When I arrived at St. Clair High School on my first day of work back in August I was a woman with a plan: to get every single one of those students on the road to their dreams, a plan I know all NCAC advisers are very familiar with. I jumped right in, giving several classroom presentations about “best fit” schools and the application process. I scheduled students for one-on-one meetings with me whether they liked it or not and bombarded them with questions about their goals. But, after a week and a half I was already completely frustrated. Why do so many students not have a clue what they want to do? Why do they all give me blank stares when I talk to them? Why don’t they believe in their futures as much as I believe in their future? I expressed my frustrations to the school principal who told me something that gave me a new perspective: for many of these students, I am the first person who has ever mentioned something to them about college. For many families, they’ve always known that college is expensive and paying that tuition is not an option. They’re unaware of the accessibility of scholarships and financial aid. College was not going to happen. My principal suggested I try to think about what those students are thinking when they give me blank stares. I imagine the internal dialogue goes a little something like this, “Okay great, so I can go to college. Does this lady have any idea what my home is like? I can’t afford to go to college. Dad just got fired, Mom is working double shifts to buy groceries, how am I supposed to pay college tuition?” So, I pumped the breaks and refocused.

Now, my seniors are in the zone sending in their applications and receiving acceptance letters and the number one thing that we talk about in my office is scholarships. Two scholarship applications a week. That’s my rule. Spend more time searching for scholarships than Facebook stalking. To help my students discover how many scholarship opportunities are out there I posted signs around the school that say things like “Do your parents work at Walmart? You can get $3,000 for college!” (that’s the Walmart Dependent Scholarship) and “Are you going to major in engineering or science in college? You could get a full-ride!” (SAE Engineering Scholarship). These signs have brought hoards of students into my office looking for the many other scholarships that may be available to them because of their interests or situation. I set them up with fastweb.com and scholarships.com accounts to create a profile and narrow down their scholarship search. I make sure to remind them to check the search weekly as new scholarships may have been added. I also tell all my students to complete every local scholarship—from the Elks Lodge, the Masons, their local church. In a town of only 4,500 you’ve got a pretty good shot at these scholarships. Now, my dedicated students are so proud to show me what obscure talent or interest plus a 200-word essay is going to get them $500 in money for college and I couldn’t be prouder.

We’re making strides here in St. Clair. First, finding the confidence and motivation to make the commitment to a college degree and now, figuring out how to pay for it.

What techniques have you used to help your students find and apply for scholarships? Do you know of any scholarship opportunities that all our students should be applying for?

About Erin:

I am a first-year adviser with the Missouri College Advising Corps serving at St. Clair High School in St. Clair, Missouri. Having grown up in the city of Chicago I’m adjusting to small-town life. This includes but is not limited to, seriously slowing down my walking pace, trying deer meat for the first time and attending Friday night football games. When I’m not thinking about my students at St. Clair (puh-lease, I’m always thinking about them!) I enjoy running, going to Mizzou football games with my fellow young alumni friends and baking. Though still clueless about where my life will go after my service with NCAC, I’m almost positive I’ll find a way to always be working in a high school, making a difference in the lives of our future generations.