Friday, May 29, 1998
UCLA helps students find answers to financial woes
FINANCES: Scholarship Resource Center helps Bruins discover, win
ways to pay for expensive education
By Marisa Yamane
Daily Bruin Contributor
Does attending college for free sound impossible?
Not to UCLA student Lindsey DeBates.
With help from the UCLA Scholarship Resource Center (SRC),
DeBaets, a freshman, won the Crain Educational Grant – a $5000
scholarship, renewable every year.
"They proofread my application, and they helped me fine-tune my
essay, and they gave me pointers on what things were important to
include in my essay," DeBaets said.
From tuition to books to living expenses, attending college can
be expensive. Student Loan Services says that students leave UCLA
with debt averaging $14,000.
One way to lower those costs is through scholarships.
The SRC specializes in undergraduate scholarships and can help
students looking to lighten their debt load.
Free to all UCLA students, the two-year old Scholarship Resource
Center provides one-on-one counseling and essay proofreading, and
has a database search service and a library of current scholarship
books.
"It’s a self-service center. We assist students and direct them
in their search, but we do not do the searching for them," said
Angela Deaver Campbell, the Director of the SRC.
Most scholarships range from $500 to $2000, though there are a
few that pay even more.
In DeBaets’s case, the Crain award can stretch into her graduate
career. She credits the Center for assisting her in the
process.
"I really felt like they cared whether or not I succeeded,"
DeBaets said.
The database is one of the SRC’s most popular ways to search for
scholarships. It generates a list with scholarships according to
the interests of each student.
"It’s almost like going shopping for a dress, but instead of
looking for one, you tell them exactly what your measurements are
and they custom make it," said first-year student Homa Dashtaki,
who was recently looking for scholarships at the SRC.
Up to 15 students a day visit the SRC, which is located at 233
Covel Commons. In addition, a lot of informal work is done over the
phone or via e-mail.
"The scholarship process is typically something that the
students don’t have much information about," said Sung Choi, one of
the four graduate student assistants at the Center.
"We make it very accessible so that the students don’t have to
physically be in the office," Campbell said.
Although most scholarships are based on merit or financial need,
there are some scholarships that overlook those criteria.
"You have to search more if you have a lower GPA. Sometimes it’s
an interest or a hobby or a career direction that’s the criterion.
There’s a mixed bag on what the eligibility requirements are,"
Campbell said.
Even if the students don’t win a scholarship, SRC Director
Campbell said the process of finding and applying for scholarships
hones students’ skills and is a great learning experience.
"Even when applying for a job, you must be able to present
yourself well on paper," Campbell said.
The SRC staff says that fall is the best time to start looking
for scholarships for the next academic year.
"Approximately two-thirds of the scholarship deadlines have
passed if they start looking as late as April," Campbell said.
Most colleges do not have a center that focuses on scholarships
like the SRC, so Campbell feels that UCLA students should consider
themselves fortunate.
"It’s hard to win a scholarship, but that shouldn’t be a
deterrent because the rewards far outweigh the difficulty,"
Campbell said.
Jointly funded by student fees and the administration, the
Center was first proposed in 1991 and opened in 1996.
First-year political science student Kirsten Isaacson, said, "If
it weren’t for the Scholarship Center, I don’t think I’d try to
look for the scholarships because it would be too much
trouble."