How About a Scholarship?

Sure! If you can get it.

Yes, there are scholarships available, but you should know that most are reserved for students with something extra special to offer. Not that your child isn't extra special, but colleges aren't going to view your child the way you do.

A true budding genius should have no problem. And if your child has any special academic, athletic, or artistic talent, scholarships are definitely worth looking into. There are also awards for students interested in particular fields of study, or who are members of underrepresented groups. "Underrepresented" at a particular college can apply to certain ethnic backgrounds, or to certain special needs, or it can be a part of the country that seems like a distant planet to most of the students.

But as our good friend Kal Chany points out, scholarships aren't nearly as plentiful as students, so searching for scholarships takes some detective work. (Kal is the author of our favorite book on financial aid: "Paying for College Without Going Broke.")

Dolan Warning: Avoid the "search firms" that offer to find the money for you. These are companies that charge you money with promises of finding money for you, and most of them are run by scam artists who know how to make their business sound legit by injecting the name with words like "National," "Federal," "Foundation," or "Administration." Every year, overly eager families lose over $100 million to these operators, so be careful out there!

We've found some valuable advice about how to protect yourself through the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators at www.finaid.org/scholarships. FinAid says be suspicious of any company that charges an application fee, guarantees success, or tries to pitch its own services at an event disguised as a financial aid "seminar."

Instead, you're much better off spending your money on a very helpful "scholarship" book like The College Board Scholarship Handbook 2007: All-new 10th Edition.

Remember: Always assume you're eligible for financial aid or scholarships. You may find out otherwise, but if you follow our advice, you'll increase your chances of receiving much-needed help.

For more advice on how to pay for college, click here to visit our college page.

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