(NAPSA)—Theprice tag for a higher education can be anywhere from $2,000 to over $20,000 per year, with tuition increasing 11 percent annually. Many American families are feeling a strain when they may be eligible for financial support. A recent Careerbuilder.com survey of parents of college-bound students found 25 percent assumed their child wouldn’t qualify for a scholarship. Another 38 percent said they weren't sure. Only eight percent applied for a scholarship in the last year. The most frequently cited reasons for not applying—high family income, low G.P.A. and test scores and lack of minority status—reveal popular misconceptions about how scholarships are awarded. Here is the truth behind these myths: MYTH: Our family income is too high. The belief that scholarships are only awarded on the basis of financial need is a common mistake. Colleges nationwide offer various merit-based scholarships to entice qualified students to enroll. Sixty-seven percent of national and 73 percent of schoolspecific scholarships are merit based, providing opportunities for families of all income levels to gain additional aid for their child’s academic, athletic, musical and extracurricular accomplishments. MYTH: Mychild’s G.P.A. and test scores are too low. Somescholarships do require a minimum G.P.A., but this minimum can be as low as a 2.0 (ora C average). Others don’t impose any minimum academic marks. Scholarship committees rarely look at SATs and transcripts alone. They There is more than $25 billion in scholarships and grants offered in the U.S. each year. also weigh a student’s extracurricular activities, written essay, letters of recommendation, community service, and other skills and talents. MYTH: Mychild won’t get a scholarship because he/she is not a minority. There is more than $25 billion in scholarships and grants offered in the United States each year, with $2 billion added annually. While some financial support is dedicated to helping minorities, other support exists for nearly every type of student, regardless of race or ethnic background. To find scholarships your child may qualify for, head to the Web. Scholarship search sites such as FindTuition.com enable students to quickly locate national, state and school-specific scholarships based on need, merit, major, religion, parents’ employers, activities and more. There are also special athletic search options that include everything from Alpine skiing to water polo. For more information, visit www.findtuition.com.
