cThe college search process is often daunting, for students and parents alike. With over 3800 colleges and universities in the U.S. alone, where do you begin? We work one on one with our clients over a several month period to match their specific needs with colleges that will be best suited for them. There are countless factors to consider, including: location, academic profile (acceptance rate), extracurricular activities, and, of course...cost. Whether the fit is at one of the big 3 Arizona universities, the AZ community colleges, out-of-state public colleges or private universities, a lot of the choices are understandably made based on money.

Today’s high school counselors are responsible for over 300 students on average. Their duties are widespread, and most are focused on things other than college guidance. Just CLICK HERE to see a list of their typical responsibilities. We have a great relationship with many counselors throughout the Valley, and they all agree that there are many students out there who need more time than they are able to dedicate. We are here to be an extension of those counselors, for those of you who want to create a personal relationship that you can rely on for years to come.

Do you need help applying for scholarships? Don't know which schools would be the best fit for you? Does your student need guidance on choosing a college major and career? This is a life altering decision...get the attention you deserve. Contact Trisha at (602) 625-2787 or visit www.insightadvisorsaz.com

Don’t be a “latecomer” to a vibrant college market that has never before been so complex and competitive, one that’s so robust and is very important to your child’s future. Call Campus Advisers today to get your student's future on the right path!(602) 840-5665

Scholarships:

Everyone wants a scholarship because it’s free money….a “no brainer”, but less than five percent of college students get scholarships. Is your student part of the 5% or the 95%?

How do you increase your student’s chances to earn or “get” scholarships? There are two main categories of scholarships: Talent and Discretionary.

Talent scholarships are best known as Merit, Athletic, Music & Arts scholarships. The best thing about these scholarships is that they don’t care how much money you earn, i.e. if you’re “broke on paper”, you’ll get grants too. If the school’s formula labels you as “rich”, then it doesn’t matter how much money you make. If your student qualifies into a school’s subjective criteria and/or admissions qualifier, your student gets the money, regardless of income and assets.

Discretionary scholarships are all the other ones that exist for those who have the time and drive to submit dozens of applications. Don’t be fooled. These scholarships oftentimes depend on you qualifying for need-based financial aid. In other words, you might find that an employer has “scholar dollars” due to high grades, etc. but you might need to also demonstrate need. This is also the case with many you’ll find through the internet. You’ve heard that millions of dollars go unclaimed each year. Why? Because for every dozen applications you submit through the popular sites like fastweb.com and collegeboard.com, you’ll be doing well to get $500 for all that work because they have thousands of applicants. Add to the fact that most of the required essays are poorly written and then the “surprise factor”….most discretionary scholarships also require you be “need-based” to qualify…therein is the contradiction. Who ever said life was fair??

Discretionary scholarships can be found using internet search engines, etc. Oftentimes, these are based on demonstrating need, merit, plus several other factors. The best way to “not get scammed” is to put your efforts into the discretionary scholarships that your high school makes available through their counseling office, or if your student is already in college, ask the financial aid office on campus what you’re eligible for. This way, you’re virtually assured of eliminating the scams. This doesn’t insure your chances to “get it”, but it’s a good start. Please note that well funded, popular internet search sites like www.fastweb.com and www.collegeboard.com do a lot of screening, but they still get organizations with broken web links and some who do their best to just sell your information.

Merit scholarships are usually earned due to super high GPAs, SAT/ACT scores and other admissions’ qualifiers custom to a given school or state. For example in AZ, the Honors / Tuition Waiver scholarships are based on their own criteria of exceeding the AIMs exams plus many other factors...and at an award amount much lower than in previous years.Click here for exact info http://www.ade.state.az.us/asd/tuitionwaiver/

The Presidents’ and Deans’ scholarships require getting phenomenal grades at your high school among other factors. There are others sponsored by the state universities, but most merit scholarships are designed to reward the upper 5% of students**. So if your student is a 3.7 GPA with a 1900 SAT score, why aren’t the “scholarship gods” mailing money to your home? Those are good numbers at some schools, and candidly represent a great, smart kid, especially at a community college; but not at the tier 1 or tier 2 schools…IF you’re counting on “scholar dollars”.

Athletic, Music & Arts scholarships have their own extremely subjective criteria; obviously reserved for the top athletes, musicians, singers, dancers, artists, etc. Although grades are a big help to qualify for these, this is secondary to their athletic or artistic talent. These scholarships are awarded by the appropriate department and unless you’re recruited directly by a college recruiter/coach, you need to market yourself!

**If your student is part of the 95%, you might be able to get other kinds of aid; or perhaps you’re just paying cash as you go…therefore, what plan do you have, if any, to lessen your out-of-pocket expense? To find out how Campus Advisers can help you afford college, click here.