College Scholarships

[maddog]

When I was in high school, getting ready to go to college, I applied for several "scholarships." Most were not based on scholarship, however, but almost exclusively on "financial need." My parents made too much for me to qualify on the basis of financial need, but they certainly did not make enough for me to be able to afford to go to college. Catch-22.

I'm toying with the idea of creating a scholarship for such "in-betweeners" who do not strictly qualify for financial aid, but who, without such aid, can't really afford to go to college.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I'm also curious about any unusual types of scholarships any of you may have gotten that helped you through school. I guess there are thousands of scholarships available, from all kinds of things like trades unions, professional organizations, religious affiliations (are there any atheist scholarships out there?), financial institutions, community service groups, and so on.

Just wanting to kick around an idea or two...

#1186

[viscousmemories]

Are you subtly informing us that you've won the Lotto, maddog?

[maddog]

I wish!

No, I want to get some ideas about how to create such a scholarship, i.e., how exactly such endowments are structured and their founding documents are drafted. I want to begin modestly, funding and experimenting with administering small sums as I begin to award the scholarship. Experience should tell me what needs tweaking, once I get a firm idea of the criteria I want to employ or look for in candidates. In the meantime, I'll (1) buy life insurance and (2) begin saving certain amounts to fund it with ultimately. If I die relatively soon, the life insurance will fund it. If I live a relatively long time, I can build up savings principal to put into the fund and wean the life insurance premiums off.

#1187

[viscousmemories]

Ah well, sorry 'bout the Lotto.

In any case it's a really interesting idea. Good luck!

[The Lone Ranger]

What a wonderful idea!

Virtually every college has one or two weird scholarships that practically no one knows about, and that practically no one qualifies for. You needn't invest a huge amount of money to start one up, since some of these scholarships pay only a few hundred or perhaps a couple of thousand dollars.

You can set up a scholarship that can only be applied for by students named "Tony" who were born on February 29th if you so choose. As the person donating the money, you get to set the rules.

Even if the scholarship is worth only a few hundred dollars, that can be a godsend for some student who's living right on the edge and could use a few hundred bucks for books and living expenses.


I'm sure if you spoke with the Financial Aid Office at the school in question, they'd be happy to tell you what kinds of scholarships could be set up with the amount of money you're interested in donating, and what sorts of students would benefit from such scholarships. I've never yet encountered a college or university that isn't thrilled to have people donating money.

Cheers,

Michael

[maddog]

It's my high school, not the college, that's the target. I want kids in my position from my high school to be able to go to whatever college they want.

I know that there are weird little scholarships, but what I can't figure out how to get hold of is the creation documents for these scholarships.

#1189

[maddog]

I've been looking on "college scholarship" websites, which all seem to be designed for students looking for scholarships. I can't log on because I'm not a student. Frustrating. I'd just like to look at those databases of $1million-plus in scholarships and see if I can contact some of the creators.

One thing this exercise has done, however, is that it has solidified for me that I probably really do want to create 2 scholarships, not just 1. Yes, I want the one for my high school, but I also think there should be more scholarships for non-religionists. I'm thinking of a church-state separation (that's my legal interest showing there), or non-theistic ethics, or freethought advocacy essay or some such. The applicants for the freethought scholarship would not be limited to students at my high school, but would be open to anyone. The FFRF already has an essay contest, and American Atheists has both an Atheist scholarship and a GLBT/Atheist scholarship.

Maybe what I really want is a return to liberal (i.e., liberty) values:
"Liberalism implies particularly freedom of thought, freedom from orthodox dogma, the right of others to think differently from oneself. It implies a free mind, open to new ideas and willing to give attentive consideration....

"When I say liberty, I mean liberty of the individual to think his own thoughts and live his own life as he desires to think and live."

--Sen. Robert A. Taft ("Mr. Conservative") of Ohio,
from J.Kennedy, Profiles in Courage (1956) Chap 9, p. 235

That's one of the things I'd especially like to reward.

#1189