Yes, there are coupons today
I read a tweet from another blogger yesterday who was absolutely certain there would be no Sunday newspaper coupons today because it’s a holiday weekend.
Yes, it is true that there normally are no coupons on holiday weekends. This is President’s Day weekend. There were no coupons in the paper on President’s Day weekend in 2009.
But guess what? There is a RedPlum coupon packet in my copies of the Detroit Free Press and The Monroe Evening News today.
I know some bargain-seekers want coupon reports in advance because they can’t be bothered to buy a Sunday newspaper unless there are coupons.
However, people, you need to get those coupon reports from reliable sources such as the P&G e-mail newsletter. Second-hand sites and blogs are not reliable sources unless those writers tell you where their information came from. Those coupon schedules that float around the Internet are not always accurate. I’ve caught discrepancies before on what was “supposed” to be in the newspapers vs. what the coupon companies actually did on the specified dates.
I give my coupon reports based on the newspapers that LAND ON MY FRONT PORCH in the 48162 zip code in Monroe, Mich.
Now, you’ve heard me say this before, and I will say it again: if you want a newspaper to help you save money, you have to look way beyond the coupons. The obvious detail is that you need to match the coupons to the supermarket and drugstore sales fliers.
The less obvious detail is you need to read the news sections of the newspaper to find the money-saving local public service announcements such as community information expos, food pantries that are opening up, and scholarship application notices. Yes, you will find notices like that in the print edition of almost every daily or weekly newspaper across the country. (Local readers in Monroe, Mich.: It’s my job to get those notices listed in The Monroe Evening News.)
Now if you insist that all you want from the newspapers are the coupons, I have a better idea: Beg for leftover coupons from your friends and neighbors who are regular newspaper subscribers.
Based on what I see in the coupon hand-me-down network that I’m involved in, leftovers are a more reliable source of coupons than following second-hand reports of what days “the good coupons” will be in the newspaper.
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Scholarship chat 7 p.m. Dec. 30
The following article is on page 3A of today’s edition of The Monroe Evening News and at monroenews.com. (Do you know how WEIRD it is to write about myself in third person?!)
If a student in your family will be attending college during the 2010-11 academic year, now is the time to prepare for the scholarship application season.
While applications can be accepted throughout the year, depending on sponsors’ schedules, the peak application season for many scholarships won by local students is in January and February. That schedule overlaps with when the need-based federal and college financial aid applications also are due.
Evening News reporter Paula Wethington has a daughter who is a junior in college. Her family has worked through both the scholarship process and the financial aid application process to help with those expenses.
During the past couple of weeks, Ms. Wethington has updated and added to her collection of tips and links on how and where southeast Michigan students can find college funds at her blog, “Monroe on a Budget.” You’ll find the blog at www.blogsmonroe.com/budget; the button to start at is “College Planning and Financing” at www.blogsmonroe.com/budget/college-planning-and-financing.
The newest resources on the budget blog include:
- A timeline for applying for financial aid and scholarships for the 2010-11 academic year.
- Scholarship essay writing tips.
- A scholarship application organizer chart.
- An example of a typical scholarship application that local students fill out.
- What’s happening to the endowed scholarship funds.
Ms. Wethington also is co-hosting a chat with Craig Kessler of Budget Pulse from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday on Twitter. Mr. Kessler runs a weekly personal finance discussion series on Twitter, and this week’s theme will be college scholarships.
Anyone can read Twitter posts on the Internet or via a wireless phone with text message capability, but to participate in the discussion you’ll need to sign up for a free account at twitter.com. After you have an account, follow the screen names @monroeonabudget and @budgetpulse. The Twitter hashtag for this discussion will be #bp.
Continue reading Scholarship chat 7 p.m. Dec. 30 …
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Scholarship essay tips at ScholarshipHelp.org
Does that scholarship application have an essay requirement?
Don’t panic. Students can write those essays while parents are assisting with other details such as compiling requested family financial data, or searching for leads beyond what the student has already found at the high school counselor and college financial aid offices.
The ScholarshipHelp.org site has an excellent article with examples on Scholarship Essay Recommendations.
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From Monroe on a Budget.
FreSch: A scholarship application organizer
Are you or your student confused by overlapping scholarship applications and requirements?
If you’re not confused yet, you certainly might be in a few weeks when application season goes into full swing for the 2010-2011 academic year!
The Free Scholarship Search web site has a spreadsheet scholarship organizer page that you can print off or download for free to help you stay organized.
(Further tip: When my daughter was a high school senior, she and I used a stack of manila envelopes and folders to keep her notices and application paperwork organized.)
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From Monroe on a Budget.
Scholarship databases: are they worth your time?
It sounds so easy to search for scholarships on line. All you have to do is fill out a profile about you or your student, and a web site will match you up with scholarships that you qualify for.
The annoying truth is that it’s not that easy.
My daughter is currently a junior in college. We’ve been keeping our eyes open for scholarship money since she was a junior in high school.
While today’s online scholarship databases are a convenience, I have not been impressed with the scholarship information I’m finding on the web. I have seen bad links, expired programs still listed as active, and downright bad matches such as programs that were intended for students in other states.
