The scholar-SHIP

Ready to help your students cruise with scholarships?

The ocean of scholarships is vast and changing everyday. It’s important to stay up to date on current trends, progress and strategies for finding scholarships.

10 helpful things for IECs to communicate to students about scholarships:

1. There are sharks in the water: Not all scholarship sites are for the benefit of students. Watch out for marketing scams in the scholarship world. Sadly, many scholarship companies don’t have students’ best interests at heart. Some scholarships are offered to capture students’ information to sell to marketers. Universities and credit card companies will purchase student information at $3-$4 per name and email. At Imagine Scholarships, we NEVER sell our students’ information or advertise in any way. Our scholarships are vetted for quality and accuracy every 24 hours.

2. Students can chart their own course when it comes to educational finances. There are many options for paying for college. Scholarships on average help students pay 25% of college expenses each year. At Imagine, our record is helping students find an average of $21K in scholarship dollars. It takes work on the student’s part to make this happen, but it’s possible if the student is committed to the process.

3. Don’t let the anchor of student debt weigh you down. Students are often discouraged by the high cost of educational expenses. While it is true that scholarships change the landscape of a student’s long-term future (Take a look at the big picture here), taking the time to explain the power of compounding interest is a valuable tool for students to learn and can motivate them to look for scholarship dollars rather than being anchored down by student loans. There are many sources to help students pay for college. Many employers offer tuition sharing programs, merit aid from school, outside scholarships and many other opportunities.

4. Looking for scholarships can be smooth sailing — but only if you have a strategy. At Imagine Scholarships, we provide an easy tool to help students and parents search quickly for scholarships, save the ones of interest, and keep track of the ones they’ve applied for. Because of the constant changing dates and many deadlines, it is critical to have a plan of organization. Parents are welcomed in the process. In fact, we have a scholarship for parents to encourage them to get involved in the process. We do not advocate parents filling out applications for students, but we do support parents helping search for scholarships that could be a good fit for their students. Once a parent locates a good scholarship in Imagine Scholarships, they can save it for their student to apply to at a later date.

5. Sail your own ship – In order for students to be successful in finding and winning scholarships, they need to take ownership of the process. While we at Imagine Scholarships encourage parent participation, it is critical for the student to own the process. Finding and applying for scholarships is hard work and not something a student can leave to someone else to do. Often pinpointing the student’s motivation or lack of motivation in the process is the first step. The things they have done leading up to this point are the things that will allow them to be competitive in the scholarship process. We offer more than 500 internships at Imagine Scholarships to help students accomplish this goal. Having a well-constructed resume is important, and continuing to spend time on things to help build that resume will determine a student’s success in winning scholarships.

6. Getting On Board is important – Finding scholarships is hard work and isn’t for the weak. Students have to be committed to the process over the long haul rather than for just a few weeks before tuition is due. We recommend students begin the scholarship process in early high school and continue all the way through college and graduate school, law school, medical school or other pursuits. We encourage students to apply to 3-5 scholarships per week. We’ve included scholarships for students of all education levels including those who are choosing trade schools and certification programs.

7. Learn the ropes from an expert – There are many people who have “ideas” about finding scholarships, but you need an expert. We surveyed some of the top experts on scholarship boards and put together a booklet on their tips for students applying to scholarships. These are the decision makers who know why some students are chosen and some are not. You can find that booklet here to share with your students.

8. Sink or Swim – If students are motived to find scholarship dollars, they are available! Scholarships are for students of ALL ECONOMIC backgrounds. Many parents and students believe that they make too much money to be considered for scholarships. This is simply not true for outside scholarship searches. Many of my wealthiest clients have received an incredible amount of scholarship awards. In my experience, parents who have money for their children’s education are often the same money-savvy parents who are looking for ways to keep their money in the bank earning interest while encouraging their students to find scholarship dollars.

9. Don’t be afraid to make waves – Knowing which scholarships to prioritize is important. The hourly return on the student’s time can be great if they are smart in this area. If there are doubts about a scholarship, students shouldn’t be afraid to move on to an option that is a better fit. Spending time wisely can really pay off, but students have to know where to invest it. This is a great lesson for all of life.

10. Show your true colors – Each student’s unique abilities, gifts and talents should really stand out to a prospective scholarship committee. It is important that students’ social media matches with the way they present themselves on scholarship applications. For large scholarships, statistics show that 89% of those awarding scholarships do investigative background work to find out the character of the students and authenticity of the application. At Imagine Scholarships, we offer a $2500 scholarship to celebrate students. In a world where students don’t often recognize the incredible value they have, we want to celebrate their uniqueness. Please share the Celebrate You Scholarship with your students. This scholarship is in honor of Nate, one of my previous students who wasn’t able to see his value the way everyone else did. My goal is for all students to know their value.

How do you steer your clients toward the best scholarship solution?

IECs are critical in the scholarship process for students — steering students and parents in the right direction. Scholarships are top priority for students and parents, making it a high priority for every IEC. Having a scholarship strategy can be time consuming for the IEC. Offering a scholarship solution to your clients is critical to recruiting new students and offering a valued resource for current students.

Adding a scholarship solution to your client packages isn’t as difficult as it has been in the past. We have built a solution just for you. Imagine Scholarships has partnered with College Planner Pro to provide IECs an easy-to-implement solution that parents and students love. We are here to make you, the IEC, look good. We’ve taken the guesswork out of the process and provided a simple solution for every IEC at an extremely affordable price through partnership with College Planner Pro.

Imagine Scholarships is the favored option for IECs who want to offer a scholarship solution to their students

Join the upcoming College Planner Pro Webinar to learn more about how you can easily offer this resource to your clients at a 65% discount ($25 per year per student.)

There are several ways to implement this into your business.

1. Pre purchase codes that you offer complimentary to your clients. This can be added to package pricing on the front end and used as a recruiting tool to stand apart from your competition.

2. Pre purchase codes at $25 per code and then resell to your student at a cost that you determine. The retail cost is $150 per year per student.

At Imagine Scholarships, we are here to support IECs. We built our system for you, and we stand with you as you make a difference in the lives of students everyday! We can’t wait to see you on the upcoming webinar. If you’d like to get started sooner or have questions, please email Jennifer@imaginescholarships.com . We can’t wait to be a part of the amazing work you are doing!

Imagine where you can go with a scholarship and a dream!