A Scholarship Check (Mate)

Do you have some winning moves? The New York Times featured an interesting article on colleges that offer chess scholarships. Because of the perceived link between chess and academic skills--as well as the desire to have a competitive chess team--10 or so colleges nationwide offer such scholarships.

Notable institutions offering chess scholarships include Texas Tech University, University of Maryland at Baltimore County, University of Texas at Dallas, and the University of Connecticut's engineering school. Chess scholarships are part of a larger trend: The majority of colleges in the U.S. offer some type of special scholarship awards for students who excel in art, music, drama, debate, dance, and other talent areas.

Make no mistake, such scholarships can be worth big bucks. For the University of Maryland's program, top chess players are awarded scholarships that cover tuition, room, and board--the equivalent of nearly $70,000 over four years. That, my friends, is a true "check" mate.

Ben Kaplan's picture

A Very Brief Biography

Ben Kaplan is one of the nation's leading experts on college admissions, scholarships, financial aid, educational savings and investing, student success, and youth personal empowerment issues.

He serves as the "mayor" of the City of College Dreams and has authored 12 best-selling books and CDs, including his new instructional DVD, "Finding College Cash in Tough Times."

Comments

#1

How can I get scholarships?

How can I get scholarships?

#2

i need help finding some

i need help finding some good scholarships! i was acceptted to embry riddle in daytona beach and really need help paying for it!

#3

Same here

I am a returning college student getting my Teaching Certificate. I am getting buried in student loans. I need something to pay them down!

#4

How can I find scholarships I can actually get?

I am a college sophmore and I am having trouble paying for school. I currently have a gpa of over 3.0. I have over $40,000 in student loans and I can't get anymore. I would hate to have this much time, effort, and money to have to basically through it away and quit school. I need help and I don't know how to do it.

#5

Need some help with scholarships

I am a senior this year and am on the honor roll at my high school. I am interested in going to college to become a teacher and my finances are very low. Can you please help me get some help with this matter?

#6

where are they

where can i find college scholorships worth applying ffor? is there a good website i should look for?

#7

Need scholarships right away, please

I'm just not understanding. How's it so easy for some to just grab free money and us middle-class (poor finance) everyday working people who's bringing they're children up in the right way, just keep getting doors closed in their face? I thought if I was to let my child get her eduacation in the gifted and talented program in the school system it would help her to get scholarships to make it through college.. WRONG! Well, the school system here only looks out for school board members that don't care about the KIDS and
the superintendent chasing her dreams and just not caring what the student's need when it's time to go to college. I read all kinds of way's to get money for college. Now its time to go to college and we are struggling for loans , which is mostly turn downs or just hav'nt heard from anyone...

#8

where to get scholarships i qualify for?

i am a starting again in college and have just got a acceptence letter to my nursing program, i am now almost 20,000 dollars in student loans and am lost on what to do now. any help would be great on what to do and how to get started.

#9

biology, spanish, chemistry

I am interested in any scholarships for females, minority - African American, biology. I am a pre-med student and need additional financial aid for the Fall.

#10

how can i get the money

How can I get all the money I need to go to 8 to 10 years of college. I am a sophmore in High school and need to start looking now.

#11

Scholarships Please

I am a single mother of 2 boys. I am 32 years of age and I am worried about my mounting student loans. I need to obtain the available scholarships for me. Thanks

#12

Help Please

I am currently a college student going to a community college entering my sophomore year with an 3.0 gpa in a low income family. I would like to like know how do i find aid if i want to go out of state.

#13

Scholarship leads

This is my first year of college, and I will be attending Bethuen Cookman in Daytona Beach, and is in very need of financial support.

#14

Winning Scholarships

If only it were as easy as writing a few essays. Most scholarships have sieves that filter out ohterwise deserving students without looking at the whole person. for example, if you were homeschooled and did not graduate from a high school, you are disqualified from probably 95% of available scholarships.

What if you are like a student I know, started college at age 12, 3.5+ grade point average, but has brain damage which makes writing extremely laborious. He has never gotten a scholarship, not even as a result of a "common" application. He gets filtered right out: parent wrong occupation, wrong ethnic group, wrong grade pint average cut... but the best student in his cohort.

None of them ever look at the whole person.

#15

"Professional Adjustment"

I heard you on the radio recently talking about "professional adjustment" where the financial aid office makes discretionary decisions to fund students with mitigating financial circumstances. Financial aid offices routinely use knowledge of a student's financial situation to award a meritorious but poor student insufficient financial aid as a way to, in effect, nullify an academic acceptance to the university. The practice has a name which i have forgotten, but the magazine, Consumer Reports, did an article about it a couple of years ago.

#16

I need a scholarship fast!

I am 18 and a junior in college and in a lot of debt already are there any scholarships I qualify for?

#17

Scholarships

I am currently a senior in High School and i would like to go to Providence College or Uconn and i need help finding some scholarships. Can any one help. Thanks

h0neii's picture
#18

TRYING TO PREPARE

i am going into my senior year of high school and i want to be set as soon as i graduate. i know my family will not be able to pay for any of my college so how do i find a full scholorship program fit for me?

