The following list contains scholarship notices that are sent to Cheverus. See your Guidance Counselor for more information, or visit the website associated with the scholarship. International students, please visit this site.

DO NOT PAY for someone to file the FAFSA for you, or to locate scholarships for you. There is free help available at your college's financial aid office, on the web, in Guidance and College Advising Offices, and at FAME (Finance Authority of Maine).   

Deadlines Vary for the following scholarships

• Maine Community Foundation: http://www.mainecf.org/scholarships.aspx. Check the scholarships labeled "Available statewide" and those for your county. Visit the For Students section of our web site for a financial aid glossary, financial aid links, and instructions for submitting a quality scholarship application.
• Long list of quirky scholarships Paying for College 
• UNE provides a long list of external scholarships and more on their website.(not for UNE students only)
• Many scholarships listed here http://www.studentscholarships.org/helpjohnny.php, www.fastweb.com and http://www.collegegrantsandscholarships.net/scholarships-for-high-school-seniors/
• The American Legion offer a variety of scholarships. Their oratorial scholarship program is a constitutional speech contest.
• FAME Maine offers a list of scholarships for Maine students and a searchable database of scholarships.
• Daughters of the American Revolution National Society Scholarships. Various scholarships. 

UPCOMING DEADLINES 

Colleges often offer scholarships, sometimes in the form of merit money, to admitted students. Often, it's a combination of grades and test scores that secure a scholarship, or volunteerism or athletics. Be sure to investigate if a separate scholarship application is required. Sometimes, an admissions application is all that is required. Here are some examples.

Criteria: graduation from a Catholic high school

1. Anna Maria College-New England Catholic High School Scholarship: $15,000 per year for four years.
2. Regis College Presidential Catholic Scholarship: Full tuition for 4 years, must have 3.5gpa and be nominated by High School Principal.
3. St Michael's College of Vermont Edmundite Scholarship offers $5,000 per year for four years at St Michael's.

Criteria: graduation from a Jesuit high school

1. All 28 Jesuit colleges'merit scholarships are here. Not all require graduation from a Jesuit high school.
2. Loyola Chicago's Jesuit Heritage Award and Marquette's offer a half-tuition scholarship to one Cheverus senior each year, for their 4 years at Loyola or Marquette. A separate scholarship application to Marquette is required. See Guidance or Cheverus College Advising to be nominated for the Loyola half-tuition scholarship (3.5, 24 ACT or 1090 SAT CR+M required).
3. LeMoyne College Ignatian Scholarship offers $15,000 per year for four years. No separate app required.

Criteria: graduation from Cheverus high school

Attending UMO? There is a scholarship for one Cheverus graduate who will attend UMO, the Nanovic Scholarship. Separate application required.

Criteria: a certain major

1. STEM Major (science, tech, engineering, math) at USM Pioneers Scholarship
2. UMaine Orono - full tuition Pulp & Paper Scholarship for engineering majors who are aware of and open to pulp & paper careers.
3. Cooperative Education Scholarshipat one of the 7 Co-Op Colleges (Drexel, Johnson & Wales, Kettering, Wentworth, RIT, U of Cincinnati, U of Toledo)
4. Latin Majors: a full, 4-year scholarship to John Carroll University (Jesuit, Ohio) 
5. Physics Majors at Marietta College (Ohio) can compete for an $18,000 award.

Criteria: High Achievers

1. Boston University Trustee Scholarship requires a separate application & nomination from High School Principal.
2. Northeastern's top merit award is $20,000 (& several Cheverus seniors earned it).
3. Stonehill's top merit award is $18,000 (& several Cheverus seniors earned it).
4. WPI's top merit award is $20,000 for #1 in the class.
5. USM: Presidential Scholarship, $5,000. See Guidance for nomination form.
6. UMO: top 5 in class rank earns the highest merit money amount of $8,000. No separate app required.
7. University of Toledo Presidential Scholarship if 3.8GPA, 30 ACT or 1340 SAT (CR+Math): full tuition, room and board for all 4 years.
8. Seton Hall: 27 ACT or 1200 SAT (CR+Math) and top 10% of their high school class gets reduced tuition.

