competition Scholarship
Deadline- October 3
Quick fact- To apply for this scholarship competition, applicants must undertake individual or team research projects.

6. AEG Engineering Scholarship
Deadline- October 7
Quick fact-Guess what? Applicants are not required to be currently taking engineering courses to be eligible. Score!

7. Veterans Day Scholarship
Deadline- October 9
Quick fact- Available to all high school students, awards will be between $250-$5,000.

8. Horatio Alger National Scholarship
Deadline- October 30
Quick fact- For this awesome scholarship, 104 scholarships will be award with an average of $20,000. That’s huge!

9. QuestBridge National College Match
Deadline- September 30
Quick fact- Recipients of this huge scholarship are granted admission to one of QuestBridge’s partner colleges with a full scholarship.  Did you see that? Full scholarship. Did we mention it’s renewable as well?

Have you begun looking for scholarships yet? What’s your experience been like? Leave a comment below!

Nothing is ever completely black or white, but here are some details of what the legislation will do:

Overall, the legislation will couple an increase in the government’s borrowing cap with more than $2 trillion in budget cuts over the coming decade, including cuts to federal education spending. So, do you want good news or bad news first?

If you chose “bad news,” skip to the section that says “bad news.” For “good news,” keep reading.

Good news:

Despite the nail biting induced by fear that the Pell Grant program would encounter extremely deep cuts, the program was salvaged. Need a reminder of what the Pell Grant program is? Basically Pell Grants are designated to students from low-income families. They are grants for college that do not have to be repaid. According to the U.S. Despartment of Education, more than 19 million undergraduate students are expected to be awarded Pell Grants in the upcoming academic year. That’s a lot of students and a lot of education.

Instead of harmful cuts to the program, as was expected, the Pell Grants progam will receive $17 billion in funding at no additional cost to taxpayers.

Which leads us to the bad news:

If the Pell Grant program is safe, and at no additional cost to the taxpayers, where does the $17 billion come from? No, not a money tree. Those don’t exist yet (I’m currently working on it in the secret laboratory in my basement). With a money tree out of the picture, money has to be cut from elsewhere. In this case, saving the Pell Grant program came at the cost of government-subsidized loans for graduate and professional students. The loans will be eliminated in July 2012, which means that graduate students would have to pay interest on their loans while still in school. On top of that, the rate reduction on student loan interest for on-time payments will be eliminated.

Together, these two changes are expected to generate $22 billion in savings, with $17 billion allocated for Pell Grants and the remaining $5 billion helping to reduce the deficit.

Nobody was expecting a win-win situation to come out of the legislation, but it will definitely be interesting to see how pitting undergraduate education against graduate and professional education will work in the long run.

Is this good news or bad news? Share your opinion by leaving a comment below.

	Rock Star Scholarship Winner: Maria Zilberman, from North Miami Beach, Fla., plans on attending college this fall to study pre-medicine.
	College Pro Scholarship Winner: Walter Chang, from Houston, Texas, will attend college in the fall to study engineering and musical performance.

Zilberman and Chang qualified for the scholarships by playing the “Cappex Cap Challenge,” where students collect virtual “cap” badges for completing key activities in their college searches. After earning at least 10 badges in the Cap Challenge, students become eligible to apply for special Cappex-sponsored scholarships. Examples of virtual badges include:

• Leader (Abe Lincoln hat) : For sharing leadership examples
• Artsy (beret): For providing accomplishments in the arts
• Volunteer (halo): For detailing how you’ve helped your community
• Yeeehaw!!! (cowboy hat): For representing a western state
• Road Warrior (roadster): For using the “Cappex Campus Visit Planner” to plan a college road trip
• College Reviewer (fedora with press pass): For providing a college review

Zilberman, of North Miami Beach, Fla., qualified for the $5,000 Rock Star Scholarship by collecting 25 badges, but it was her outstanding leadership in founding her high school’s international humanitarian club that won her the scholarship.

“The Cap Challenge guided me to explore colleges, which allowed me to learn more about them through student reviews, seeing my chances and organizing my application,” Zilberman said.

Chang qualified for the College Pro Scholarship by earning 10 virtual cap badges.

“Cappex.com improved my college search process tremendously, with all the key facts of each college compiled into one page and several student reviews to provide further perspective,” Chang said. He was awarded the $2,500 scholarship for his dedication as the school orchestra president who helped fundraise over $30,000 to help the school purchase a new grand piano.

