CLOSE-UP

Several authorities
recommend .. .
sending as many of
one's children as
possible to college
at the same time.

1.,111./

II i.tr A

4Ann

As with merit-based scholarships, much
of the money comes from college en-
dowments and private organizations. In
addition to checking with the college of his
or her choice, a student in search of finan-
cial aid should consult one of the many
books that list scholarship-granting agen-
cies. While every public library contains a
full shelf of such volumes, the best are pro-
bably S. Norman Feingold's Scholarships,
Fellowships, and Loans and Robert
Leider's Your Own Financial Aid Factory.
In addition, the Scholarship Search
Company, a New York-based computer
bank, maintains data on most available
scholarships. In exchange for a hefty pro-
cessing fee and a completed application,
Scholarship Search prepares a list of grants
and awards for which the applicant may be
eligible. The process takes about two weeks
and results, according to the company
director, in about 90 percent of all ap-
plicants getting in touch with five or more
sources of money. Students should be
aware, however, that the Scholarship
Search Company and its many clones
charge that hefty fee to do exactly what
a student can do for himself in a weekend
visit to the public library.
The State of Michigan offers need-based
scholarships for full-time undergraduate
study to deserving Michigan residents, but
all of the money must remain within the
state. The Michigan Competitive Scholar-
ship program, for example, grants up to
$1,200 for public colleges and universities
and to $2,400 for private schools per year,
with both based on need and American Col-
lege Testing (ACT) scores. Another pro-
gram, the Michigan Tuition Grant pro-
gram, is based solely on need and offers up
to $2,400 for study at private, non-profit
Michigan undergrad schools.
The state also offers five other programs,
three financed by the state but granted by
the schools, and two federally financed. Of
those two, one is awarded by high schools,
the other by the state.
All of the programs are available through
the Student Financial Assistance Services
department of the Michigan Department of
Education in Lansing.
These days, the basis for all financial
assistance is the U.S. Government's Pell
Grant program. Like Social Security, Pell
Grants operate as an entitlement program.
That means that the government has set
no ceiling on the amount of funds
available; every student who meets the
financial eligibility requirements is
guaranteed assistance.
Most colleges will not consider a student
for any form of financial aid until he or she
has first claimed the Pell entitlement. Even
if a student knows in advance that his
family income exceeds the Pell limits and
that he cannot qualify for a grant, he must
still apply and receive a rejection letter
from the government before his college will
kick in a dime. Every high school counselor