Page 3, THE PILOT
Thursday, January 23,1975
Financial Aid: How To Grab A Piece Of Tlie Action
Exchanging welcomes in Atlanta recently were Jamie
Weaver, 1975 National Poster Child for the March of
Dimes, and Danny Cook, March of Dimes Youth Chairman
for Western North Carolina. They met at a regional meet
ing of the voluntary health organization for discussion of
programs aimed at prevention and treatment of birth de
fects.
Danny, a sophomore at Gardner-Webb is the son of Mr.
& Mrs. John D. Cook, Boone, N.C. Jamie, 9, was born
without eyes, but leads a normal, active life. She lives in
Spokane, Washington.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
RELIGIOUS EMPHASIS WEEK
February 10-14
☆
Paul Harvey
February 25
☆
Spring Break has been changed to
March 10-14
☆
Annual Pictures Available In Room 113 CID
(cftfie T^ousanh
January 24
8:00 p.m.
(CPS)—Don’t kid your
self. The competition is
tough, the rules are arbi
trary, and the only sure win
ner is inflation which is
steadily eating up the funds.
But though the financial
aid game is tricky, it can be
mastered. There is a very
good chance you can win a
piece of the estimated $4 bil
lion in national financial aid
resources for college stu
dents.
Confusingly enough, eli
gibility requirements for
scholarships and loans range
from “resident of Dull
County, majoring in Dull
County history, with pre
ference given to descendents
of John Ebeneezer Dull” to
“permanent resident of the
U.S.”
Since there is no national
clearinghouse that sifts
through the morass of fund
ing programs, you are left
with the arduous task of dig
ging up potential cash
sources yourself.
Step number one: Begin
the treasure hunt at your
school’s financial aid office.
Most available financial aid
is administered through col
leges themselves, whether
funded by their own re
sources or by federal monies.
Since most financial aid—
in fact all federally-spon
sored aid—is based on need,
you have to prove your pov
erty. Unfortimately, your
definition of need and the
college’s definition are likely
to be different.
First, have your parents
fill out a questionnaire from
the financial aid office that
will determine their wealth
—or lack of it. If you have
left home and received no
substantial financial help
from mom or dad for 12
months, you are exempt
from this requirement. In
stead, you must fill out
another application on your
own financial status.
Your application may
open the door to five major
federal programs. Ask your
financial aid officer about
your chance at shaking some
cash loose from the follow
ing programs:
The Basic Opportunity
Grant (BOG) hands out up
to $1400 to eligible students
for each academic year. The
average grant, however, is a
miserly $450. Next fall, for
by Diane Auerbach
the first time, part time stu
dents will also be eligible for
BOGs, which undoubtedly
will drop the average allot
ment even lower.
Supplementary Educa
tional Opportunity Grants
(SEOG) are a lucrative mar
ket for students with “ex
ceptional financial need”—
those with family incomes
less than $9000. The average
grant is $670; lucky stu
dents receive as much as
$1500.
The fattest find for stu
dents from high income fam
ilies is the Guaranteed Stu
dent Loan program (GSL).
Family income can reach
$20,000 before shooting the
eligibility requirements.
Students apply at their
school financial aid office,
and then are shuttled to ap
propriate banks where they
may receive a maximum
$2500 loan, but probably
only from $1200 to $1400.
Loans carry a seven per cent
interest charge, and. pay
ments begins nine months
after the student leaves
school.
Critics of the program,
however, have charged bank
officials with showing
marked insensitivity to the
economic needs of minority
students and women.
An alternative to GSLs is
National Direct Student
Loan (NDSL) money, which
comes straight from the fi
nancial aid office at only
three per cent interest.
NDSLs have benefited
freshmen and low income
students, who are usually ig
nored by loan officers at
banks.
The CoUege Work Study
program provides summer
jobs and part time work dur
ing the academic year. For
an average 15 hours a week,
students can expect to earn
$600 a year.
If you’re transferring,
don’t be afraid to ask for fi
nancial aid; it won’t harm
your chances of admission.
Most institutions keep their
admissions and financial aid
decisions separate. Also, be
sure to check the college
catalogue of schools you’re
looking at for scholarship
Step two: Don’t stop your
search yet. Many financial
aid advisors know little
about the world that exists
Expenditure
Account 564
1 (Student Entertainment)
I Movies $1,861.73
I Mini Concerts (dances) 2,900.00
I Cultural Arts 3,661.18
( Publicity 780.29
I Popular Artist (major concerts) $19,689.56
I Travel 805.03
I Equipment 6,522.90
I Miscellaneous 3,436.55
outside their office doors.
Millions of dollars are do
nated to students every year
from organizations, busi
nesses and other sources.
Step three: Nose around
your home town for clubs or
churches which give money
to area students. The Ki-
wanis, Rotary, Elks and
Lion’s clubs and the PTA
are often generous.
Step four: Encourage
your parents to inquire at
work about scholarships.
Many businesses provide for
the college-aged children of
their employees.
Step five: If the military
life appeals to you, ROTC,
the Navy-Marine Scholar
ship Program and the Wo
men’s Army Corp Student
Officer Program all pay
handsomely. Contact your
local recruiter.
Step six: A little-publi
cized Social Security pro
gram provides monthly in
come for students whose
mother or father are dead or
receive benefits for disa
bility or retirement. Contact
your local Social Seciirity of
fice.
Step seven: Spend a day
at the library, which
abounds in books listing
grants given to students of a
particular race or nationality
or who are pursuing a cer
tain occupation.
Scholarships, Fellowships
and Loans lists available
cash categorized according
to your major, as does the
Annutd Registry of Grant
Support. The National Reg
ister of Scholarships and
Fellowships names thou
sands of financial aid pro
grams, complete with dead
lines and detailed eligibility
requirements.
But don’t consult any
book published before 1972;
foundation grants change
drastically over the years.
Step eight: Spend 50' for
one of the most up-to-date
listings of financial aid
sources: a pamphlet called
“Need a Life?” Write to the
American Legion Educa
tional and Scholarship Pro
gram, Indianapolis, IN
46206.
Step nine: If you have a
spare $40, you can sign up
for the services of the Scho
larship Search Corporation.
This company, the only one
of its kind in the country,
feeds your application into a
computer stocked with data
about 250,000 scholarships.
Search guarantees to weed
out at least five scholarships
for which you are eligible
and a maximum of 25. No
state or federal programs
are listed.
Forty per cent of the stu
dents who apply to Search
eventually win financial aid
from the sources provided,
according to the National
Student Educational Fund.
Write to the company at 7
W. 51st St., New York, NY
10019.
Step ten: Get moving.
The deadline for most finan
cial aid applications fall in
January or February.