Grants and/Scholarships
I have been offered my career major choice program. (yeah) I am from a one-earner self-employed family with one permanently disabled parent. That in itself increases family costs and reduces applying for company offered scholarships for employees. I have done over a year of research looking for scholarships. The few I find I am eligible for will also have competitors. I have been accepted to other schools, the direct entry offer makes one school stand out but is the most expensive. My parents are supportive, however, FAFSA does not consider the disability aspect and ongoing costs. I need to be able to not leave college with over $256,000 in loan debt - that is daunting. I would not be opposed to part-time work, however, Covid and commitments of time for college required volunteering, classes, meetings, etc. along with maintaining GPA make that seem very unlikely. Have done Bold.org and others scholarship forums. Have reached out to the school to see if any scholarships/grants they administer are available. I get the feeling the premise is that freshmen may be undecided so the school-administered possible scholarships are offered to soph, jr, sr. (maybe wrong) just no results to date. I do have a goal and cannot find scholarships for Physical Therapy.
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This may sound counter-intuitive, but your best scholarship options will be the ones that are school-administered - we can refer to these as "internal scholarships." Freshman year is actually the time when students receive the majority of these, as they are typically awarded to cover some tuition costs for all four years of study. No separate application is necessary for most internal scholarships - they are awarded by the admissions committee when applicants meet certain requirements, e.g. low-income, first gen, an inspiring story, etc. You will find out if you have received internal scholarships once you receive your first year financial aid package.
While information about specific internal scholarships is sparse, it is clear which schools are the most likely to offer them - schools that meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. These schools are committed to making sure that the total costs of college for every applicant are affordable based on their family's income and assets. They use a variety of financing options to make a degree affordable, including federal aid, loans, and internal scholarships.
I recommend that you mostly apply to the schools on this list. Make sure to talk about your family situation in your essays, since your story could qualify you for internal scholarships. Hope this helps!
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Thank you, I have received all internal that are available for freshmen, yet that does not make a dent in the $40,100 tuition, books, residency, meals, fees over $62000/yr. I spoke with them to ask for other administered scholarships/grants available and was told there were none for freshmen. It appears they are generous with 10 free full tuition spots but I am not eligible for even applying. I am trying yet feeling a bit defeated at the process. How does one ask for a discount off the "retail"