SCHOLARSHIP PLANNING

MountTaborHigh School

2016-17 School Year

As MountTaborHigh School seniors, this information about financial aid and scholarships will help you search for, apply for, and make decisions about scholarship and other financial aid opportunities to help pay the cost of attending a college or university.

Financial aid for college is generally referred to as NEED-BASED or MERIT-BASED.

Need-based financial aid is awarded to students based on the income and other financial information about the home where the student resides. Students and parents/guardians must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine eligibility for most need-based financial aid (. A good resource for students and parents to understand financial aid is studentaid.ed.gov. Some colleges and universities also require the CSS/Financial Aid Profile (register at or their own institutional form to determine eligibility for nonfederal financial aid.

Merit-based financial aid is awarded to students on the basis of merit, such as scholastic success, athletic and artistic ability/talent, or community service-related achievement. There are many resources that students and families can use to access information about merit-based financial aid, usually referred to as scholarships.

SOURCES OF SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

  1. MountTaborHigh School Scholarship Update (about every two weeks)
  2. Colleges and Universities (check web sites and publications)
  3. Student Financial Aid for North Carolinians(
  4. Winston-Salem Foundation at
  5. Crosby Scholars Program at
  6. College/Scholarship Search Web Sites
  7. (over 600,000 scholarships)
  8. (North Carolina scholarship and grant information)
  9. (high-achieving, low income students)
  10. Employers of parent/guardian or you
  11. Local organizations, such as churches or civic organizations
  12. Military (ROTC and MilitaryAcademy Scholarships)
  13. Athletic Grants-in-Aid
  14. Essay Contests
  15. National Merit Scholarship Corporation scholarships

SEEKING A NOMINATION FOR A SCHOLARSHIP

Frequently, scholarship opportunities will require that you receive or request a nomination or an endorsement from a high school counselor. Here are ways for you to make this request:

  1. If you want to apply for a scholarship which requires a nomination or endorsement but does not limit the number of nominations, simply contact your counselor. The nomination may require that your counselor complete and sign a form or write a recommendation, or an endorsement may simply require your counselor’s signature. You may need to meet certain criteria to receive the nomination. If the nomination requires a recommendation, please submit a Senior Profile and Resume at the beginning of the school year or before the deadline for the nomination you are seeking.
  1. Most scholarships that require a nomination limit the number of nominations from each school. Therefore, the MountTaborHigh School scholarship committee will determine which seniors are nominated or selected to apply. The Scholarship Update will indicate the process for requesting consideration for a scholarship that limits the number of nominations. In general, your Senior Profile, Resume, and transcript will be evaluated by the scholarship committee. Early in your senior year, you should submit your Senior Profile and Resume to the Guidance Office (or your senior English teacher). When you are seeking a nomination for a particular scholarship, you will complete the Scholarship Nomination Request (available on scholarship rack) and place it in the scholarship bin outside Mr. Huck’s office.

To make the process of requesting scholarship nominations easier for you as additional scholarships are added to the Scholarship Update throughout the school year, please prepare the following documents and turn them in to the Guidance Office or your senior English teacher in September:

RESUME (info and samples can be found at

Include:Statement of future plans, such as college major or career

Extracurricular activities and leadership positions

Athletic participation

Summer experiences

Community service

Employment

Anything that makes you stand out

SENIOR PROFILE

Once your Senior Profile and Resume are received in the Guidance Office, you will only need to complete a SCHOLARSHIP NOMINATION REQUEST FORM (found on the scholarship rack in the Guidance Office) to be considered for the scholarship nomination you are seeking.

We do not encourage students paying a fee for scholarship information and searches.