Students must work to find college scholarships

By Kristen Consillio

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Mar 03, 2013

~~“Akamai Money” seeks out local experts to answer questions about business in Hawaii. If you have an issue you would like us to tackle, please email it to business@staradvertiser.com and put “Akamai Money” in the subject line. 
Question: When preparing for college, how do you find out what scholarships you’re eligible for? 
Answer: You can learn about institutional merit scholarships by researching on the college/university admissions or financial aid websites. 
  
Q: How much on average can a student expect to receive in financial aid? 
A: There really isn’t an “average” amount of financial aid that students can expect. Each student’s situation is different depending on his/her academic merit and financial need. 
 
Q: What types of scholarships are available to Hawaii students? 
A: Scholarships are everywhere. Students need to work at finding and applying for them. There are club affiliation scholarships, ethnic scholarships, union membership scholarships, bank/credit union scholarships, Elks Club, Rotary Club, military dependent scholarships and more. Local scholarships are often announced at your high school. Ask your college counselor. Online websites such as fastweb.com, scholarships.com, hawaiicommunityfoundation.org, ksbe.edu/finaid and more also have various scholarships that students can apply for. 
 
Q: When should you begin applying for financial aid? 
A: You can apply for a scholarship as soon as you can find one. The majority of scholarships are for seniors in high school, but there are a few for underclassmen as well. 
 
Q: How much of a factor is your parent’s income? 
A: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form opens the door to college/university financial aid awards. Parent income is a factor in determining how much the student’s family is expected to contribute for college expenses. Parent income does affect a student’s need-based financial aid. 
 
Q: If a parent is considering getting remarried, how would that affect your financial aid? 
A: When a parent remarries, the stepparent must be included on the FAFSA. Therefore, if they both work, both parent incomes will be included.~~

“Akamai Money” seeks out local experts to answer questions about business in Hawaii. If you have an issue you would like us to tackle, please email it to business@staradvertiser.com and put “Akamai Money” in the subject line.

Question: When preparing for college, how do you find out what scholarships you’re eligible for? Answer: You can learn about institutional merit scholarships by researching on the college/university admissions or financial aid websites. Q: How much on average can a student expect to receive in financial aid? A: There really isn’t an “average” amount of financial aid that students can expect. Each student’s situation is different depending on his/her academic merit and financial need. Q: What types of scholarships are available to Hawaii students? A: Scholarships are everywhere. Students need to work at finding and applying for them. There are club affiliation scholarships, ethnic scholarships, union membership scholarships, bank/credit union scholarships, Elks Club, Rotary Club, military dependent scholarships and more. Local scholarships are often announced at your high school. Ask your college counselor. Online websites such as fastweb.com, scholarships.com, hawaiicommunityfoundation.org, ksbe.edu/finaid and more also have various scholarships that students can apply for. Q: When should you begin applying for financial aid? A: You can apply for a scholarship as soon as you can find one. The majority of scholarships are for seniors in high school, but there are a few for underclassmen as well. Q: How much of a factor is your parent’s income? A: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form opens the door to college/university financial aid awards. Parent income is a factor in determining how much the student’s family is expected to contribute for college expenses. Parent income does affect a student’s need-based financial aid. Q: If a parent is considering getting remarried, how would that affect your financial aid? A: When a parent remarries, the stepparent must be included on the FAFSA. Therefore, if they both work, both parent incomes will be included. Login for more...