By Jason Vallozzi,
Campus to Career Crossroads
Students and their families seem excited about scholarships in the fall of the senior year, but by the spring of that year, many have not yet applied for even one scholarship. This scenario almost sounds paradoxical as the potential to win free money should be a top priority when families are struggling with avenues to pay for rising college costs. I have witnessed this issue firsthand with my past admissions experience of more than ten years in managing multiple scholarship award possibilities.
By the spring term, seniors may be experiencing burnout for a variety of reasons, such as the long hours of test prep, college application submissions, keeping up with classroom assignments, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, and simply trying to have fun with friends. Consequently, scholarships become the forgotten college planning task. Secondly, comprehending the long-term financial ramifications of college loan debt is a tough task for even the most mature senior. There is a misguided belief amongst many seniors that a college education is worth it “at all costs” and they can pay the loans back, but they never take the time to calculate repayment amounts.
Parents may be fatigued from working 50 plus hour work weeks and in many cases, also keeping connected with their work responsibilities during evenings and weekends. Many parents may be weary of the college process from pushing for completed applications, college visits, and overall college feedback from their son or daughter. The added notion to pressure their child for multiple scholarship applications can be daunting and de-energizing.
To compound matters further, families have no one to help them identify or track scholarships. Students and families are unaware of the numerous scholarship opportunities arising each month. For the most part, many are uninformed of all the steps required in the modern college application process and how to create a systemic strategy to sequence all of the steps.
Campus to Career Crossroads takes pride in planning all the required stages to be successful in the college journey from admission applications to scholarship applications. Full assistance is provided to help families identify appropriate scholarships, manage application deadlines, understand application requirements, and apply. If you are unsure about managing the scholarship process or finding scholarships for your family,
learn more here.