How to Get Money

There, I thought that would get your attention!

The focus of this post is how to get merit scholarship money for private school tuition.  If you need money for anything else, sorry, I cannot help you.

Now, getting back to how to get money for private school, let’s talk about how this process works.

Schools will often award merit scholarships, which are defined as grants, or discounts off the full tuition rate.  This is free money in a sense, as it does not have to be paid back. In order for the schools to award this money they have to get something valuable in return.

Think about it, when you pay for something, you want to get something in return, right?

So what do schools want to get for their scholarship dollars?

  1. Smart students – schools are in the business of educating students. Smart students make the school stronger, more selective, and more impressive to future applicants.  Schools with a highly competitive student body are more elite, and they can have their pick of applicants (they can also charge a premium for tuition). How are smart students defined? Schools look at grades, and test scores on entrance exams such as the ISEE, SSAT and HSPT (among other alphabet soup test names).  We will delve more into these tests in future posts. So, if you want merit scholarship money, be prepared to show how smart your child is with hard data, not just telling the schools that you think they are smart. Schools also know that good test takers coming in the door are typically good test takers going out the door, and this makes the school look good.  High SAT/ACT test scores mean their students will be admitted to more prestigious colleges and universities, which makes the school look even more impressive to prospective applicants.
  2. Strong athletes – private schools are often involved in interscholastic athletic leagues that compete against other local schools. These games are very important to the school, and they often build a strong sense of school pride among the athletes, students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni. The schools want to win these games! Strong athletes help the school win games.  If your child is a strong athlete in a team sport that is valued at the school they are applying to (different schools value different sports differently) this makes them a more attractive candidate. It is not hard to find out what sports are of high value to a school (just look on their web site). Be honest about how good your child is, the schools will know if the child is a strong athlete or not, you can’t fool them here.  Trust me, they have ways of figuring this out.
  3. Gifted musicians, actors/actresses and artists – private schools pride themselves on educating the whole child (intellectually, physically and artistically). A gifted musician, performer, or visual artist can bring a lot to enhance the creative programs at a school.  Don’t forget that there are musical, theatrical and artistic competitions too, and the schools also want to be the best in these areas. Some schools are looking to fill holes in their arts programs, and they are actively recruiting students with specific talents.  The band may have just graduated their star pianist or violinist.  The performing arts group may need strong male or female leads for the next play.  The arts department may need student photographers or strong visual artists. Don’t be shy about showcasing your child’s artistic talents; just be realistic about how good your child actually is, and be prepared to show proof of your child’s accomplishments, only if asked to do so.  DO NOT send the school videos, awards, or other proof of your child’s artistic skills, unless specifically invited to do so!

I cannot stress enough how important it is to be realistic about your child’s strengths and weaknesses!  It does no one any good (especially your child) if you are building them up to be something they are not. I am always amazed at the lengths (miles and miles) that some parents go to in order to stretch the truth about their child’s abilities.  The truth always comes out in the end, so do not bother to exaggerate, it will only come back to bite you in the you-know-where!

I am also always amazed when parents think that their child has a shot at getting a scholarship when the child has weak academic skills, is not an athlete, and has no special artistic talent.  They have nothing to offer the school, yet they think the school may “take a chance” on their child and give them a pile of money.  I am sorry to say that it does not work this way.  It is not a lottery, they do not pick your number out of a hat and award you a prize.

Like most things in life, scholarships need to be earned.

Anne Yount

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