Let's face it, you're looking for a way to get the college admission's officer to sit up and take notice of your application. When you apply to college there are five pieces to the puzzle: your GPA, SAT scores, college essay, references and extracurricular activities. You should examine each of these areas and develop a strategy to improve them, we encourage you to do that. However, it has been our experience that you can get the greatest return by working on your extracurricular activities. By using some creativity and persistence, we can show you how to create and build your resume that makes you a contender for regional and national scholarships. Although many of these scholarships can have over 100,000 applicants, there are techniques and strategies that can place you ahead of the pack.
Here are some tips:

Start building your resume early (Freshman year of high school is not too soon to begin exploring opportunities).

• Get involved in a lot of activities outside of school.
• Look for an area that's meaningful to you and for a way to make a contribution that is uniquely yours.
• Engage others to help you in your actions. Ask for advice, suggestions and help.
• Be persistent. Success rarely comes easily, but for those who keep at it, it will find you.
• Shout out your successes. If you don't trumpet your accomplishments, how will people know about them.

If you want to get advice, tips and a list of scholarships, sign up for our newsletter. Just send an email to ScholarshipMentor(at)gmail.com. Don't wait until you fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) in the senior year to be disappointed with the limited amount of federal student loans or financial aid you will receive. There are many college scholarships available, this is grant money that doesn't need to be paid back, but you need to be prepared. The Bill Gates Scholarship (officially called Gates Millennium Scholars program) which provides financial aid to minority students with high academic credentials and leadership promise, is one example. For those who do well on the PSAT/NMSQT, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation provides both recognition and scholarships. No matter who you are or what your family income level is, there is a scholarship for you.

This website also provides a great deal of information on paying for college. Not every student will get a scholarship, but there are hundreds of ways to reduce the cost of college. Look at the many resources of this website and subscribe to the newsletter to get help making a college education a reality.