Scholarships

Scholarships It might seem like youve been doing nothing but filling out forms for the past few months. First, for some students, there are early applications to fill out. Then, of course, there are regular applications to complete. And finally, theres the scrambling to apply for scholarships. Scholarships are nice. They provide you money for college (offsetting your Self-Help portion of your financial aid, at least at MIT) while at the same time recognizing you for your accomplishments. Look for scholarships, and try hard to win some. When I was in my last year of high school, I was pretty clueless about scholarships. Ultimately, I did win some awards from local community organizations, but I didnt put in the effort that I should have for outside scholarships. If you havent already discovered all of the webs wonderful scholarship resources, what are you waiting for? Two good starting points are Sallie Maes College Answer and FastWeb. Unfortunately, many big scholarship deadlines have passed, but some big scholarships are still open. Today, Ill highlight a couple programs whose deadline have not yet passed in which MIT students have fared well in the past: The Davidson Institutes Davidson Fellows. Davidson Fellows are recognized for significant work in science, mathematics, technology, music, literature, or philosophy that has the potential to make a positive contribution to society. That recognition takes the form of an award ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 as well as significant media attention and a reception in Washington, DC. Preliminary applications are due between February 15 and March 15. USA Todays All-USA Academic Team. Team members are judged on their academic merit, and the most important factor is a students outstanding original academic, artistic or leadership endeavor. Winners receive a $2500 scholarship and a nice spread in USA Today. Nominations are due February 22. These are just two scholarship programs that I wanted to highlight today. But I also wanted to do this post so that you could, in the comments section, tell us about some other scholarship opportunities that you know about. Help your fellow MIT applicant!