woodworking scholarships?

[Adam Wissman]

Hi, I am just about to graduate high school, and I am going off to college. I am now starting to apply for scholarships and am wondering is there any for woodworking?
I got bit by the bug about 2 years ago and can't stop being in the shop. any way if you know of any go ahead and and post, thanks.

[Pat Germain]

Both of my kids attended college recently. I helped them look high and low for scholarships. There are web sites where you enter your information and a service will alert you to any scholarships for which you qualify. Both my kids came up with nothing, nada, bupkis.

All the stuff you hear about scholarships is 90% bunk. Other than athletic scholarships, there just aren't that many out there. The non-athletic scholarships are mostly just a few bucks. Every dollar helps, but if you have only 10% of what you need, it doesn't get you anywhere. That's why so many parents go crazy with getting their kids into sports these days. They're hoping for a free education.

Under no circumstances should you give money to services who promise to find you scholarship money. Anything they do, you can do yourself. They typically charge around $2700 and almost always, they come up with nothing. In fact, after talking to many parents, never, not once, have they reported any of these services actually finding any scholarship money. What a waste. :rolleyes:

Among all the searching I did with my youngens for scholarships, we never came across any for woodworking. Sorry.

Your best bet is probably a Stafford loan. It's a government backed education loan with a low interest rate. You don't have to start paying it back until you graduate. You apply for a Stafford loan at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ .

Completing a FAFSA application will also tell you if you qualify for a PEL grant or work study. (Be aware that almost nobody qualifies for those.) Your parents will have to be involved because they must enter their income tax information for the FASFA application. (It's a government site, so you don't have to worry about the information being used for nefarious purposes.)

Be sure to do your research before giving your money to a school. There are many unscrupulous trade schools out there just looking for cash. They will tell you that you got a "scholarship" when it's nothing more than a meager discount off very overpriced classes. Your best bet would probably be a community college. Many offer woodworking and the tuition is very reasonable.

[Cliff McNeill]

I am a tool collector and saw that the M-WTCA (Mid-West Tool Collectors Assoc. give some smaller schoarships out but it looks like you might have just missed the deadline... http://www.mwtca.org/scholarships.html Good Luck!

[Earl Kelly]

Adam,

Check with the Furniture Society at furnituresociety.org

Earl