Spring Break
MLK Library Makes Scholarship Search Easier for College-Bound Students, Parents
Rafiah Davis
Issue date: 2/22/01 Section: City
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For some students and parents, finding money for college is as easy as going to the nearest library.
Tim Howard, 20, knows this. Every Friday afternoon, he is at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, flipping through scholarship information in the Greater Washington College Information Center, located on the ground floor of the library.
“I’ve been here like thousands of times,” he said. He is not the only one. The crowds are a testament to its popularity with college-money-seekers.
“There’s always a three-hour wait for the computers,” Howard and librarians at the center said.
The center is equipped with computers with Internet access and people to help with searches and filling out applications.
“We try to find out where they are in their search and try to help them figure out their next step,” said Jane Collins, director of the Greater Washington College Information Center.
Howard picked two schools to apply to: Prince Georges Community College and the University of Maryland. The staff also helped him locate some scholarship information.
“I pretty much got everything I need,” Howard said.
Education financing experts recommend that the first place those wanting education money look is the government. The federal government gives millions of dollars away each year in the form of grants, scholarships and loans.
But they suggest early application. Early application increases the chances of getting federal monies.
To get money from the government, one must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Submitting this form is the only way to get money from the government, and it is also required by many other money-granting institutions. The form can be filled out on the Web site (www.fafsa.org), and workers at the College Information Center can help with that form.
The center also has information about D.C.’s Tuition Assistance Grant Program, a new federal program for any District resident to attend a private or public college.
Tim Howard, 20, knows this. Every Friday afternoon, he is at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, flipping through scholarship information in the Greater Washington College Information Center, located on the ground floor of the library.
“I’ve been here like thousands of times,” he said. He is not the only one. The crowds are a testament to its popularity with college-money-seekers.
“There’s always a three-hour wait for the computers,” Howard and librarians at the center said.
The center is equipped with computers with Internet access and people to help with searches and filling out applications.
“We try to find out where they are in their search and try to help them figure out their next step,” said Jane Collins, director of the Greater Washington College Information Center.
Howard picked two schools to apply to: Prince Georges Community College and the University of Maryland. The staff also helped him locate some scholarship information.
“I pretty much got everything I need,” Howard said.
Education financing experts recommend that the first place those wanting education money look is the government. The federal government gives millions of dollars away each year in the form of grants, scholarships and loans.
But they suggest early application. Early application increases the chances of getting federal monies.
To get money from the government, one must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Submitting this form is the only way to get money from the government, and it is also required by many other money-granting institutions. The form can be filled out on the Web site (www.fafsa.org), and workers at the College Information Center can help with that form.
The center also has information about D.C.’s Tuition Assistance Grant Program, a new federal program for any District resident to attend a private or public college.
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