RICHARDS ISD

FAFSA (Opens October 1st)

Many colleges require that you submit your FAFSA with your college application.

1. Create a FAFSA ID
2. Follow these steps to complete your FAFSA

FAFSA Help Chatbot by CollegeBoard

Guidance for Families – Financial Aid Requirement for Graduation (Texas OnCourse)

SCHOLARSHIPS

* Keep Track of Deadlines *

Check here regularly for updated scholarship opportunities, including local scholarships:

* Keep Track of Deadlines *

Students should begin applying for scholarships as soon as possible. 

There are scholarships for students as young as kindergarten.

* Keep Track of Deadlines *

There are many scholarship matching websites that can help you find scholarships geared towards you individually.  (Be aware though, if you sign up on one of them your email will likely be overflowing from them.)  DO NOT PAY TO APPLY TO SCHOLARSHIPS OR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS.  Some of the popular ones include:

BigFuture by CollegeBoard – full college search / planning resource (parent accounts available)

GoingMerry – streamlines not only the search process, but also the application process

Raise.Me – earn micro-scholarships for participating colleges by adding your high school accomplishments (parent accounts available)

MyScholly – more detailed scholarship search program with an essay editor

MyCollegeOptions – scholarship and college matches for high school students (parent accounts available)

fastweb – scholarship and college search and career planning (parent accounts available)

Scholarships.com – scholarship and college search

Chegg – scholarship and college search, tutoring and internships

Niche – scholarship and college search

Some helpful hints when searching for scholarships:

1.  * Keep Track of Deadlines *

2.  Spend about 2 hours per week working on scholarships.

3.  Always search for local scholarships first, the applicant pool is much smaller meaning there’s a greater chance you’ll be chosen.

4. Get organized, use a binder and dividers (ex: to do, submitted, received, essays, recommendation letters, transcripts, acceptance letters, FAFSA Student Aid Report), check with your School Counselor if you need help getting a system put together.

5. Divide up the work if you can, I did the “searching” for the scholarships my son qualified for, then he did the “work” writing the essays and filling out the applications.

RHS Transcript Request

RESOURCES

Accepting Financial Aid – US Department of Education

Compare Financial Aid Offers – Sallie Mae

Federal Student Loans: Types / Options – GoingMerry

Finding and Applying for Scholarships – US Department of Education

Paying for College (Resources) – Sallie Mae

Understanding Your Award Letter and Micro-scholarships – Raise.me