Sure I’m jealous of my 11th-grade son Ben’s brainiac friend, Nathan. The top-ranked colleges are sending Nathan admission love letters. He’s gotten marketing packets from Harvard, Columbia and Duke. As a result, Nathan’s parents aren’t worried about paying for college.
But here’s the good news for kids like Ben and the other 99 percent of students who don’t exist in Harvard’s orbit. You don’t have to be an “A” student to snag dramatic price cuts from thousands of colleges.
It used to be that only teenagers like Nathan got fat scholarships, but those days are long gone. Today many schools — beyond that elite upper crust — are dispensing institutional scholarships like Tic Tacs.
Here are three way “B” students can win financial awards from great colleges:
1. If they have talent. Is your child an incredible singer? An entrepreneur? A computer wizard? An amazing volunteer? Colleges love these kids because they add to the richness of their campuses.
2. If they can bring geographic diversity. Schools are eager to reward teenagers who live two or three time zones away. That’s one reason why my daughter Caitlin, a Southern California native, is attending college in Pennsylvania.
3. If they are rich. You think I’m kidding? Check out this story I wrote for BusinessWeek on why colleges are eager to award scholarships to affluent teens. You should also read an eye-opening story on this trend, entitled The Best Class Money Can Buy.
A $100,000 Scholarship
If you still believe scholarships are reserved for the Nathans of the world, let me tell you about Madison, who is in our high-school carpool. Madison didn’t ace the SAT — not by a long shot — and I doubt his grades place him near the top 10 percent of his class. He is, however, one of the most interesting teenagers I’ve ever met. He is also a talented musician and was willing to look into liberal arts colleges outside California.
Recently Madison got an acceptance letter to one of those schools — Beloit College in Wisconsin — which is a wonderful institution. And in the envelope was a scholarship worth $100,000. Way to go, Madison!
