Never too Early to Plan Ahead

This weekend my DH (darling husband) and I were talking about the years ahead when we will have to pay for my DD (darling daughter) to go to college. Sure, she's only 13, but it's never too early to plan for that huge expense. Things are on track so she doesn't have to face college the way either of us did--working outside jobs to pay for college while attended classes fulltime. But I'm the kind of person who wants her to contribute something, even if she isn't working while attending.

So I spent some time this weekend with the DD looking online at various scholarship opportunities. I googled the words 'scholarship' and 'contest', which provided 1.3 million hits. We surfed through the hits on the first three pages just to get an idea of what's out there. Most of the hits are for essay contests, which is good. (We'll get into Why later.) Some are for odd little things, like making a prom dress out of duct tape. Many are national, and some are local or regional. Most provide financial assistance of some kind, and a few provide some other goodie (like a trip to Space Camp, which would look awesome on a college app and be a 'too cool' experience for any kid).

Also, some scholarship contests are specifically designed for high school seniors, while others allow children of various ages to compete for prize money. (If you can start these things early, think of how well prepared your child will be, and how much greater their chances of success will be.)

The point is: There are so many ways of providing the financial means for college, none of us should have to worry too much. Especially since we are providing a superior education and putting our kids ahead of the public school pack.

I'll be trying to place contest and scholarship info over there on the right as I find it and as it's pertinent. They all have different deadlines, so they may not all be available at any given time. Check back or bookmark the ones you're interested in.

It's never too early to begin preparing.