#19

Need Help

We are looking for scholarship money for our oldest dtr. She is a college freshman. We have 5 other children, and need some help in where and how to look for scholarship money.

#20

Need Help

I am on my last two quarters of completing my bachelor. I have gotten over 30,000 dollars of loans, and working full time and a single parent. I need some money to help me with this quarter I am short of 5,000. I really need a little advise to wear I can go from here.

#21

Scholarships available to young kids with dyslexia

Could you forward to me any information regarding scholarships or financial aid for young high school students with dyslexia. My daughter is an outstanding, hard working student and currently a junior in high school. I feel she may have some difficulties with taking the ACT/SAT entrance exam. I would like to start planning her college career now, with colleges that recognize these special kids.

#22

Scholarship

I am currently attending McDaniel College as a sophomore. I am not receiving any financial aid and did not get any scholarships. I would like to find some scholarships for the next two years to help my family out to pay for my education. What can i do? Where can I find some?

#23

how do i do this

im a 19 yr old that wants something more than just my first option in colleges. I would like my dream option, but these dreams have prices. I would just like to know how and where to find these scholarships.

#24

Scholarships that are not need based

I am a mother of a college sophomore and my daughter was just recently told by her school that she is maxed out on her need based scholarships. So she had to turn down an outside scholarship or have her academic scholarship lowered.
Can you point me in the right direction for scholarships that are not need based or that give the checks directly to the student and not the school?
Thank you.
Becky

#25

Where to Start Looking

I'm a college graduate going back to college pursuing another degree. I found this website and thought this was a good start, but can anyone tell me where you can actually find good scholarships so I don't have to take out so many loans?

#26

Scholarship Website

One site I use to search for scholarships is http://www.Fastweb.com sign up for it is absolutely free and there are thousands upon thousands of scholarships waiting for you

#27

That will be a big help to

That will be a big help to lessen the burden of many students on paying their tuition and miscellaneous fees. In today’s unstable economy, many parents can’t afford to send their children on college because of financial hardship. And to tell you honestly, few students can afford to pay for college without some form of education financing. Education loan also known as the student loan is a form of financial aid that must be repaid with interest. Scholarships, on the other hand, do not have to be repaid. But as of now, many students are getting student loans in order to help them pay their tuition fees. However, they can seriously add to your burden, and are a leading cause of people needing debt relief or looking into bankruptcy. Discharging student loans under bankruptcy is difficult; to do so would require meeting the hardship standard. If they figure into a bankruptcy, most likely the filing would be under Chapter 13, and student loan repayment would be continued. It would also be better to use a payday loan if you come up short on a payment than letting it slip or using a credit card. Also, a great thing to do is to get debt consolidation of your student loans right away.

#28

help i'm looking for scholarships

hey guys i just signed on to this city of college dreams and i'm am looking for help for scholarships. i'm not the smartest guy my gpa is below 2.5 but i still have the determination to go to school. i'm a musician and that is what i want to study. i play guitar and i also want to study sound recording engineering so i can learn how to record music. my problem is i don't know where to start to look for scholarships and i know there are soooo many scholarships.

#29

Some websites that have helped me find them

www.fastweb.com and www.cappex.com The both find the scholarships that are right for you, check them out then sign up for an accont it is free so you'll save money

#30

Finfing a scholarship for a european wanted to study in the US??

When looking for scholarships for my daughter who would like to study in the US, you almost always have to be a US citizen or PR....Are their scholarships available for a Belgian girl(with an IBO in June 2010) who wants to study "Drama"in the US?
All tips and informations are welcome. Thank you

#31

STUDENT LOAN OFFER AS LOW AS 2% INTEREST RATE

Hello,
UNION FINANCIAL HOMES LTD is giving out loans at 3% interest rate for the sake of students. We offer both secured/unsecured loans to people all over the world. Apply for homes loans, business loans, personal loans, student loans, car loans, loans to pay up bills,loan to pay up your depts etc. You can contact us via e-mail... unionfinancialhomes [at] live [dot] com

Please provide us with the following personal information as stated below if interested.
NAME.........ADDRESS..........COUNTRY..........TELL.........LOAN AMOUNT ........LOAN DURATION.........MARITAL STATUS........GENDER..........

We await your response permitting us to do business with you.

Thanks,
UNION FINANCIAL HOMES LTD.,

#32

STUDENT LOAN OFFER AS LOW AS 2% INTEREST RATE

Hello,
UNION FINANCIAL HOMES LTD is giving out loans at 3% interest rate for the sake of students. We offer both secured/unsecured loans to people all over the world. Apply for homes loans, business loans, personal loans, student loans, car loans, loans to pay up bills,loan to pay up your depts etc. You can contact us via e-mail... unionfinancialhomes [at] live [dot] com

Please provide us with the following personal information as stated below if interested.
NAME.........ADDRESS..........COUNTRY..........TELL.........LOAN AMOUNT ........LOAN DURATION.........MARITAL STATUS........GENDER..........

We await your response permitting us to do business with you.

Thanks,
UNION FINANCIAL HOMES LTD.,

#33

Ready to learn and serve

I am a 24 yr old Medical Asst. Im ready to go back to school, bu I also want to enlist into the military. Is there anyone out there taking the same path as me with some words of advice?

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