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Grants and Scholarships
Start smart by seeking out no-cost funds for college.
Fast Breaks for Female Athletes
Women's athletic scholar
ships are big news on cam
puses these days.
At more than 580 schools,
in sports ranging from bas
ketball at Old Dominion to
riflery at Eastern Kentucky
University to rodeo at Daw
son Community College in
Montana, talented female
athletes are finding that play
means pay. UCLA alone will
offer 80 female athletes close
to $140,000 in scholarship
money this year—five times
the amount available four
years ago.
Competition is keen for
the awards, which range in
value from about $700 to full
tuition and room and board.
Though many women’s pro
grams recruit scholarship re
cipients directly from high
school, most schools reserve
awards for proven perform
ers—women with one or more
years of varsity experience.
Walk-ons—women who de
cide to compete in a sport
after they reach college-
can try for scholarships by
finding out from the athletic
department what money is
available in their sport, or
by making a team and per
forming well. For more de
tailed information on wom
en’s scholarship opportuni
ties in college athletics, write
for a copy of the Women’s
Sports Foundation College
Scholarship Guide, available
from the foundation at 195
Moulton St., San Francisco,
Calif. 94123. Include $1 for
postage and handling.
Best Bets
For the Brightest
In an effort to keep top-
quality students and com
pete with schools charging
lower tuitions, an increasing
number of colleges are offer
ing attractive grants and
scholarships based on cri
teria other than financial
need.
A survey taken in 1977 by
the College Board found that
64 percent of schools sur
veyed gave these “no-need”
grants, which averaged $971
per year. Private schools with
large endowments are most
likely to offer this type of
scholarship, with small,
church-affiliated schools run
ning a close second.
A booklet entitled The A’s &
R’s of Academic Scholarships
lists nearly 600 institutions
which provide full and par
tial tuition scholarships re
gardless of financial status.
You can get a copy by sending
$2 to Octameron Associates,
Dept. A, P.O. Box 3437, Alex
andria, Va. 22302.
Basic Grants:
The Uncle Sam Connection
The federal government calls them Basic Educational Oppor
tunity Grants, and that’s what they are: basic, the founda
tion for paying for a college education.
The new Middle Income Student Assistance Act, passed
by Congress last fall, makes 2.7 million students eligible for
BEOGs this year—about one million more than last year. In
general, a student whose family income is $25,000 or less
can expect to share in the $1.5 billion allocated for BEOGs,
though most financial aid officers say it doesn’t hurt to
apply even if you are unsure of your eligibility. Awards
range from $200 to $1,800, with the average expected to be
$916 this year.
There’s still time to get a grant covering this school year.
You’ve got until March 15, 1980 to apply!
To get a BEOG:
• You must be an undergraduate enrolled at least half-time.
• You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• You must qualify for aid based on a government formula.
The formula uses information about your income and your
family’s income and assets, as reported on a BEOG
application or on one of four other forms. There’s no cost to
apply.
About six weeks after application, you’ll receive a Student
Eligibility Report (SER) listing an eligibility index number
and a rough estimate of how much your grant will be. Your
school computes the actual amount of your award based on
the index number and your college expenses. Grants are
paid directly by check or are deducted from your tuition bill.
Supplemental
Grants
The federal government’s
Supplemental Educational
Opportunity Grants (SEOGs)
are intended for students who
wouldn’t be able to stay in
school without them.
Awarded by financial aid
offices on the basis of ex
ceptional need, the grants
range from $200 to $1,500 a
year, with a $4,000 limit over
four years. More than 3,000
colleges and universities par
ticipate in this program, a-
warding over $333 million
this year directly to students
who qualify.
Undergraduates who re
ceive SEOGs must be en
rolled at least half-time. Grad
uate students are not eligible.
If your school awards you an
SEOG, it must provide addi
tional aid at least equal to
the amount of your grant.
Contact your financial aid
office for application mater
ials and further information.
6 INSIDER