Parents are failing to save for their children's university courses, says a survey.

Scholarship Success Step One.

Find out where the sources of scholarships are. Some examples are scholarships given by the government, including federal or state governments. Another source would be from the actual school itself. Sometimes, there are bursaries available, which are based more on financial need than on merit. If you have any questions at all about the scholarship, do not hesitate to contact the person managing the scholarship.

Try to also gage if the scholarship is coming from a reliable source because it is possible that there are scam scholarships out there, so beware. Just remember don't give scholarships any financial information such as your bank account information or credit card number.

Scholarship Success Step Two.

Determine which scholarships you are eligible to apply for by carefully reading their eligibility requirements, and keep track of their websites or save their forms so that you can fill them out later. The sooner you do this the better because different scholarships have different deadlines, so you will need to prepare your file, such as reference letters or transcripts, accordingly. So remember also to take a note of the deadline so that you start preparing for it a month or two before it is due.

Choose to apply to as many scholarships that you think you will have a good chance of getting and perhaps don't apply to ones where you will have a slim chance. If the information is available, try to determine the number of people who applied in the last competition versus the number of people who got the scholarship.

Scholarship Success Step Three.

Read the instructions carefully before filling out the scholarship application form. Be as complete and thorough as possible when filling it out. Check spelling and grammatical errors. If a friend or relative has time, ask them to double check the application for you. Remember to include extra materials such as reference letters or transcripts as required. Also don't wait until the last day to submit it. If submitting online, it is best to do it at least one day before in case there is too much of a demand for their servers on the day of the deadline.

Scholarship Success Step Four.

Do the extra activities required for each scholarship. Some scholarships school marks, some stress leadership, others stress community service, and still others emphasize athletic performance, so do emphasize your strong points in the area that they are looking for. That's another advantage of looking up the eligibility requirements of scholarships earlier because you will have a feeling as to what types of scholars they would like to support.

Even though marks may not be an important factor in the scholarship, it always helps to keep your school marks high in case they do become a factor.

Have a great day and God bless!

Savings Gap for College Parents

Parents are failing to save for their children's university courses, says a survey.

And they are underestimating how much a three years degree course is likely to cost.

Money problems also mean that students are taking term-time jobs, with another survey saying that more than half students are now working.

This is affecting their studies, as over 40% say they have missed lectures because of their jobs.

With students returning for the new university year, a survey suggests that many parents are failing to prepare for the financial pressures ahead.

The survey, from the Abbey National bank, found a third of parents are not yet saving for university costs - which the bank says is now going to be about £22,500.

Unprepared

This figure could be bad news for many parents - as the bank's survey says that a third of families are under the impression that they will only have to pay less than £10,000, with another quarter expecting to pay less than £20,000.

Only a tenth of parents are aware that the full cost is likely to be in excess of £20,000.

These figures apply to students now starting university - and the financial outlook is even tougher for those with young children - with forecasts that by 2020 university expenses will have reached £34,000.

In another survey, from NatWest bank, it appears that the number of students with part-time jobs is increasing - with 53% reporting that they are working, up from 48% last year.

This increase in work reflects the deepening levels of debt - up to an average of over £8,000, with more than a quarter of students owing more than £10,000.

Without working, three-quarters of students say they could not be able to financially survive through university, although 43% said that they had missed lectures because of their jobs.

And the survey found that six out of ten students believed that the current tuition fees system is not fair.

Have a great day and God bless!