Adults need scholarships, too! At StudentAdvisor.com, we know that education has no age limit. Check out our list of scholarships for adults or anyone going back to school to finish or further their education. The entire list is available on the Scholarship Advisor mobile app:
Ford ReStart Scholarship
This need-based award was created to encourage adults, age 25 or older, to begin or return to full-time post-secondary education to earn a certificate or degree at an eligible college.
Bridge to Employment Scholarship for Recent College Graduates
For recent and mid-career college graduates facing a difficult job market and a troubling economy, continuing education certificates are becoming increasingly attractive as a way to bridge to employment areas that are in demand. UC San Diego Extension is committed to increasing access to the certificate programs it offers that help college graduates bridge to better employment.
Frank B. Sessa Scholarship for Continuing Education
This scholarship is awarded to a Beta Phi Mu continuing their professional education. The award is not limited to those attending a formal degree program, but includes various activities which will increase the professional skills of the recipient.
Professor Bernard and Diana Shapiro Scholarship
The Shapiro scholarship is a merit scholarship that is awarded annually to a student who has been out of high school for at least five years. Professor Emeritus Bernard Shapiro began teaching at the University of Massachusetts in 1962 and retired from the Mathematics Department in 1996. He continued to work at the University as an evening supervisor and advisor in the Division of Online and Continuing Education until his retirement in 2011.
To see more Adult Learning Scholarships, download the StudentAdvisor mobile application, available now for iPhone and iPad.
Happy Presidents' Day! Check out StudentAdvisor.com's Scholarship Advisor mobile application for our exclusive Presidents' Day list of scholarships. Included on this list is:
Tau Kappa Epsilon Ronald Reagan Leadership Award: Named in honor of the 40th president of the United States, this award recognizes dedication and loyalty to Tau Kappa Epsilon. Frater Reagan was initiated a Teke at Iota Chapter at Eureka College.
Richard Milhous Nixon Memorial Scholarship: This scholarship was established in the fall of 1994 in memory of the United States 37th President. President Nixon, a native to Orange County, is remembered as a hard-working, dedicated and successful leader.
Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund Grant: Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Grants support research on North American fauna in any phase of wildlife conservation or natural history.
Harry S. Truman Scholarship: The mission of the Truman Scholars Association (TSA) is to build, maintain and educate a community of Truman Scholars; to foster a life long commitment to public service in all its forms through intellectual, personal, and professional development; and to support and promote public service.
To see more Presidents' Day Scholarships, download the StudentAdvisor mobile application, available now for iPhone and iPad.
Thank you to everyone who wrote a review of their college for the first ever StudentAdvisor $24,000 Scholarship All-Nighter! We've read many extraordinary reviews and learned a great deal about your schools. Thank you for your insight and for sharing your stories with us.
Please visit the StudentAdvisor Facebook Page for even more cool interviews and videos.
Many children who grow up with divorced parents are forced to deal with a plethora of challenges and obstacles they must learn to overcome throughout their lives. Now, thanks to a number of various studies and research, children of divorce have yet another issue to be concerned about; the rising costs of college tuition.
According to Forbes’ MoneyBuilder Blog, a study which was published earlier this month shows that divorced parents contribute only a third as much money to their children’s college education expenses when compared to married parents. Remarried parents contribute just half as much as parents who stay together.
The new data also shows that by splitting up, parents not only give their children more student loans, but also that student’s college debt directly correlates to their parents' emotional stability.
Here is a look at the highlights of the findings from this new research:
- Students whose parents are married pay 23% of their own college costs.
- Students whose parents are divorced and remarried pay 47% of their own college costs.
- Students whose parents are divorced and not remarried pay 58% of their own college costs.
Ruth Lopez Turley, an associate professor of sociology at Rice University, attributes the difference in part to the financial strains of supporting step-children in addition to biological children.
Taking a look at the situation from a glass half-full perspective, another recently-released study shows that parents are putting away more money for their children’s college education with savings plan assets up 15% from a year ago.
Our advice for all of the current and prospective college students out there: Save as money much as you possibly can for your education, whether you parents are divorced or not.
What are some ways that your family saves money for college? Comment & share below!
For more information on where and how to find the money you need for college, check out our Free Student Loan Guide for information, advice, and more!
by Lisa Ruffino, for StudentAdvisor
Paying for College
Financial aid for college is a hot topic these days. The administration has made it clear that both higher education and finding the money to pay for it are a top priority. Good timing, too, since career changes and the development of new skill sets always rise when the economy itself is shifting. Congress increased funds for the Pell Grant program— but most college programs cost more than the average Pell Grant. Where can students find the rest of the money they need?
Well, StudentAdvisor isn't a college funding provider, but our financial aid resources may be able to help you with ideas about where and how to find grants and scholarships. Please read our new, free digital magazine on everything FAFSA
The Truth about Financial Aid
The reality about paying for school is that there is usually no one chunk of financial assistance that will cover all your education costs. For many students, the money required for tuition, fees, books, a computer, and other education-related charges will have to come from a combination of financial aid sources. With some tips on how to find grants and scholarships, however, you may be able to piece together the education funding you need without having to rely heavily on student loans.
FAFSA First for Federal Grants and Scholarships
The first thing you should do is fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA — as soon as possible. The FAFSA is the application required for both need-based and merit-based federal grants, including the Pell Grant, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), the Teach Grant, the Academic Competitiveness Grant, and the National SMART Grant. Once you successfully submit a FAFSA, your eligibility for a Pell Grant is determined automatically. If you qualify for one, you'll be notified. It doesn't matter how old you are; there is no age limit on Pell eligibility.
How to Find State Grants and Scholarships
The FAFSA is also required for getting financial aid from your state. Most states offer need-based and merit-based grants for college. Check your state higher education agency to find out which grant and scholarship programs you may qualify for.
Grants and Scholarships Databases
There are a number of free online databases for students wondering how to find grants and scholarships. One of the largest is the database maintained by the Department of Education. The grants and scholarships listed in this database are offered primarily by individual schools, private for-profit and nonprofit companies, charitable foundations, and similar institutions. Just enter keywords that are most relevant to you as a type of student or your planned course of study as a program type to see if there are education awards for which you may be eligible.
Watch Out for Grant and Scholarship Scams
Any grant or scholarship "service" that asks you for a fee in order to submit an application for you, who charges you for government information (which is free on the federal student aid site), or who tells you that they only need your credit card number or bank account number in order to process the grant or scholarship you've somehow already won (without even applying), is a service to stay away from! Read more about grant scams and scholarship scams.
For more information on college scholarships and grants please read our free digital magazines:
In the spirit of Thanksgiving we want you to meet scholarship winner, Jon Duckworth, from Colorado State University who took the top prize of $2,000 in The Christophers’ Twenty-Third Annual Video Contest for College Students for his film Changing the World: One Molecule at a Time.
The short film chronicles a childhood cancer survivor who has turned his experience with illness into the inspiration to make the world a better place in as many ways as he can.
“Chris’s attitude as displayed in this film is the very definition of the Christopher message,” said Mary Ellen Robinson, vice-president of The Christophers. “Rather than wallow in anger or self-pity, he’s taken the tough hand life dealt him and turned it into something remarkable. He’s truly lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness.”
This unusual scholarship asks entrants to create short films of five minutes or less to convey The Christophers’ message that one person can make a difference. Winning films can be viewed at http://www.christophers.org/videocontest or http://www.youtube.com/thechristophers.
Please write a review of Colorado State University and help other students discover this incredible school.
Know any other inspiring college students? Tell us about them.