Business in Science and General Truth

In my three decades of advising students about scholarships and warning them about scholarship scams, one of my slogans was “There aren’t a bunch of people sitting around wanting to write checks for “C” students.” My latest research proves that statement to be wrong! Indeed, there are colleges that offer scholarships to “C” students and scholarships to students with low College Board scores. Doesn’t make sense, but it’s true.

For more than three decades I have been emphasizing good grades, high class rank, and high SAT and ACT scores as the foundation to finding scholarships. Although I will continue to chant that litany, I will also share that there are colleges that actually offer scholarships to people who have a good, solid “C” average and very strong “average” SAT and ACT scores.

In a public forum such as this, I am reluctant to simply blurt out the names of these colleges, but I will give you links to the websites if you contact me. I’m in the college prep business and I don’t want to make any colleges angry with me if I publicize this kind of information, so I’ll present the particulars and keep the names to protect the innocent.

College A - a state college located in a southern state:

Graduated from (name of the state) public high school and achieved a 2.50 high school GPA or 19+ ACT composite or equivalent, or graduated from a private, homeschool, or out-of-state high school or earned a GED and earned a 19+ ACT or equivalent.

Award Amounts: $5,000 for 4-year University; $2,500 for 2-year institution.

Let’s understand this in perspective. A 2.50 is a middle “C” average which could mean the student made enough A’s and B’s to balance out some D’s and F’s. Or it could mean the student was a consistent “C” student who made a few B’s to move halfway in the 2.0 - 3.0 scale.

Any way you interpret this, we are not looking at a scholar. But I am not going to judge because there are a lot of students who goofed off in high school, grew up, and did great in college. Indeed, I work with a lot of adults who dropped out of high school who returned to college and did very well. In fact, I helped one get a Harvard scholarship.

The ACT score is one point above 18, considered to be the “average” ACT score. So we have a 2.50 (slightly above average) GPA and a 19 (slightly above average) ACT score combined that will get the student a potential $5000 scholarship.

This is strange for me because I often work with students who have fair to mid-line GPAs, who are otherwise intelligent, just bored in school and didn’t put a lot of effort in. I can usually help them jump their SAT or ACT scores and mitigate less than spectacular GPAs. This scholarship throws a pretty heavy wrench into my paradigm.

The kicker here is that to maintain the scholarship, the student must maintain a 2.50 average in college, take at least 15 hours each semester, and be continuously enrolled. Not a significant challenge. The scholarship continues until the student graduates, completes 130 hours, or 8 semesters.

This goes to prove that there are many secret, hidden scholarship opportunities out there. It just takes some digging. However, I also want to caution you that there are also many scholarship scammers out there, too, who will take your money and promise you your mailbox will be filled with checks. I’ve never seen that played out in my three decades of doing this work.

As always, in dealing with college funding, always deal with a professional. Make sure they have letters (either degrees or professional designations) behind their name and can give you actual names of people who received funding due to their efforts. If at any time you feel pressured into writing a check or giving them a credit card number, or if they say the offer is only good right then, run away!

Watching one’s calorie intake can directly affect weight gain and loss in the human body. People, like never before, have been drawn to live and eat healthier to promote long, full and happy lives. Unfortunately when doing this, many tasty foods must be neglected to watch calorie intakes. However, when searching for alternatives, finding different low calorie pastas is a great option.

For many pasta lovers, this food group is a major part of the diet and one that is not easily cut out. One way to continue eating pasta while trying to watch calorie intake is to eat it plain. Most harmful calorie levels come from the sauces put on top of the pasta rather than the pasta itself. However, for someone who requires a topping, this will not suffice.

In order to keep sauces in the pasta, different brands of low calorie pastas are now on the market. Low carbohydrate Asian noodles are now being produced by companies, like Shiritaki, which are serving to cut the levels of carbs and calories for each serving of pasta. Other American brands have also been made available such as Dreamfields or Smart foods.

Combining low calorie pasta with healthy side dishes can be a tasty avenue to eat healthy. Cooking a variety of vegetable to put into stuff shelled pasta is a great substitute for other fatty and harmful choices. Pasta with chicken is also another healthy choice for diet that offers premium taste while watching calorie intake.

Low calorie pasta has been created because people all over the world and in our country are trying to eat smarter and healthier. By eating pasta without sauce, low calorie pastas, and healthy side dishes, a person looking to control their calorie intake can keep eating food they enjoy. People can now enjoy pasta and rest assured that are not damaging their bodies at the same time.

Unless you just bought or refinanced your home within the past few months, you’re paying too much for it. You’re paying more in interest right now than you need to be. If you haven’t bought a home and you’re planning to, the market has never been better, and if you currently have a mortgage that you’re paying off, you could be doing so at a better rate. There are numerous options available to you in this market, but of these, the following three are the most basic.

1. Buy a home. It’s a buyer’s market right now. During the real estate bubble, many individuals bought homes that they couldn’t afford. When the market crashed, it was because these individuals defaulted on their mortgages. This led to a high number of foreclosures and short sales, and as a result, there are a lot of nice, livable homes being offered at far less than what they are worth. While it’s unfortunate that some people have had to lose their homes, you can benefit from this situation and help get the economy moving again by purchasing one of these houses.

2. Upgrade your home. Interest rates are at an all-time low, and if you currently own a home, chances are the interest rate on your mortgage is several percentage points higher than the market. If you’re able to make payments just fine, you might want to consider upgrading to a larger or nicer home at a higher price but with a lower interest rate. Your monthly payments would stay the same, but you would be in a better house thanks to the amazing interest rates available right now.

3. Refinance your home. Low interest rates also make it possible to refinance your existing home mortgage under more favorable terms. Whether you’re able to afford your current mortgage payments or not, you have the opportunity to obtain a better rate and a longer or shorter payback timeline depending on your needs. Rates have never been better.

These are the three most basic options available in our current economic situation. Now is the time to act!