“We started the Cappex Cap Challenge to give students a fun and new way to discover colleges and find matching scholarships,” said Chris Long, Cappex president.  “Maria and Walter took on the challenge and also clearly demonstrated their accomplishments improving their respective communities. We were thrilled to award our Cap Challenge scholarships to these deserving students.”

Interested in the Cappex Cap Challenge? Make your own Cappex profile now.

Looking for scholarships? Find more here!

]]> http://www.cappex.com/blog/news-announcements/cappex-com-announces-rock-star-and-college-pro-scholarship-winners/feed/ 1 http://www.cappex.com/blog/scholarships/5-scholarships-to-apply-for-over-the-summer/ http://www.cappex.com/blog/scholarships/5-scholarships-to-apply-for-over-the-summer/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:26:26 +0000 editor http://cappex.com/blog/?p=2768 Over the last couple of weeks we’ve posted a lot about different things about college tuition–the most expensive private schools, the least expensive private schools, etc.  We know your mind will never fully be free from thinking about how much college will cost you, but we can try to help a bit!

Our best advice–start your college scholarship search this summer! Scholarships are one of the best ways to lower the cost of tuition, and these all have simple applications you should be able to do in a short amount of time.

Here are 6 summer scholarships you should apply to now!

See if you’re a match:

1. I Don’t Want to Pay for College
Deadline-June 30
Amount-$1,000
Quick fact-Applying for this scholarship is as simple as making a Cappex profile.

2. A GPA Isn’t Everything
Deadline-July 31
Amount-$1,000
Quick fact- Same as the I Don’t Want to Pay scholarship, just make an account to apply!  

3. OP Loftbed $500 Scholarship Award
Deadline-July 31
Amount-$500
Quick fact-High school seniors through doctoral-level students are eligible to apply to this scholarship.

4. Lincoln Forum Scholarship
Deadline-July 31
Amount-$250-$1,000
Quick fact-3 awards will be given away.

5. Family Travel Forum Teen Travel Scholarship
Deadline-August 1
Amount-$200-$1,000
Quick fact-All years of high school students are eligible.

6. Shut Up & Sweat Athletic Gear Student Athlete Scholarship
Deadline-August 1
Amount-$2,000
Quick fact-This scholarship will be awarded to 3 different high school student athletes.

7. AFSA Second Chance Scholarship
Deadline-August 24
Amount-$1,000
Quick fact-You must be enrolled in college to apply for this scholarship.

Did you apply to any? Any tips to other students? Leave a comment!

So, since you’ve been requesting it, and US News has the stats, here it is: the ten least expensive public colleges for in-state students.

1. New Mexico Highlands University
Tuition and fees 2010-2011: $2,952
Cool fact: The university’s first president was famous archaeologist Edgar Lee Hewett, known largely for bringing about the Antiquities Act, a piece of legislation important for the conservation movement.

2. Macon State College (GA)
Tuition and fees 2010-2011: $3,082
Cool fact: The school recently approved name and design for a new mascot, The Blue Storm, in January 2011.

3. Fayetteville State University (NC)
Tuition and fees 2010-2011: $3,637
Cool fact: Alumni Darrell Armstrong is the assistant coach of the Dallas Mavericks, winners the 2011 NBA Championship!

4. California State University – Northridge
Tuition and fees: $3,702
Cool fact: Northridge is home to the National Center on Deafness and hosts the annual International Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities.

5. Elizabeth City State University (NC)
Tuition and fees: $3,707
Cool fact:Founded in 1891 as a two-year school, it became a 4-year teachers college in 1937.

6. University of Wyoming
Tuition and fees: $3,726
Cool fact: A ring of university buildings surround Prexy’s Pasture, a large grassy area whose name is attributed to the unique rule that the university president, or “prexy”, is given exclusive use of the area for livestock grazing. So don’t mess with the President’s cows.

7. University of North Carolina – Pembroke
Tuition and fees: $3,890
Cool fact: The university was originally established in 1887 as an historically American Indian liberal arts school.

8. North Carolina A&T State University
Tuition and fees: $3,899
Cool fact: NASA is one of A&T’s School of Engineering major partners. How much more legit can you get?

9. Eastern New Mexico University
Tuition and fees: $3,900
Cool fact: The university’s original construction was hindered for five years by the 1929 stock market crash and proceeding Great Depression.

10. Fort Hays State University (KS)
Tuition and fees: $3,942
Cool fact:Fort Hays annually celebrates Oktoberfest to acknowledge the Volga German heritage of Ellis County, Kansas.

Do these tuition and fees surprise you? Leave a comment!

To give you a head start, here are 11 scholarships you can apply to this summer.  See if you’re a match!

