College scholarship ideas/advice?

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HoLeChit

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BTW, anyone with pointers to a "female friendly" career field that doesn't involve college, feel free to throw it out there. And by that, I don't mean one that requires living in Dallas or even OKC size places to be able to work. My daughter is leaning towards dental hygientist type work so far, even though with her love of math I've asked her about financial type work (retirement planning, banker, etc). My son says architecture is his plan, as of now...
Female friendly, my buddy has a woman or two on his cybersecurity team that do well without college degrees, I don’t think you need a degree to be a vet tech, and I have a friend who 14 years after starting as a vet tech is now assuming a new role as the clinic manager.
 

Capm_Spaulding

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BTW, anyone with pointers to a "female friendly" career field that doesn't involve college, feel free to throw it out there. And by that, I don't mean one that requires living in Dallas or even OKC size places to be able to work. My daughter is leaning towards dental hygientist type work so far, even though with her love of math I've asked her about financial type work (retirement planning, banker, etc). My son says architecture is his plan, as of now...
IT work is very female friendly these days. I’ve been in the field coming up on 10 years and while women are still the minority for the most part, the tides are turning. Most men in IT are pretty shy and what you’d expect they’d be, so there’s not a lot of your stereotypical sexism that I’ve ever seen. My team is 70% female right now, a stark contrast to when I started.

While things could change, I think being a woman in a male dominated field is actually a bit of an advantage right now. Depends on the company of course, but I say dare to be different.

My team has people from HS diplomas to masters degrees, and we all make the same. I will say that those with a degree skipped a bunch of stepping stones, but if she got her foot in the door, there’s still many places that honor the worker over their education.. My boss is one with a HS diploma. I think he has some certifications, but again, not necessary if she wants to put the hard work in at an entry position. At least for now. The future will likely continue to look different as degrees become more of the norm.

I can’t overstate how important internships are as well. They’re competitive, but the cream rises to the top eventually.
 

SoonerP226

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Thanks all so far! Daughter is a junior this year, son is a sophomore. They both pretty well carry 4.0 gpa, she took the ACT last year (10th grade) and made a 24 IIRC. And the bad news, their school is so small they don't have a counselor (great school otherwise).
If she's in 10th grade, have her take the PSAT/NMSQT (it may have changed names over the years; I don't really keep up with that). The NMSQT part is the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, at least the last I heard, and if you score high enough to become a National Merit Scholar, that's a full ride scholarship at OU, even including on-campus housing. I'm pretty sure OU isn't alone in that.

One of the Dave Ramsey personalities deals with going to college debt-free; I don't recall which one, but it shouldn't be hard to find who it is on their Web site.
 

SoonerP226

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Even with good math skills, accounting jobs pay good but most accountants don't go far into companies without advanced degrees.
As I understand it, they changed the requirements to become a CPA about 15-20 years ago so it now requires a Masters in accounting (used to be a bachelor's).
 

Jason Freeland

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One thing on the Junior college route, not all courses will be accepted at 4 year universities, the best route is to get an associates degree at the Junior college and that forces the university to accept the degree as a whole, including all courses. OU is notorious for not accepting transfer credits and requiring you to retake the class with them.
 

Okie4570

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If she's in 10th grade, have her take the PSAT/NMSQT (it may have changed names over the years; I don't really keep up with that). The NMSQT part is the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, at least the last I heard, and if you score high enough to become a National Merit Scholar, that's a full ride scholarship at OU, even including on-campus housing. I'm pretty sure OU isn't alone in that.

One of the Dave Ramsey personalities deals with going to college debt-free; I don't recall which one, but it shouldn't be hard to find who it is on their Web site.
I believe the NMS process begins with the psat that's taken in the 8th grade now, but yes is still a full ride at most universities....and just about the only way to get a full ride at Baylor other than an athletic scholarship.
 

Oper9

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If she's in 10th grade, have her take the PSAT/NMSQT (it may have changed names over the years; I don't really keep up with that). The NMSQT part is the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, at least the last I heard, and if you score high enough to become a National Merit Scholar, that's a full ride scholarship at OU, even including on-campus housing. I'm pretty sure OU isn't alone in that.

One of the Dave Ramsey personalities deals with going to college debt-free; I don't recall which one, but it shouldn't be hard to find who it is on their Web site.
Not a full ride anymore at OU
 

alank2

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If preparing for the PSAT/SAT, use kahnacademy.com. Incredible site to help one get acquainted with how the college board thinks and does problems.

As to whether college is worthwhile or not; I've always told my son that it is all about what it costs versus what it will yield. Look at it from a total cost of ownership point of view, or as an investment. It might be a winning investment or a losing investment depending on the situation. There are a lot of alternative options that didn't exist before such as a lot of jobs offering on the job training, or programs that are integrated into high school as well like TulsaTech. Lots of options.
 

turkeyrun

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Talk to the school financial assistance office.

It is amazing how many scholarships are not applied for or utilized.


We found out, too late, Rice University had 46 full ride scholarships earmarked for HOME SCHOOLED STUDENTS with ACT above 32. In 1996, when son graduated, 3 scholarships were given out.

The situation may have changed, but $$$$ is out there.
 

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