I need financial aid ideas for pre-college programs.

January 6, 2007 5:04 PM

I need help finding sources of financial aid for pre-college programs besides the programs themselves. I have a feeling that organizations that might want to help me exist, but I have no clue how to go about finding them and begging them for money. Anyone done this before?

I'm a high school junior who has spent the last three summers at a summer program for "gifted" youth. The first year I got a scholarship, the second my parents paid for, and the third year I paid for most of it (with money earned from a job that doesn't exist anymore). This year, I'm too old for the program I went to before, but the same group (the Duke TIP program) offers some really interesting pre-college and abroad programs. Problem is, they're really expensive and mostly don't offer financial aid (either none or "limited need based", which I haven't qualified for in the past). Other programs of a similar nature are usually just as expensive (anywhere from 6-3 thousand dollars for a session). There is no way my family could find the money for something like this. We may not qualify for aid, but we can't pay for something like this either.

The thing is, I really, really want this. I've gone to some kind of summer enrichment program every summer of my life since first grade, and the last three summers have been amazing. My plan at first was just to apply and hope for aid, but finding out that my desired program doesn't even offer it has made me realize how much I would really miss it this year. I'm starting to think I need to get creative. Has anyone else done something like this before? What kind of groups should I be considering asking? How would I contact them? Any other ideas are welcome; I'm a little desperate.

One more thing: I know the obvious answer is "get a job!". That's really not very practical for me; I don't have a car and I go to school from eight to five or six most days, plus a few hours of homework. This plus the 150 CAS hours I need for the IB program, extracurriculars that have meets and so forth on the weekends, having some semblance of a normal teenage life, and eating and sleeping leave me with very little freedom to schedule around a job. Additionally, I know of few jobs that a 17 year old without transportation can do that will earn several thousand dollars in a couple of months.

Another note: I don't have to do this; I just really, really want to. I can handle the disappointment of missing out, but I figured I should exhaust every option before giving up.

posted by MadamM to Education (7 answers total)

You could try looking through Fastweb, which is a huge database with all sorts of scholarships, although I can't tell if they have pre-college scholarships (searching Google for "scholarships" will also net you some other meta-scholarship sites, though I've not used any besides Fastweb, so I can't vouch for their usefulness). You could contact your local Lions Club, Rotary, or Elks and see if they can help. Your high school counseling office may be able to assist you in finding other local do-gooder clubs as well, or finding you sources of $ from within the school or district (some states have "intermediate school districts" which include 10-20 school districts and focus on teacher education and student enrichment and gifted & talented programs; my intermediate district gave me $ to go to a summer program in Michigan when I was in middle school). Or find professional organizations or businesses that cover the areas you will be studying in your program (i.e., The American Society of Civil Engineers or Pfizer). You could also try female-specific societies like sororities (if a female relative is/was a member, or you're a junior member) or professional orgs. for people of a specific gender or ethnicity. Or groups that sponsor/are related to the extracurriculars you do already (example: you play softball, ask the local softball club). You public librarian may also have ideas, so go ask him/her-- and many public libraries have huge books of national scholarship opportunities or binders of local scholarship opportunities from groups that are only in your area.

For contacting any of the clubs/societies, I'd recommend writing (real mail, not email!) the person or committee in charge of scholarships or outreach. You can draft a form letter and personalize it with info for each group that you contact. I'd also recommend coming up with a better reason then "I've been before and really want to go again," because who wouldn't want to go to an expensive and fun summer nerd program for free? : ) If you can spin this as something that will help you explore a career path or get you experience that will assist you in your future career (even if you don't forsee yourself ending up as a veterinarian or what have you), or as a way for the group to gain some positive publicity from helping young people get into a career, you may have some luck.
posted by holyrood at 5:58 PM on January 6, 2007

I'm not entirely clear on whether you're focused only on the Duke program or whether you'd be open to other programs. If the former is the case, holyrood has good advice [although most scholarships are directed at college students.] If you're willing to consider other summer programs for gifted students, however, there are a few very well-regarded free programs [although they're correspondingly hard to get admitted to.] The Telluride Association does a humanities program and the Center for Excellence in Education runs the Research Science Institute at MIT. In both cases, housing, dining, & academic fees are all covered, and the program lasts for six weeks. I can't think of other free programs right now, but there may be a few others.
posted by ubersturm at 6:53 PM on January 6, 2007

Response by poster: I'm not committed to the Duke program; it's just that getting their brochure was what made me ask this question, and I have experience with them. I've gotten emails from other programs (I think they have them at lots of colleges) that I'm also interested in. Thanks for your help so far.
posted by MadamM at 7:36 PM on January 6, 2007

I had similar issues to yours while looking for funding for my study-abroad program. It didn't help that the program I was going on was unheard of in my country. I eventually had to rely on my parents, but one thing that helped was entering contests. Through sheer luck I won RM300 from a radio station contest whose premise was that they'd give the money to someone who could give the best reason for needing it (I mentioned the trip). So if there are many financial contests out there, enter them. You'll never know when you'll strike gold.

Good luck!
posted by divabat at 7:44 PM on January 6, 2007

A preemptive "no, don't listen to them, do not get a job" for anyone further down who suggests you just try harder. Burning out in the IB program only leads to further burning out; it is a bad thing and can (and tends to) be carried into the final year, leading to awful exams. I know, I saw too many people in my IB program begin crashing around this time in grade 11. (They all, however, ended up passing, mostly with good grades, almost entirely thanks to our IBC). Killing yourself with work and stress over this is stupid.

My main advice is: listen to holyrood!

Non-WASP? GLBT? Disabled? Of a certain culture? Having a certain interest? (I remember seeing a Canadian scholarship for those interested in concrete!) Think of everything that would differentiate you from an Iranian/Tanzanian/German/Brazilian kid with interests that are completely opposite yours. Make a list of all of these qualities, and see if anyone will pay you for them.

Any community contacts might be able to find financial aid out in the great information abyss, so check up with everyone you can. (Again, echoing holyrood: by letter, if possible!) Leave no stone unturned -- this can get insanely specific.

Can you talk to guidance counselors, or even better, people at local universities to discuss how to fund both university and this venture?

Good luck on your exams next year. Someone with as much drive as you will almost certainly do well, and here's hoping that your HLs will be well spaced out. :)
posted by flibbertigibbet at 8:05 PM on January 6, 2007

I would suggest, like others, that you do a bit of googling around to see if there are other cool summer programs that might offer you a scholarship.
posted by k8t at 8:11 PM on January 6, 2007

I grew up in NC which has Governor's School, a free, publicly funded program for gifted kids from NC in the summer between their junior and senior years. Maybe your state has a program like that?
posted by hydropsyche at 5:37 AM on January 7, 2007