1. Abbot & Fenner Scholarships
Deadline-June 18th
Amount- $1,000
Quick fact- Available for high school juniors through doctoral-level study!

2. I Don’t Want to Pay for College Scholarship
Deadline-June 30th
Amount-$1,000
Quick fact- To apply, all you’ll need is a Cappex profile

3. Win-Win Scholarship
Deadline-June 30th
Amount-$500-$25,000
Quick fact- Fairly easy application and lots of scholarship money!

4. Castle Ink’s Green Scholarship
Deadline-June 30th
Amount-$2,500
Quick fact- Not academic-based

5. BBG Communications Scholarship
Deadline-June 30th
Amount-$1,000
Quick fact- Easy application process and need a 2.5 GPA to qualify

6. Share Your Story Scholarship
Deadline-July 15th
Amount-$1,000-$5,000
Quick fact- Financial need considered

7. A GPA Isn’t Everything
Deadline-July 31st
Amount-$1,000
Quick fact- All you need to apply is a Cappex profile! 

8. Lincoln Forum Scholarship
Deadline-July 31st
Amount-$250-$1,000
Quick fact-3 awards will be given away

9. Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
Deadline-July 31st
Amount-$1,000
Quick fact-Easy application

10. AFSA Second Chance Scholarship
Deadline-August 24th
Amount-$1,000
Quick fact-5 scholarships will be awarded

11. R2C Scholarship
Deadline-August 31st
Amount-$1,500
Quick fact-Application should take very short time

Want more scholarships? Here you go!

So, what are ways to avoid getting caught in this messy web of debt? For one, you can try to avoid it in the first place with these measures:

1. Scholarships Scholarships Scholarships

One of the easiest and best ways to avoid student loan debt is to find scholarships. Apply to as many scholarships as you are eligible for because you have nothing to lose.  Scholarship money is good money because you don’t have to pay it back–no interest, no nothing!  If you make a Cappex profile, you will be matched to all the scholarships in the database you are eligible for–start there!

2. Choose a Practical Major

If you are losing sleep at night about paying off your student loans, then maybe it’s time for a major change.  Yes, that was a pun. We are strong believers that you should follow your passions in life, but if the idea of paying off your student loans is causing premature wrinkles on your forehead, you might consider a college degree that is more likely to land you a job. We did a post on college degrees to land a job earlier, and some of those degrees included:

Registered nursing

Accounting

Computer software engineering

and plenty more here.

3. 1-2 Years Community College

The 1-2 year community college trend is becoming increasingly popular as college tuition is on the rise. Community college might not be your dream school, but spending a few semesters taking care of prerequisites at a community college can save you tons of money on tuition. Just make sure to double check that there’s an articulation agreement with the 4-year university you plan on eventually attending.

One example is the articulation agreement that the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) has with Oakton Community College. Students who take their first two years of college at Oakton and earn Associate of Arts and Science degrees are guaranteed admission to IIT. Students who want to take advantage of this program need to apply for it before they start their freshman year and meet minimum academic standards. The program saves students $40,000 over two years.

You can read more about how a year or more of community college can help you save on college here (go to page 19).

Do you have any tips on avoiding college debt? Comment and let us know!

So, we decided to sift through our scholarship database to find some easy-to-apply-to scholarships for non-traditional students.

1. Healthy Respect Scholarship for Non-Traditional Students
This $1,000 scholarship wants you to answer how being a non-traditional student has influenced your life in 500 words or less. 500 words for $1,000? That’s a good investment.

2. BG Scholarship
This $400 scholarship is awarded every month.  It’s a super easy scholarship that shouldn’t take more than an hour of your time–so apply today for the April deadline!

3. “First Kiss” Scholarship
Whether it’s a very special moment in your memory or one of the more embarrassing moments, retrace that occasion in 250 words for a college scholarship.

4. Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
This easy-to-apply-to-scholarship will award $1,000 for a student to help fulfill their dream of a college education.

5. Eileen Welch Memorial Nursing Scholarship
If you’re going back to school to become a nurse, this $1,000 scholarship is for you.

For this reason, we’ve decided to attack the rumors, gossip, hearsay, and overall gross fallacies about college and university admissions with the truth.

Here are seven college admissions myths, busted!

1. There are only one or two perfect schools for me.
A true classic when it comes to college or university admissions myths, the there’s-only-one-school-out-there-for-me-state-of-mind is akin to saying a Bonobo chimpanzee takes one mate for life–it’s just not true!  While Bonobo chimps are probably more promiscuous than you will be (or can be) in your college search, you should at least take on a little Bonobo mentality of not settling when it comes to the college you go to.

