This could be you! (photo courtesy ronocdh via Flickr)

College applications are so predictable across the board that long ago, The Common Application was created.

The Common App (as it’s commonly known) offers students a one-size-fits-all application that asks for academic achievements, SAT/ACT test scores, an essay, recommendation letters, basic demographic information, completed courses, declaration of major… the basic things most schools want to know.

It’s accepted by more than 400 schools and was used by more than 2 million applicants as of 2010 in an effort to prevent the repetition of submitting the same info over and over again to an array of schools. Each school may require some extra stuff (e.g. an essay about why you want to come to their campus, specifically), because they need some sort of litmus test for how strongly students feel about their institution.

As “how do I get in?” quickly turns into “how will I pay for it?” come spring semester, another question arises:

Why doesn’t a Common App for scholarships exist?

Scholarships come in myriad forms: school-specific grants, government funds, private foundation awards, performing arts residencies, research fellowships, study abroad opportunities and scores of whimsical competitions, like the Duck brand duct-tape-prom-dress contest.

But are they all similar enough to warrant a consolidated app?

In terms of basic information, yes. Nearly all scholarship applications ask for the same basic information (name, address, academic background, etc). Filling out the same information for each different scholarship form can be tedious and time consuming, factors that can discourage students from applying. However, many scholarships tend to focus on one, specific aspect of the student’s life, and thus, the amount of supplemental materials may far exceed the ones usually required for college admissions.

It may be useful to split scholarships into two loose categories: need-based and merit-based (and duct-tape inspired) scholarships.

• While nearly all scholarships look at a student’s merit, some require the extra condition of proof of financial need. Perhaps need-based scholarships would be best served by a common app, as this would allow students to fill out tedious financial details (family income, projected expenses, etc.) all at once. The consolidated app–perhaps one day merged with the FAFSA–could be sent as a baseline application for multiple need-based scholarships.

 

• For strictly merit-based awards (regardless of students’ financial situation) a common app may not be so simple. Super-specific scholarship eligibility can range from being part of a particular ethnic group to fluency in the Star Trek language, Klingon. Even letters of recommendation for specific merit-based awards often require unique tailoring, so a common app might only serve the most basic information.

Even so, a single, common scholarship app could encourage students to get on the scholarship bandwagon in the first place. One of the most common reasons I hear from students about why they don’t apply for scholarships is, “I don’t have time.” A one-stop app for basic information might squash the entrance barrier for students who have lots on their minds. Time isn’t cheap, and neither is college.

The enticement of a single app may saturate the applicant pool, but I say go for it! More competition means a higher standard for prospective scholarship winners, which may not be a bad thing.

And even if tons of students submit a common app for an array of scholarships, it doesn’t mean they’ll all take the extra step to provide the scholarship-specific letter of recommendation, specific essay or, in the aforementioned example, a duct-tape prom dress.

As they say in Klingon, Qapla’! (Sucess to you!)

If you’re facing the dreaded-yet-necessary bemehoth of an application known as FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid), you probably have some questions. For many people, filing for taxes is a simpler process than ensuring that the FAFSA is completed accurately and thoroughly.

The cumbersome umpteen-long FAFSA application process has been an easy target for complaining about the difficulties of securing higher education, but alas, Sallie Mae (one of the biggest student loan providers) has come to students’ aid… For securing that financial aid.

Brand-spankin’ new, Sallie Mae’s February Resource Center is chock-full of advice, instructional videos, Twitter/Facebook links and even a chance to win $10,000. Particularly helpful, the site’s list of common financial aid myths dispel many notions that often prevent otherwise-eligible students for applying for money for college.

When I applied for FAFSA in 2004, I relied on my dad’s independent-business-owning tax knowledge and school counselors for help, but I still wasn’t clear about the meaning of those endless number fields and calculations. While I’d much rather see high school courses begin to offer more classes geared toward life skills (read: teach us how to fill out bureaucratic forms), Sallie Mae’s online tutorial would have helped leagues. Leagues, I say.

For more up-to-date help with FAFSA, check out a 7-part FAFSA FAQ series on the New York Times’s blog, The Choice, written by the founder of FinAid.org, an online self-help guide to funding your college education.

Happy FAFSA-ing.

The Web is replete with information on how to finance a college education, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s expensive and–who are we kidding?–complicated. If you browse previous BG articles and keep an eye out for future ones, you’re bound to  find some seasoned insights maneuvering this aspect of the game. But for now, let’s take a glance at how the U.S. government has responded to the increasing financial disparity between a college degree and the country’s burgeoning college freshmen class.

I came across a neat and tidy PDF: the College Affordability Fact Sheet, published by the Obama Administration.

In it, the following facts are noted:

College costs have grown nearly 40 percent in the past five years.

60% of all college graduates leave college with debt.

The average college graduate ends up with over $19,000 in debt.

Between 2001 and 2010, 2 million academically-qualified students will not attend college because they cannot afford it.

Only 12% of Latinos and 16% of African Americans eventually earn a bachelor’s degree, compared with 33% of White students. The rising cost of college is a factor in this disparity.

The price of college has risen 40%, and our recent economy has been likened to the Great Depression? Yikes.

But wait, the point of these statistics isn’t to lament and complain-monger. Rather, they serve to bolster support for several initiatives underway to tackle these growing problems. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have teamed up to present a package of forward-moving plans, detailed here in a much cheerier list:

(Note: These and the above items have been paraphrased, BG-style. Please view the PDF for full citation and more information.)

1. American Opportunity Tax Credit: What’s a tax credit? It’s a refund from the government after having paid your taxes for the year. What’s this one for? A check (a CHECK, I say!) for the first $4,000 of your college education. The idea is that, save for the Ivy Leagues and comparables, this will cover two-thirds of tuition at the average college. What’ll it cost you? Other than good grades, 100 hours of public service. If you get involved with clubs, organizations and other extra-curriculars on your campus, you’re likely to rack up HUNDREDS of hour without even realizing it. (Trust. I can rack up 100 hours in a few weekends judging for college speech tournaments.)
2. Simplify the Application Process for Financial Aid: Who are we kidding? FAFSA is confusing. This initiative candidly admits that a ton of students don’t even apply for financial aid, like Pell Grants and Lifetime Learning tax credit programs, because they’re super complicated and difficult to navigate. By using tax information that students already file, the 5-page, 127-question FAFSA behemoth may disappear. (FAFSA = Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
3. Help Students Become Aware of College Readiness: Hey, that’s what we do! This plan pledges to provide $25 million annually to match funds for states to develop Early Assessment Programs, college preparation programs just like BetterGrads. Citing under-preparedness as a prime reason for high school seniors missing the college application boat (<— read that one more time), this is a great reaffirmation to the team here at BG. We’re on board, Obama. You, too, Biden.

The College Affordability Fact Sheet lists several other initiatives, and I suggest you visit the link to learn more about the details. This whole plan is under the umbrella of the recent focus on education our government has fortunately taken. Check out my recent article on STEM education initiatives, under the same mentality as the College Affordability plan. (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

Comments? Concerns? Ideas? Type away.