The NorthStar Narrative
The NorthStar Narrative
Unlock the Secrets to Scholarships for College with Kristi Steele
We are excited to have Kristi Steele back on today! Kristi brings nearly a decade of experience to the table around college admissions. Discover how she has demystified the scholarship process in her course, "Unlock the Secrets to Scholarships for College," tailored for families navigating the intricate financial maze of higher education. Listen as Kristi shares invaluable tips on treating scholarship applications like pivotal investments, encouraging even modest daily efforts for substantial financial returns.
Learn more about Kristi's course here!
Hi, this is Stephanie Schaefer and you're listening to the North Star Narrative, a podcast from North Star Academy. I want to thank you for joining us. I hope you're encouraged, challenged and motivated by what you learned today. Enjoy the story. Hey everybody, thanks for joining me today.
Speaker 1:We have a guest with us that has been here previously in the spring of 2024. Her episode actually aired on April 3rd and you'll definitely want to check that out. This is kind of like a part two with Christy still, but the one in April was navigating the college admission season, so we spent a lot of time talking about questions that a lot of parents and students have, and so you definitely want to check that out. But today we're going to focus on scholarships, which is also super important, and we need all the tips we can get as parents and students. But Christy has created a course Unlock the Secrets to Scholarships for College, and so she's going to give us some tips today and just tell us a little bit about how this course can help you, and maybe you'll want to check it out and enroll. So, christy, thanks so much for joining us again today.
Speaker 2:Thank you. It's so fun to be a part of NSA in such a varied way. I have a lot of students that participate in what you guys do and they they just continually impressed me, not only with their academic rigor, but also just their general knowledge of maturity and growth and progression and maturity. So you guys are doing a great job.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I brag on our students all the time and it's always fun. We have a lot of students come on and we get to highlight all that you just shared about them. All right, so let's jump into scholarships and your course and, yeah, previous podcast. But what makes you qualified to really help parents find the right scholarship for their student?
Speaker 2:for a private Christian university for about almost five years and then now have been an independent counselor for almost five years, and so have almost a decade of parents asking me how do I pay for college? And that's a valid question. I have high schoolers as well as a mom and it's a question that you know all of us are asking how do we do this? And especially this past year, I think, as we really come out of, you know, that COVID bubble that I think you know, for two or three years we all felt I really began to see that I had more opportunities to do financial aid presentations but really felt like I was doing families a disservice by not giving more. And the problem is you can't really give more in like an hour, you know, give time for the presentation and then question and answers, and every family has different circumstances and I know you know probably by and large you as a family, when you're listening, know that. But I think no matter where you are in the world, you kind of feel like there could be some similarities.
Speaker 2:But really financial aid packages don't happen in isolation with universities and so when you talk about money in college, how do you understand that?
Speaker 2:And it is kind of like starting a new job there's a whole different vocabulary and a whole different system to learn.
Speaker 2:So that's really why I started Scholarship Secrets, because after almost a decade of really working with families and that being the one main driver is cost, you know, as an independent counselor I feel like the community that your kids are going to be a part of really should have more precedent than cost.
Speaker 2:But I also understand you can't get to that community unless you understand how you're going to fund it, and so there is a little chicken and egg thing happening there, and so that was the genesis behind why I really looked into this more and felt like families needed more help, because even if you have a great guidance counselor and you guys do Tasha there still are a lot of questions that even she can't answer because they're so unique and expert to your family alone. And so I've taken what I've learned over the last 10 years and then attended, with the changes with FAFSA, a lot of webinars this year on those changes, and I think this year you'll see the release now is pushed to December 1st and I think you'll see a lot of positive things from that. I don't think it'll be hiccup-less, but I do think that families understanding their financial aid position and what that means for them, and just understanding the system of it will really be helpful.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you so much for creating this class and keeping everybody up to date. So if someone enrolls, what are they going to see? How long will it take to go through? What kind of tips Just explain to us, or parents listening, that might be interested.
Speaker 2:Well, as a high school parent myself, I'm very sensitive to the fact that I don't have a lot of extra income. Especially if you have a senior, you're spending a lot of money on applications and test scores and just maybe college visits. It's like you're just already spending a lot of money and also just time. I think anyone listening can identify with the fact that we're just overwhelmed. And so my goal was really to inform in an efficient way. It does not include the kitchen sink. It's a self-paced course that really you could probably finish in a day, like on a Saturday, but also can go further if you want it to, and so you could finish it in a month, you could finish it in six months, you could finish it in a day, but it is self-paced so that you can kind of decide how and when you want to work through it. And then I also tried my best to make it affordable. So it's $97.
