LEARNING IS THE ONLY THING THE MIND NEVER FEARS,
NEVER EXHAUSTS, AND NEVER REGRETS. — LEONARDO da VINCI
SHAILA
PHD
"One of the principles taught by CND College Prep Consultants is that finding money for a post secondary education requires persistence. I give honor and glory first and foremost to my Heavenly Father for instilling in me the passion to constantly research scholarships in order to finance my academic career. Through this passion, the skills learned from attending CND workshops and the unrelenting persistence of my mother (who also spent hours in the library researching scholarships along with me), I was able to obtain over $30,000 dollars in scholarships to finance my first year at Spelman College. These scholarships were acquired through local organizations (my church, the Indianapolis Circle City Classic) and national organizations (sororities, UNCF, etc.). Yet, I am blessed to say that I was awarded the Marc UStar fellowship (awarded to undergraduates pursuing a degree in science) my sophomore year. This fellowship provided me with full tuition coverage for my last two years of college.
The support of my parents and family members has not only helped me in my efforts to continue to apply for scholarships, but also to motivate others to attend CND workshops and conduct their own scholarship searches. I tell many students that there is no need to go into an extreme amount of debt in order to finance their academic career. The money is out there you just have to be willing, and motivated, to do the research to find the scholarships."
LAUREN
MPA
"Why would a high school student want to spend Sunday afternoon writing essays when they could be relaxing? That was a question I asked myself as I wrote scholarship essays on every topic under the sun in an effort to please my mother during my senior year of high school. I knew that chances were good that I would not receive the majority of the scholarships I was applying for so what was the point? Despite my lack of enthusiasm my Mom made sure that I applied for every scholarship she could find that I qualified for. Four years later I can not begin to thank her.
The ability to go to school without having to work, and graduating without any debt is an accomplishment that would not have been possible without applying for all those scholarships. Even the small ones because they added up. Small church scholarships paid for my books for a couple of years. The scholarships I received allowed me to spend more time studying. Even if a student does have to work while in school, a little extra money they do not have to work for is always nice. I can not stress enough how important knowing the in’s and out’s of the college process are when a family is trying to save money wherever they can. Both parents and students should attend CND’s sessions if they need help in finding a way to make the college dream a reality."