Examining the two basic components of scholarship competition essays and interviews this vital guidebook offers practical advice and real-life examples to guide students through the entire application process. A roundtable panel of judges and applicants supply inside information regarding the winning qualities sought after by award-giving organizations and tips for finding scholarships by using books, the internet, personal connections, and sources in the community. With insight into the judges' criteria for a successful application, 30 previously awarded scholarship essays are thoroughly analyzed, from choice of topic to writing style. Revealing unique strategies for preparation and overcoming nervousness, this definitive resource also includes sample interview questions and answers.

Information on 1.5 million scholarships, grants, and prizes is easily accessible in this revised directory with more than 300 new listings that feature awards indexed by career goal, major, academics, public service, talent, athletics, religion, ethnicity, and more. Each entry contains all the necessary information for students and parents to complete the application process, including eligibility requirements, how to obtain an application, how to get more information about each award, sponsor website listings, award amounts, and key deadlines. With scholarships for high school, college, graduate, and adult students, this guide also includes tips on how to conduct the most effective search, how to write a winning application, and how to avoid scams.

Adults can find the means to go back to school despite the pressures of work, family, and a mortgage with this guide to funding continued education. With expanded information on online and distance learning and part-time classes and new financial aid, loan, and scholarship opportunities, this updated resource teaches adult students how to find and win scholarships designed especially for them, obtain financial support from employers, get financial aid for distance learning, receive larger financial aid packages, take advantage of educational tax breaks, trade tuition costs for volunteer service, and cancel education debts with loan forgiveness programs. Twenty firsthand anecdotes inspire adult students with creative and unusual ways to pay for their education.

The powerful tools in this invaluable resource equip students with the skills to write successful entrance essays for top-notch universities. The strengths and weaknesses of 50 application compositions from Ivy League schools, as well as Caltech, Duke, MIT, Stanford, and University of Chicago, are analyzed in detail, highlighting techniques to emulate and mistakes to avoid. College admission officers from some of these schools provide informative strategies and inside information on their writing assessment criteria. A comprehensive writing workshop provides tips toward selecting topics, developing stories, editing drafts, and applying finishing touches. Acknowledging that the written portion of the process is one of the most important factors for admission into highly selective schools, this helpful guidebook offers sage advice and inspiration to keep applicants on the right track.

The powerful tools in this invaluable resource equip students with the skills to write successful entrance essays for top-notch universities. The strengths and weaknesses of 50 application compositions from Ivy League schools, as well as Caltech, Duke, MIT, Stanford, and University of Chicago, are analyzed in detail, highlighting techniques to emulate and mistakes to avoid. College admission officers from some of these schools provide informative strategies and inside information on their writing assessment criteria. A comprehensive writing workshop provides tips toward selecting topics, developing stories, editing drafts, and applying finishing touches. Acknowledging that the written portion of the process is one of the most important factors for admission into highly selective schools, this helpful guidebook offers sage advice and inspiration to keep applicants on the right track.

Based on the real-life experiences of students who were admitted to the United States' most prestigious universities, this guide provides proven strategies to get into and pay for any college. Detailing what high school students—from freshmen to seniors—can do to prepare, this updated edition addresses recent changes in admissions and financial aid processes and the increasingly popular early-admissions option. Examples of applications, interviews, and 25 actual college-admission essays complement information on how parents can help without hurting, what it takes to ace the SAT and ACT, and where students can find free cash for tuition. Stories of students' successes and failures reveal how the college-admissions and financial-aid processes really work, while giving a personal face to what is often seen as an impersonal experience. A section for special groups includes admission considerations for athletes, transfer and international students, students with disabilities, and home-schooled students.

Students will prepare powerful and successful admission essays with the tools provided in this invaluable, newly-updated resource for the college-bound. Examples of 50 real essays are included, discussing such topics as leadership, personal obstacles, athletics, public service, special talents, and future goals. The strengths and successes of each example are analyzed, as well as the inspirations of each writer. A comprehensive writing workshop provides tips toward selecting topics, developing stories, editing drafts, and applying finishing touches. Further examples of 12 unsuccessful essays, a list of 25 easy mistakes to avoid, and new interviews with admissions officers are presented to help would-be entrants avoid costly blunders.

Students will prepare powerful and successful admission essays with the tools provided in this invaluable, newly-updated resource for the college-bound. Examples of 50 real essays are included, discussing such topics as leadership, personal obstacles, athletics, public service, special talents, and future goals. The strengths and successes of each example are analyzed, as well as the inspirations of each writer. A comprehensive writing workshop provides tips toward selecting topics, developing stories, editing drafts, and applying finishing touches. Further examples of 12 unsuccessful essays, a list of 25 easy mistakes to avoid, and new interviews with admissions officers are presented to help would-be entrants avoid costly blunders.

Information on 1.5 million scholarships, grants, and prizes is easily accessible in this revised directory with more than 300 new listings that feature awards indexed by career goal, major, academics, public service, talent, athletics, religion, ethnicity, and more. Each entry contains all the necessary information for students and parents to complete the application process, including eligibility requirements, how to obtain an application, how to get more information about each award, sponsor website listings, award amounts, and key deadlines. With scholarships for high school, college, graduate, and adult students, this guide also includes tips on how to conduct the most effective search, how to write a winning application, and how to avoid scams.

Adults can find the means to go back to school despite the pressures of work, family, and a mortgage with this guide to funding continued education. With expanded information on online and distance learning and part-time classes and new financial aid, loan, and scholarship opportunities, this updated resource teaches adult students how to find and win scholarships designed especially for them, obtain financial support from employers, get financial aid for distance learning, receive larger financial aid packages, take advantage of educational tax breaks, trade tuition costs for volunteer service, and cancel education debts with loan forgiveness programs. Twenty firsthand anecdotes inspire adult students with creative and unusual ways to pay for their education.

Helping applicants navigate the intricate yet vitally important essay process at elite schools such as Stanford — a university that enrolls students from all 50 states and 52 countries and has an admission rate less than five percent — this go-to guide helps prospective students see for themselves what it takes to be admitted to selective programs at colleges nationwide. Along with the 50 essay examples that give a detailed analysis of the strengths and even weaknesses of each essay, there are tips from college admission officers and successful applicants and a description of the 25 essay mistakes that guarantee failure. For highly judicious colleges, the essay is one of the most important factors in whether students are admitted or rejected, yet this resource, from a pair of award-winning authors and college application gurus, will help readers temper their fears and inspire their writing.

Completely revised with updated descriptions, contact information, websites, and available monies, this guide to financing higher education is the only resource students need to fund their pursuit of knowledge. Balancing detailed explanations with real-life examples and practical resources, the featured topics include finding and winning scholarships, requesting a reassessment from colleges for more financial aid, maximizing assistance from state and federal governments, taking advantage of educational tax breaks, and benefiting from government-subsidized student loans. Creative strategies such as starting profitable dorm-room enterprises, trading tuition costs for volunteer service, and canceling debts with loan-repayment programs help students find extra money when more traditional routes are exhausted. The provided tips are designed for students of all ages and levels and their parents.