In this episode of the Higher Education, Higher Purpose podcast hosts Phil Cook and Heidi Sturm delve into the critical world of college scholarships with scholarship strategist Monica Matthews. Revered as the "Scholarship Mom", Monica comes with a wealth of experience in helping parents and students secure college scholarships. She discusses her smart method for standing out in scholarship applications, which includes sharing personal details, marketing yourself, answering essay questions, reviewing guidelines, and getting trusted eyes to proofread your application. Monica emphasizes the importance of partnering with your student and offers advice on when to start applying for scholarships. 

Listen as Phil, Heidi, and Monica discuss the significance of scholarships in alleviating the financial burden on families pursuing higher education. 

“Partner with your student. And I like to say teamwork makes the dream work and it is so true. The reason is if you have a certain role, sit down with your student, have a certain role. First of all, you need to talk about expectations. This is how much money we have saved up or not saved up for college. This is how much money you need to try to win scholarships. This is a school that's more affordable to us. You know what your roles are. So if your student needs to win scholarships or try to win scholarships, parents can find the scholarships.” -Monica Matthews [15:45]

What You Will Learn:

(01:06) Monica Matthews' background and experience with college scholarships 

(05:01) SMART method for applying for scholarships 

(10:46) How to access Monica Matthews' resources and website 

(13:41) Unique scholarships such as duck calling, Doodle for Google, and duct tape scholarships 

(15:40) How parents can partner with their students in the scholarship process 

Resources:

Visit our website: https://www.naccap.org

Email us: Office@naccap.org

Connect with Find Your Christian College: FindYourChristianCollege.com

Monica’s website: how2winscholarships.com