Hello seniors!
Right about now in the school year, you are applying to colleges and making decisions about where to attend school next fall. Are you wondering what financial assistance might be out there? Here’s some helpful information to get you started with the scholarship search.
1. Have you completed the FAFSA form yet? While many families may not qualify for federal or state aid, it’s a free form, so why not fill it out? It can also help to make you eligible for the federal work study program on campus, which is a way to ensure a guaranteed job on campus. Money earned can go straight to the financial aid office, too, to be used toward tuition.
Visit the FAFSA website by clicking this link: FAFSA Website
2. The Michigan Achievement Scholarship is for graduates in the class of 2023 and after. File the annual FAFSA by the state deadline and demonstrate financial need with a FAFSA EFC of 25,000 or less to qualify.
- Up to $2,000 if they attend a career training program in Michigan, per year, up to two years
- Up to $2,750 if they attend a Michigan community college, per year, up to three years
- Up to $4,000 if they attend a Michigan private college or university, per year, up to five years
- Up to $5,500 if they attend a Michigan public university or are enrolled in a baccalaureate
3. Additionally, most colleges have merit awards. These are scholarships for which students are automatically eligible just based on applying before the college’s set deadline. They typically are based on a combination of grade point average and test scores. Colleges will notify students directly if they are eligible for these. The Woodbridge N. Ferris Scholarship at FSU is an example of this. Click this link to learn more:
Ferris State University Incoming Freshmen
Applying to an Honors College within a university can sometimes make your student eligible for more money, too.
4. Often overlooked are departmental awards or private scholarships from colleges. These will have separate applications and, likely, different deadlines. An example is The Hosford Family Excellence in Academics and Athletics Award at GVSU which can be found by clicking on this link:
https://gvsu.academicworks.com/opportunities/9319
5. Scholarship databases are another great way to search for scholarships. Websites Fast Web ask you to complete a questionnaire about yourself. Once completed, you’ll be given a list of scholarships for which you qualify. There are too many scholarship databases to count. Our advice is to choose one and cross reference your results with a second database. Some results may be the same.
6. RHS has a list that is available on our website. This list changes periodically throughout the year so please keep checking it. Once a new list is published, it also gets sent to parents and seniors via Family Access.
7. The Rockford Scholarship Application will be available on our website in December. Once a Rockford senior completes this application, the student could potentially be eligible for nearly twenty different local scholarships. The only eligible students would be RHS seniors. On average, there are about 100 applicants per year. Winners of awards from the RHS Scholarship Application will be recognized and honored at the Honors Convocation in May. We do our best to have as many of our students recognized that evening as possible.
8. Lastly, one great place to look is the Grand Rapids Community Foundation. The website is: Grand Rapids Community Foundation. There are so many awards offered from this wonderful organization. We hope this information helps to give you a start in the right direction.
Good luck with the scholarship process this school year! Let us know if you have any questions.
RHS Counselors
