Finding Catholic High School Scholarships

Author: Sally Croft

Finding scholarships of any kind can be overwhelming and time consuming, but don’t give up because there are so many scholarships out there that you can qualify for.

With the rising cost of tuition fees, parents are finding is harder to finance their children’s education. However, students who are interested in attending a Catholic High School have an abundant source and a variety of scholarships opportunities available to them. Finding these scholarships will require lots of time spent searching, but the search will be worthwhile.

Where to Look

The best place to start is online, just do a search for “scholarships for high school students” or search for databases that have a listing of scholarships specifically for Catholic high school students. You may also want to speak with your local high school admissions and financial aid office. The financial aid office usually has a list of available scholarships or they can point you in the right direction.

The Catholic Church believes in its people and is committed to helping their members with educational goals and financing. They work hard to help their members and give back to the community and usually offer a scholarship program for parishioners who want to pursue higher education.

There are other sources you can look into, ones that do not specify where the funds go. However, they may have other requirements such as: applicants are required to have a GPA of 3.5, or be actively involved in their community, or have financial need.

Available Scholarships

Try and apply for as many scholarships as you can, make sure you read the requirements thoroughly to ensure that you fit the requirements. To get you started, I have made a list of a few scholarships that are available:

Archdiocesan Scholarship – The Archdiocesan Scholarship is offered to Catholic high school seniors. Qualifying applicants must be in the top 10 percentile of their graduating class, have a score of 31 on the ACT or 1400 on the SAT exam, with a GPA of at least 3.8.

Catholic High School Scholarship Grant Programs – The Catholic High School Scholarship is standard for all Catholic High Schools. The Catholic High School Scholarship grant programs are primarily based on the financial need of the student, not athletic, musical or academic ability. The Catholic High School Scholarship is awarded to any Catholic High School student who is eligible for the scholarship.

Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation – The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation presents 250 awards annually. The scholars are selected based on academic achievement, their capacity to lead and their hours in community service. To apply, access the online application at www.coca-colascholars.org.

Catholic High School Scholarship (Holy Names College) – The Catholic High School Scholarship-Holy Name College is a monetary award is given to students who either demonstrated high academic achievements or are actively involved in their school or community.

Tags: Catholic High School Scholarships, financial aid, grants, Scholarship
Posted in Scholarship, Types of Scholarship | 10 Comments »

Apr

All about Academic Scholarships

Author: Sally Croft

What is an Academic Scholarship?

Many colleges come forward to offer scholarships and grants to students in an effort to help and support funding their college educational expenses. This is in addition to the scholarship schemes and grants offered by the Government and other private and charitable organizations.

Academic scholarships are mostly based on GPA and grades but sometimes it also requires the student’s involvement in other areas such as community services and other charitable works to ensure that the award is offered to the most deserving candidate who is capable of being a responsible individual.

What are the requirements to be satisfied by a student to qualify for academic scholarships?

Irrespective of the scholarship scheme and its sponsors, all academic scholarships require students to obtain highest grades and a GPA of 4.0 or more. This is an essential precondition for all scholarships based on grade points and merits. This highly competitive scholarship scheme will have participants from across the country, hence you will competing with the brightest of the lot.
It is true that these scholarships focus on the academic performance of the students. In addition to which they are tested on their participation in extracurricular activities and community service.
These are specifically meant for students who are academically strong. For those who are good at other activities like sports and unique talents gets recognition through unusual scholarships recognizing their talent.

How do students benefit from Academic Scholarships?

Students benefit from academic scholarships in more than one way. The benefits are not restricted only to the year of grant; instead it is a lifelong achievement to have won an academic scholarship. One cannot deny the greatness, given the amount of hard work it takes to achieve such a scholarship.

Big Money – Academic scholarships carry more award amount than any other scholarship. Sometimes the award amount is so high that it covers the entire tuition fee. Hence if you qualify for one you should certain apply for it without fail.
College Education Affordable – Good educational background and excellent academic performance indicates chances of entry into the best of colleges. Top universities charge heavy amounts. Winning an academic scholarship helps you meet the cost of education at no cost, as the entire tuition fee is borne by the scholarship scheme. Making college education lot more affordable than otherwise.
Recognition Worth Mentioning – Years of hard work has fetched them what it takes to be the winner of a competitive academic scholarship. You get the crowning glory of having won the scholarship even years after it is awarded. Hard effort pays even after you have exhausted the cash prize awarded.

Tags: Academic Scholarship
Posted in Scholarship, Scholarship Scams, Scholarship and Grant, Types of Scholarship | 4 Comments »

Feb

Student Loan Debt Consolidation: Can I Reduce the Burden of Student Loan

Author: Sally Croft

Student loan liability is an inherent part of a student’s life and the life there after. As a student one will have to encounter the intricacies of student’s loan sooner or later. I am sure as veterans you already know what I am talking about. I called you veterans because by the time you start your search and choose the best of options available you would have done enough research much more than what I have done to write this article.

After having exhausted the free money options such as scholarships and grants, you start shifting your focus on loans. Government agencies having understood the fact that scholarship amounts are hardly sufficient for meeting the fee requirements have initiated loan scheme for the benefit of students.

Private or Federal Loans:

Government or Federal Loans are issued to students helping them to meet their educational fee requirements. While subsidized loans or the need based loans are issued to students taking into account their financial position. A part of the liability namely the interest liability is borne by the government, together with the entire loan guaranteed by the government on behalf of the student.

Unsubsidized Loans are loans offered take into account the credit report of the borrower. Better the credit score faster will be the loan process and favorable terms of loan. Whether subsidized or unsubsidized these loan terms are far better and beneficial than the other alternative loans.

Rising cost of education:

Now-a-days the cost of education has raised leaps and bounds that one source of funding is just not sufficient to pay. I am sure it is only after exhausting every possible federal loan that you can even think of other alternative sources of loan. Any thing which is not government aided is sure to be expensive. An alternative loan or a private loan has emerged as one of the most important sources of college funding in spite of the fact that the cost of the loan is very high and terms of repayment are not as flexible as the Federal Loans.

Having described how you end up raising finance for your education from every different source, now the question is about how you will manage repaying liabilities. Different loan from various lenders, with different due dates and varying repayment amount, seriously mind boggling is it not? Here comes the concept or idea of consolidation.

Student Loan Consolidation – An alternate

Consolidating all your Student Loan into one single loan liability it is easier to keep track of your repayment installments and consolidation loans are offered at a lower rate of interest in comparison with existing loans.

Lower interest rate signifies reduction in the cost of borrowing which in turn reduces the burden relating to loan liability. Further single liability helps you keep track of your loan repayments and know exactly the amount of liability you should be prepared for. Further it is not possible to consolidate federal and consolidation loans together due to varying terms of loan.

Both government as well as private agencies come forward to offer Debt Consolidation Loan in order to help students manage their liabilities and ensure they pay back the loan availed in time and without fail.

The decision is yours…

I am sure now you understand the benefits of consolidation and how it helps in reducing the burden and in regulating your finances. In case of any doubts please post your queries and we will help you.

Tags: Student Loan Debt Consolidation
Posted in College Expense, Graduating Students, Private Student Loan Consolidation, Scholarship Scams, School Loan Debt, Student Loan, Student Loans for Internationl Students, Types of Scholarship | 28 Comments »