So maybe your dad and his dad and his dad and your brother and your brother’s fiancée and your sister went to a university that has a particular and special place in the family tree–does it mean it’s right for you?

Schools change over time.  The campus culture when your dad went to school might be totally different now.  Another school, similar in size and distance from your home could have a program you’re interested in that the other school doesn’t offer.

Cappex alone has nearly 3,000 colleges in our database, so whatever your tie to a specific school is, see what other schools might surprisingly fit you.

2. Private colleges are always more expensive than public/state schools.
This is a widespread myth that probably holds a lot of college-bound students back from researching private schools. While the difference in sticker prices on the two types of institutions may have a wide gap, in many cases, private schools will offer more financial aid and scholarships, making it a comparable, if not cheaper, option.

The moral of debunking this myth? Don’t count out private schools right away for financial reasons.

3. Only the top students receive scholarships.
There’s more to life than earning the top grades in your class–not to say that great marks hurt your college admissions chances–but you shouldn’t count yourself out of college scholarships if your grades aren’t top notch.  In fact, if you are accepted into a school and demonstrate financial need (fill out the FAFSA on time!), colleges will make it possible for you to pay for it with grants, scholarships, and loans.

On top of that, there are countless scholarships out there, and they’re not just looking for grades. You can find scholarships that fit you at www.cappex.com/scholarships.

4. It’s too early to look for scholarships before your senior year.
Whoever started this myth wasn’t making good decisions because it’s never too early to start looking for scholarships.  There are multiple reasons for this.  For one thing, many scholarships are annual, meaning they return every year.  If you’re familiar with the recurring scholarships, when you’re actually eligible to apply you’ll be more prepared than even that girl in your class who finishes her homework before it’s assigned because you’ll know what you’ll need to submit way ahead of time.

You might even be able to find scholarships to help pay for college long before you actually apply to college.  And these might have less fierce competition since fewer people are thinking about scholarships. The early bird gets the worm, and then the bird can go on to afford its dream college.

5. If I haven’t heard of this school I shouldn’t apply.
As smart as you are, there are plenty of super great awesome things you’ve never heard of, like Bonobo chimps or this secret sandwich sauce my grandma makes..  The same thing goes for colleges and universities.  A recognizable or popular college name  doesn’t inherently mean it’s the perfect fit and an unfamiliar college doesn’t mean it’s a worse school because you haven’t heard of it.

There are so many small colleges out there that it’s impossible to have heard of them all, and one of them might have the perfect program for you.   If you want some guidance looking for your college fit, log into Cappex and get some advice from our Virtual Admissions Coach.

6. I won’t get in if my SAT or ACT isn’t high enough.
When you look at the “What Are My Chances?” Calculator for any college you’ll see that almost every college has a range that they tend to accept students from, but there are plenty of exceptions.

You might fall below the average admitted student’s SAT or ACT score, but you have to remember it’s an average.  That means both students with scores higher and lower-than-average have been admitted.  If you feel like a college is a great fit for you, don’t let your SAT or ACT scores inhibit you from applying to them.

7. The more extra-curricular activities, the better.
If you’re running from student council to key club to yearbook to Spanish club to Honors Society to musical rehearsal to softball practice all in the name of how your college application will look to admission officers, you can take a breath.

Colleges don’t necessarily want to see how overextended you can be; they want to see that you’re committed and passionate about your extra-curricular activities.  A bunch of unrelated surface-deep activities don’t have the same impact or say as much about you to admission officers as a couple highly-focused activities do.

Not only should busting this myth save you time from phoning in activities you don’t truly care about, but it will give you more time to spend with your passions.

Congratulations to the winner of the Trick Out the Cap scholarship, Mary L. of Highland Park N.J.! Her tricked out cap won by receiving the most “Likes” with 321 likes in the finalist round.  Let’s give a standing ovation for Mary’s intricate design that will bring her one step closer to paying for college.

Mary and her scholarship-winning design:

In addition to Mary’s winning entry, we’d also like to acknowledge a few of our favorites here at Cappex. These are tricked out caps that show such great innovation in their designs that we had to share them with you:

Amber L. of Sanibel, Fla.	Rachel C. of Amherst, N.Y.
Grace H. of Wheat Ridge, Colo.	Deyaun V. of Port Isabel, Texas [youtube width="250" height="180"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RA41khROZm0[/youtube]

Thank you to all of our Trick Out the Cap participants. You can see all of the tricked out cap submissions here.

Or, you can get a head start on the next Cappex scholarship here!