PARENT’S STORY
My son got into Morehouse College, the only all-male, historically black institution better learning, which was indeed an honor.
Then, the grim reality of methods we were going to afford his education hit.
I'm a university graduate, having a median income, but I'm in debt and my credit is ruined from the divorce.
I’m unsure I can help my son, so he may have to figure out how to purchase college without the aid of his parents.
Looking for money to help send him to college, I saw grants for single-parents and first-generation scholarships.
We applied and nothing came through.
My son requested numerous scholarships and we were hopeful that he would a minimum of get 1 / 2 of those he submitted, which would cover the annual Morehouse cost of $47,000.
As fall approached and no football scholarship offers were coming, we got more stressed.
We started a gofundme campaign, we put together sponsorship letters, and that we contacted businesses for donations.
But many of these were dead ends, too.
Then I acquired a call in the NROTC Commander at Morehouse.
He asserted my son was denied a scholarship but he wanted to help him. “If I'm able to a minimum of get his room and board covered, will you be interested?” he asked.
I said, “Yes, anything can help.”
My son checked set for early registration because he was invited to football camp, but still the scholarship didn't come through.
The commander said my son must come and he works something out.
The school seemed to be trying difficult to work something out for all of us.
Initially my ex-husband's father, my father-in-law, agreed to cosign a parent or gaurdian PLUS loan with my son, which I couldn't do because my credit was shot.
Unfortunately, he changed his mind, but once i spoke with someone at Morehouse my son was cleared to go to, and some more scholarships arrived.
Then the football coach called and said the school will give him a $7,500 scholarship.
We were fortunate he could earn a situation around the football team along with a partial scholarship.
Books for the semester were $800, so we rented them instead.
Luckily, my ex-husband withdrew some money from an annuity to pay for the rest of the tuition for this year.
My son is praying the football team can give him a full scholarship for the coming year to ensure that we're not confronted with this challenge again, but that's not really a plan, and that he knows he has to keep his nose towards the grindstone academically.
I have no idea what else to complete for that remaining college years.
Deniece, PA
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EXPERT INSIGHT
Felicia Gopaul, Certified Financial Planning and College Funding Specialist and founding father of College Funding Resource responds:
This case breaks me. This parent did everything she could and it is still not secure with her son’s finances for school.
Apply for local scholarships. This student applied for scholarships but didn’t have any initially.
Was it a mismatch together with her son’s qualifications versus the scholarships he applied for?
Did he only make an application for scholarships where there was strong national competition?
In other words, was he competing from the best and the brightest from nationwide instead of pursuing local scholarships where he had a better chance of receiving at least one?
I tell parents which i work with that their child is most competitive in the local level and to apply for more local (smaller) scholarships rather than swing for the bleachers and only pursue large national scholarships.
There are lots of reputable scholarship sites and lots of articles that provide tips too.
Gofundme I love the spirit of the gofundme campaign.
However I’ve discovered that to be successful, you need to tell a fascinating story that will get individuals to care.
It also helps to maintain your audience updated on your progress and what you are personally doing to help yourself.
I’ve also found that for education, it’s easier to get fully funded when you're trying to raise a lot less than $47,000.
Women need their very own credit. After i got started with financial planning, I volunteered with Soroptimist International.
They were built with a program teaching women about personal finance.
While volunteering, I saw ladies who were getting divorced or widowed within their 40s/50s and hearing their stories of starting over.
I mentally made the decision (and I actively encourage women to do the same) to have my very own credit, separate and aside from my husband.
If Deniece had done this, then she may have been capable of getting parents PLUS loan she needed based on her very own credit.
There are also ways to construct your under exemplary credit rating back up, which will consequently, assist you to obtain a private loan with lower rates.
But it takes time.
Education funding with the military. Many of my family and friends could obtain education through the military.
If your son is still interested, discover why he didn’t obtain the scholarship with the NROTC and if he could re-apply later on.
If he gets the NROTC scholarship, he should understand what it would take to get and the scholarship, and that he also needs to understand what commitments he is making in exchange for the scholarship.
Have a backup plan for an athletic scholarship. Playing football attending college is many kids' dream and becoming a scholarship to experience may be the ultimate reward.
However, injuries and someone else coming up the pike who's a greater player can strip your son of his scholarship.
Make sure he is making academic progress toward a degree and never letting the lure of playing football keep him in the objective of a university degree.
It's good he realizes the importance of studying.
Choose a fiscally viable major. Finally, many student athletes pursue degrees in majors that assemble them economically to struggle in their live times.
Listen to individuals working in the Top 100 careers and become motivated to go into a field where employers are in fact searching for new candidates.
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