Criteria: student from Maine or New England

1. College of Idaho Visionary Scholars Program offers a $10,000 scholarship to students of New England who are admitted with a 3.0 gpa and 22 ACT or 1030 CR+M SAT score.
2. University of Kansas Non Resident Renewable Scholarships: KU Excellence Award of $9300/yr if 3.5 GPA and 28 ACT or 1250 SAT (CR+Math).

Criteria: participation in the Junior Achievement Program

Did you participate in the JA Program at Cheverus? Some colleges offer scholarships at their school.

Get all your questions about filing the FAFSA answered with the experts, FAME Maine. Come to Loyola Library at 6pm on Monday November 5, 2012. All families should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, even if you think you won't qualify. If circumstances change, you've already filed the one required form, and sometimes colleges ask for the FAFSA when awarding merit aid. Most colleges want it filed in January or February, and it only becomes available on January 1 each year.

FAME Maine performs lots of outreach like this to help families navigate the often-confusing financial aid process. They will not try to sell you anything.

Couldn't make it to FAFSA Night? Get the notes here.

The least expensive way to earn a college degree is to begin at community college, spend 1-2 years there, then transfer to the university or college of your choice to complete your bachelor's degree.

The next least expensive way to earn a college degree is to enroll in your in-state university and earn the degree in 4 years or less. See if you can test out of any courses or apply your AP Exam credit to any courses to shorten your stay at college. (the $90 you pay for an AP exam is much less expensive than an intro course at college that can cost thousands of dollars!)

Want to get out of Maine? New England state universities offer a tuition break program for some majors. You won't pay as low as in-state tuition, but you won't pay as much as an out-of-stater.

Many students focus on colleges that will award them generous merit money for good grades and SAT/ACT scores. Merit money does not have to be repaid - it's not a loan - and is usually renewable for your 4 years of college.

In exchange for serving your country, the military will help you pay for college. You can serve now and attend college later, or go to college now and serve later. Look into ROTC if you want college first. Here are the ROTC sites:

1. Air Force ROTC
2. Army ROTC
3. Navy & Marine Corps ROTC

If you apply to an out-of-state public university in New England for a degree not offered in the Maine state university system, you may be eligible for a tuition break. You pay less than out-of-state rates but more than in-state tuition. Example: a meteorology degree is not offered at the Maine state university system but Plymouth State in NH and Lyndon State in VT offer the degree.

Visit the site to learn more, go straight to the majors offered to Maine students, or pick up a brochure in the College Advising Office.

In the past, Cheverus students have taken advantage of the programs at UCONN for biomedical engineering and actuarial science, UMass Amherst for social thought & political theory, and URI for landscape architecture and ocean engineering.

Recent press about paying for college

September 2012

Kiplinger's Personal Finance has 7 great tips

April 2012

Time Magazine's '6 myths about financial aid'.

March 2012

Using the internet to search for scholarships: tips from USA Today newspaper

February 2012

NASDAQ article about paying someone to file your FAFSA & expensive FAFSA advice

January 2012

"What Do Students Pay for College?" report, a summary of average net prices at colleges and
universities across the country.

10 colleges where you graduate with little debt.

November 2011

Wall Street Journal examines how irrational we are when choosing colleges and offers tips on how to pay for it.

Smart Money and The NY Times explain the new Net Calculator, a tool on every college website that offers an estimate of what the college really costs your family.

Fast Company has a compelling and eye-opening graphic about the cost of college & questions whether it's worth it.

Many Cheverus students wish to continue their Jesuit education at the college level. There are 28 Jesuit colleges and universities. You can find the map here, and a listing of merit scholarships offered by each of the 28 colleges here. Juniors receive a hard copy of the listing in College Advising class in March.

I suspect that your primary interest in earning a degree is not making money, but finding a fulfilling career.

You might be interested in what jobs will be plentiful in the years ahead. This website, although complicated, is where you can "view the job groups, the current number of people employed, projected growth to 2020, salaries of those in the job, and education levels of those in the profession." Spend some time on the site and enjoy!