Keep in mind that a scholarship databases can only provide you with information on which foundation or grant agency has the money to offer, along with some preliminary rules. You still have to fill out the individual applications, submit transcripts, provide reference letters, meet all the deadlines involved … and then wait a few weeks or months to see if you won the award.
That’s why I want you first to focus your attention on notices and applications that are on file at your high school counselor’s office and at your college’s financial aid office.
Based on the scholarship award announcements that I have seen sent to The Monroe Evening News over the years, many of the scholarships that southeast Michigan students actually get are written specifically for those who attend a specific high school, live or work in a specific community, who work for or whose parents work for a specific employer, or who are enrolling / currently enrolled in a specific college.
If you were a scholarship foundation board member, where would you send a scholarship application notice if you intended the money to go to students who live in a specific community or attend a specific school?
Answer: You’d hand carry or mail that application packet to the intended school office. So think like a foundation board member, and go find where those notices are posted or filed at your high school and college.
The next resource to check with are the employers, union locals and community organizations that the college student and his or her parents are affiliated with. Yes, there are civic clubs and foundations who sponsor scholarships for any eligible person who lives in their communities. I’ve typed up a lot of those notices for the newspaper. But many groups also target any available scholarship money toward their own employees, members and families. My daughter has won two such awards. Go to the human resources office or contact your club or union president to get that information.
Now, as you or a family member has the time, you may want to expand your search. In fact, I was the one poking around the Internet while my daughter was following up on the leads at school and writing her essays.
If you want to do that, here are some of the databases that Michigan colleges such as Monroe County Community College and Michigan State University, and Michigan.gov’s scholarship search page, are referring students to:
- Fastweb.
- NextStudent.
- Sallie Mae’s scholarship search.
- International Scholarships.
- Mapping Your Future.
- United Negro College Fund.
- College Board.
- Petersons.
- Student Aid on the Web.
The FinAid web site, which I’ve frequently linked to because the site is so helpful for current and prospective college students, also has scholarship database tips in addition to a link to its scholarship search page.
Bottom line: the scholarship databases will only be worth your time if you follow up on the school and employer leads first.
Continue reading Scholarship databases: are they worth your time? …
From Monroe on a Budget.
Where are Michigan students finding scholarships?
I am working on an online project later this month where the topic will be how to find college scholarships and keep up with the application details. The timing is appropriate because scholarship application season goes into full swing starting in January for current high school seniors.
Details will be announced later, but in preparation for this effort, I’d like to hear stories from families who currently have a student in college whether adult or traditional student age. I especially want to hear from those of you who live in southeast Michigan, where my blog is based.
Here are some questions that will help me out:
- A lot of you Michigan families were counting on the Michigan Promise Grant. Where are you looking now for college funding?
- Where will / did the actual scholarship awards that your college student receive come from?
- What are some things you wish you knew before seeking out / applying for scholarships?
- How did you keep organized with the reference letters, resume details, essay questions, financial need documents and deadlines?
Now … a word to you who are scholarship database site hosts: You might learn something about your audience by watching this discussion, but this is not a pitch opportunity for you. If southeast Michigan families have successfully landed money with the help of a scholarship database, I want to hear from those families directly.
Feel free to make a post here if you have helpful information, or e-mail me at paula@monroenews.com.
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Nazareth Association scholarship taking applications
The Monroe Evening News has been sent this press release from the Nazareth Association:
Kalamazoo, MI – The Nazareth Association is offering two $1,000 scholarships to undergraduate students who will be a junior or senior attending a Catholic college or university during the 2010-2011 academic year.
Applicants must be full time students and maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA. The application process includes the submission of the Nazareth Association scholarship application, a list of collegiate and extra-curricular activities, all undergraduate transcripts, completion of an essay stating the applicants’ educational and career goals, and three letters of recommendation. The deadline for the scholarship application is March 15, 2010.
The Nazareth Association is comprised of alumni, friends, and benefactors dedicated to the tradition and mission of Nazareth College, Barbour Hall, Nazareth Academy and the Borgess/St. Camillus/St. Joseph Schools of Nursing.
The scholarship program is intended to support students at Catholic colleges and universities that reflect a purpose and philosophy similar to those institutions.
For further information on the scholarship program, interested persons should contact the Nazareth Association office at (269) 342-1191.
If you are seeking scholarship money and are one of my local readers in Monroe County, Mich., pay close attention to the Classroom Page of The Monroe Evening News during the next two to three months. That page runs on Thursdays and features school news. The Classroom Page is also where my co-workers and I put scholarship announcements such as this one that the foundations and sponsors are asking to be put in the newspaper.
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Military Children Scholarship application season opens
The 2010 Scholarships for Military Children application process has begun.
This is one of the few military scholarships that children of reserve and guard families qualify for. You don’t have to live on or near a military base, although the application process is handled through the commissaries such as the one at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan.
If the child is a registered military family dependent in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, has a current military ID card, has a grade point average of 3.0 or better, and plans to attend college on a full-time basis, he or she can apply. My daughter won one of the 2007 scholarships from this program (Her father / my ex-husband serves in the Army Reserves.)
CinCHouse.com has the details or go to the scholarship page at MilitaryScholar.com
Continue reading Military Children Scholarship application season opens …
From Monroe on a Budget.