Speaker 2:It felt like you know there's a lot of information out there on the web. But really what families, what I? From the questions that I get, stephanie, I felt like families just needed basic answers and just principles to understand how scholarships work, and so the course is laid out in sort of three ways, and that's what you'll see. You can go to the website and see you and see each title of the three sections. And the first section is the system, and that's understanding financial aid and scholarships in the collegiate arena in the US. It is a big beast, and so how do you understand when someone says financial aid, what does that even mean? When someone says scholarship, what does that really mean? And then, after the system understanding the system, then also understanding the secrets how do you find scholarship? What are the secrets to that? And we can talk a little bit more about that.
Speaker 2:And then, thirdly, the strategy. How do I set up my child, or how, as a student, do I set myself up for success, to actually apply and successfully work through getting those scholarships? Because it's not enough to me to tell you the secrets if you don't have a strategy for how to actually follow through. And so there's a workbook included. There's a lot of bonuses included, everything from terms and definitions, all in some 529 insights, also to an entire PDF that includes appeal letter templates. So if you are a family that's overseas and you need help appealing your residency for in-state, if you're here or wherever you are in the world and you've had a major change in your job or a medical situation or just some extenuating circumstances. Then there's different appeal letter templates for those types of situations. So I've tried to really give families what I know you're asking me all the time and have for almost 10 years, and so anything I can do to help make that transition a little bit easier and give you the vocabulary to work has been the goal of the course.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great Really comprehensive and pulling everything together in one spot, so saving parents lots of time, it sounds like.
Speaker 2:So tell us a little bit more about the secrets. One of the things I found with scholarships was really students feeling like there were, you know, sort of some myths around it, and the two main ones are one I make too much money, you know, no one's going to consider me for scholarships. And two and this is really common with a lot of students and it's valid is I don't have time. I don't have 20 hours a week to, you know, try to find some scholarships, and so there's some strategies in there for that. But I think the biggest secret that I've found for scholarships really is specificity, and that's one of the biggest things that you know students look for all these huge, you know $25,000 and there's nothing wrong with that. But really drilling down and really narrowing down with some specifics will really help you identify some scholarships that are good for you as an individual. And when you look at how the financial aid system works, that specificity really is your secret sauce. And that goes with FAFSA, that goes with scholarships within the university, that goes with scholarships that you may look for.
Speaker 2:I mean, I know when I was in high school I was left-handed and I applied for that scholarship. You know just those types of specific things. And, of course, if you know your major, that can be helpful. But you don't really have to know your major. There's a lot of specific scholarships for certain residents of the state. There's specific scholarships sometimes endowed for regions or counties, and then there's also ones for industries that are a little bit broader, like pre-med or pharmacy or psychology. They don't have to be super narrowed down to chemical engineering, although there are those types of things.
Speaker 2:And then I think really understanding whether you know your major or not yourself and that's part of the whole workbook that's included is really identifying those specific things that are for you. That will help you find scholarships. And that's what I love about the whole concept of financial aid is that no matter how many kids you have in your family, they are eligible for different scholarships just because of who they are. Now, some of them may be the same, just based on some basic things like maybe all of your kids are super, you know, academically wired, or maybe all of your kids have love and are participating in community service. Well, there's opportunities there for them. I know I work with a lot of TCKs and I mean there's major shipping companies that have moving scholarships. Well, I mean, that's a secret that students need to be aware of, and that's the kind of thing that really taking a few minutes will help identify those specific things that are good for you great things to think about.
Speaker 1:I know I found out too late about an add scholarship for students that might have ADD anxiety. The state of Mississippi gives bull rides and then once you graduate, they help you find a job and they stay with you until you do and I was like wow. But that may have not been a secret to a lot of Mississippi residents, but it was to me until it was too late for one of my children. All right, do you have any stories? Do you have somebody in particular in mind that has gone through the course and it's really helped them and you've seen them be able to financially make it through college?
Speaker 2:I've had several families. One set of twins really sticks out and of course, you know, as normal with twins, they're very different. You know people, I think a lot of times you're like well, you're identical, therefore everything about you must be and usually that's completely untrue. You know, the twins are like no, there's nothing similar about us, maybe except for our faces. But really helping them identify their unique differentiating factors and helping them do that, and they found a lot of smaller things, unique differentiating factors and helping them do that. And they found a lot of smaller things. And that's kind of the premise of one of. You know, I think that the myths about scholarships is that if you can't secure a $25,000 or a full ride, then that's the end of the story, that's the end of the road. And I'm one that says if you apply for three or four, two, three $5,000 scholarships, I mean if you got three $5,000 scholarships, that's your room and board.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So you know and if you've listened to me for any amount of time, students, you know that I have this theory that if you let's say it's a super hard scholarship application and it takes you an hour, a super hard scholarship application and it takes you an hour because you can reuse your essay, you can kind of tweak some things in your essay and repurpose it for a lot of different scholarship essays, if that's even required. But if you have to do that and say it takes you an hour, and it was a $3,000 scholarship, I will never make $3,000 an hour in my lifetime. I won't. Stephanie probably will, because she's fabulous, but I will not make that kind of money in an hour.
