Do you parents sometimes feel your child is considering schools far away enough so just so that you can’t start a PTA at them? There are better ways to select schools that are good fits; take the “Talking College Search” course at https://goodapples.teachable.com
Scholarship Spotlight: Ron Brown Scholar Program
Ron Brown Scholar Program awards $10,000 each year for four years to economically-disadvantaged high school seniors of African descent who demonstrate a keen interest in public service, community engagement, business entrepreneurship and global citizenship. This is a great opportunity for qualifying students who have very high grades and test scores. Students chosen for these scholarships are very impressive: more than half of the Scholars end up attending Ivy League universities.
Ron Brown Scholar Program was established in honor of the late Ronald H. Brown, an attorney who worked for Senator Ted Kennedy, then as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and finally as Secretary of Commerce for President Bill Clinton. It was while serving in President Clinton’s cabinet that Brown perished in an airplane crash while on a mission to Eastern Europe.
According to the website, recipients may use the renewable scholarships to attend an accredited four-year college or university of their choice within the United States. Ron Brown scholarships are not limited to any specific field or career objective and may be used to pursue any academic discipline. Since the Program’s inception in 1996, more than 300 students have been designated as Ron Brown Scholars.
- Must be Black/African American.
- Must excel academically.
- Must exhibit exceptional leadership potential.
- Must participate in community service activities.
- Demonstrate financial need.
- Be a US citizen or hold a permanent resident visa card.
- Be a current high school senior at the time of your application. Current college students are NOT eligible to apply.
FINAL DEADLINE: usually first week of January.
NOTE: this scholarship is one of the few that requires a paper application to be MAILED! So make sure your materials, recommendations, test scores etc are all ready BEFORE Thanksgiving so that the package arrives in the RBSP office in plenty of time to be considered.
PIN Down Your FAFSA!
All high seniors and parents have gotten their FAFSA PIN numbers and have drafted their Financial Aid forms, right? HS seniors should try to send their forms out ASAP, using parents’ tax forms from usually a year before last year. With your parents’ permission, FAFSA, being a government service (the website ends in “. gov”), can connect to the IRS and download the data from your 1040. This makes the form even easier to complete. Some people may need to manually type in the numbers themselves; usually they have complicated investments and businesses. They might want to ask a financial advisor for some advice as to what is supposed to be added into the form. But bottom line: the earlier you file, the earlier you get in the line for financial aid.
Get an overview of the financial aid process with our “Just the Money, Honey” course! Learn about pitfalls and how to ask the right questions of your advisors: https://goodapples.teachable.com/p/justhemoneyhoney