- Myth #1: You must have a sky high GPA to win college scholarships
- Myth #2: Most scholarships are for star athletes or low-income students.
- Myth #3: Once you graduate high school, it's too late to get a scholarship
There are some things parents and students can be doing this summer to go after college scholarships. Kaplan says:
- Check out free Internet scholarship databases
- Look beyond grades and test scores
- Get a summer job that matters
- Set aside time for service
- Transform summer trips into scholarship gold
- For more info: CityOfCollegeDreams.org
Kaplan is one of the nation's leading experts on college scholarships, admissions, financial aid, student loans, educational savings, student success, and youth personal growth topics. He directs the Ben Kaplan Center for Educational Opportunity and has authored 12 best-selling books and CDs, including How to Go to College Almost for Free (HarperCollins Publishers).
Kaplan also writes the popular Live 'n' Learn newspaper column-a weekly education column that shows readers of every age how to maximize both traditional and unexpected learning opportunities at school, home, work, and in everyday life. Ben's column is syndicated to leading newspapers and magazines nationwide. He has also written columns for major publications such as The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, and TIME.
You can get first-hand information from Ben who will be holding a free day-long workshop called City of College Dreams on September 28 in Schaumburg.
"We're taking the best parts of financial aid night, the traditional college fair, school success workshops, and high-energy motivational seminars and mashing it all up with audience involvement, experiential learning, technological magic, and plenty of theatrical flair," Kaplan says. "The result is a next-generation educational event: The world's most dynamic ' one stop shop' for all of your tuition funding, college admissions, school success, and personal growth needs."
Students and parents will be able to participate in an interactive group learning session with Kaplan, the scholarship coach who has helped tens of thousands of families discover and afford their dream colleges, get admitted, succeed in school, pursue their passions, and save more than half a billion dollars in the process. Among the topics he'll cover:
- How to best use the Internet to search for scholarships
- How to leverage any family trip into great material for college and scholarship applications
- How to help your kids get a last-minute summer job that positions them for success
- How volunteering for community service this summer can pay huge dividends
- The three biggest myths that prevent families from winning college scholarships
- Quirky summer scholarships such as ones for nude sunbathers and Klingon language buffs
Then, each participant gets to put this new knowledge into immediate action by exploring a live "college city"-up to 100,000 square feet of education-related opportunities and resources organized into "streets" like "Scholarship Boulevard," "Financial Aid Avenue," "College Search Road," "Test Prep Circle," and "Study Abroad Square."
City of College Dreams
Sunday, September 2812 noon to 8 p.m.
Schaumburg Convention Center
1551 North Thoreau Drive, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
FREE , but advanced registration is required and tickets are limited
Register online at: CityOfCollegeDreams.org