Speaker 2:And so, really, students, you have to sort of picture it as a return on your investment, and I always encourage students, you know, spend 30 minutes a day, don't spend any more time than that on it, because you will burn out and that's not helpful to you and it's not helpful to your parents and it's not helpful to the financial pressure that you may or may not put on yourself.
Speaker 2:And so, really, understanding that there's a limit we all have limits, but also that a little bit of time can yield great things and I think the other important thing that students really need to recognize is that that time you know an hour, maybe two hours, on your college application is also, for a lot of universities, a scholarship application, and so filling out your activities, filling out those optional questions, you know, why do you want to come to ABC University? What do you value about XYZ University those kinds of questions really do help add in the money that is potentially there. Is it going to be a full ride? Maybe not, but having that extra two $3,000 makes a huge difference and I think understanding those specific things for you and then your ability to search well and apply for those things will only help you really piece together those things for students to really be able to fund their college experience well.
Speaker 1:Definitely can be overwhelming if you think of it as a whole, but just breaking it down in little steps, everyone can do it, and especially with your help. I know you have many more resources that you've shared with us before, but tell us where everyone can find the course and maybe some other of your main resources.
Speaker 2:You can go to kc360.coco. So kc360.co, and there's a button at the top that just says start navigating, and you can navigate whatever fits best for you, and there's several options there for you. There's some free options, and I think you know what I've learned over the years as a mom, but also just as a counselor, is that every family needs something different at a different point in time, and so if you feel like you need something different than your best friend or your neighbor or your cousin, that's okay. Your situation is going to be different. Every student that you have is going to be different.
Speaker 2:If you are not interested in doing, or you're not close to a senior year point yet, you can listen to the KC360 podcast for free, and I try my best to give admission tips and tricks in 15 minutes or less, because I do feel like, again, we're just overwhelmed.
Speaker 2:And so taking those concepts out and really chunking them down into smaller pieces is only going to help all of us, including your students, because they, for the most part, are working really hard during the day, and so adding in something else that they're going to probably sit in front of the computer for is a really hard ask, and so having those motivators for them and sit down and have those conversations with them. You know, honey, this is how much we can financially give $500, a year or zero. But helping your student understand a year or zero, but helping your student understand, you know I will need to make that. $5,000 an hour is really helpful so that they understand from an expectation standpoint, and then other resources that are in place for them just to help them understand that it can be less overwhelming and less anxiety driven. There is an option for that.
Speaker 1:Really good, so definitely want to check out Christy's website this course, her podcast and, most importantly, lots of prayer, praying for God to guide you and yeah, it can be really scary, overwhelming choices, but he always shows his path and I'm sure you've seen that in many families.
Speaker 2:He does and he provides in really creative ways, and I love that about the whole process and I think it's really a great opportunity for your students to witness that.
Speaker 2:So don't delay that opportunity for them, you know, really allow them to walk through that opportunity with them so that they can see the creative provisions. And, of course, that doesn't mean we don't do anything. I think a lot of families and students especially think if I go to college, I shouldn't have to work for it. But we're created to work and we're created to do things and that's why I encourage students to, if they're going to look at college versus, like you know, a trade school or an apprenticeship, make sure it's something that you really enjoy, that you want to get up for in the morning. If you don't like microbiology, that's probably not the major for you and you will not get up in the morning for class and you will not be motivated to go. But if there is a major that you really enjoy, talk to those professors and spend time at you know, virtual college fairs if you can't go, or college visits, so that the money that you're spending is an investment in you as much as it is in your academics.
Speaker 1:Good. Well, thank you so much for joining us again and sharing, and if you're listening today, I know you probably know someone to pass this podcast on to as well. So please share the North Star narrative. We try to have lots of information for you to help you along your journey and definitely share about Christy's course. Thank you, christy. Thank you, thank you so much for listening today. If you have any questions for our guest or would like information about Northstar, please email us. At podcast at NSA dot school, we love having guests on our show and getting to hear their stories. If you have anyone in mind that you think would be a great guest to feature, please email us and let us know. And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on upcoming stories.