Managing Collegiate Finances: Applying for Scholarships

Sallie Mae’s How Americans Pay for College 2021 study found that 44% of surveyed families did not use scholarships to help with undergraduate tuition costs. Of the 44%, 6% said they didn’t need additional funds.

The study found a variety of reasons for why families did not apply for scholarships. For parents and students, being unaware or thinking they were not qualified to win stand out as two main reasons. 

“I think it is so important that students take advantage of scholarship opportunities”, said Jaime Schulang, director of Student Financial Affairs. “Scholarships become a part of a student’s financial aid offer, and will reduce their loans by the amount of their scholarship, which overall reduces their debt.”

Salus University strives to ensure their students are aware of not only internal scholarships, but external scholarship opportunities available to them as well. “The Financial Aid Department emails students scholarship opportunities as they are presented to us, as well as posts the opportunities on MySalus (i.e. internet portal)” said Schulang. “We accept any internal or external scholarship a student receives, and encourage students to look for scholarships wherever they can find them.” 

In addition, the Salus University website lists all scholarship opportunities, which are broken down into program specific opportunities including: 

• Internal Optometry scholarships

• External Optometry scholarships

• Audiology scholarships

• Physician Assistant scholarships

• Occupational Therapy scholarships

• Speech-Language Pathology scholarships

• General Scholarships

In addition to the scholarships listed above, Salus offers Presidential, Provost, & Dean’s scholarships to incoming students, which are renewable for the remaining years of the students’ programs, based on merit. The Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion has scholarship resources and opportunities available as well under their Scholarships drop down menu. 

According to the Sallie Mae study, families who relied on scholarships and grants covered 25% of the cost of college. 

“This scholarship is a really big deal for both me and my family”, said Stephen Shalamanda ‘24OD, the Harold and Ginny Wiener Scholarship recipient. Established by the family of Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) alumnus Dr. Harold and Mrs. Wiener with a preference for New Jersey residents. “As a first generation college student, as well as being a first generation Doctor of Optometry student, the scholarship has really given me the opportunity to further my education, as well as work towards not only my tuition, but any board fees or board study prep".

​Scholarships play an instrumental factor in helping students through school financially, but also provide a newfound motivation for students to achieve their goals. “This scholarship has also helped me to stay motivated throughout my didactic and my clinical coursework”, said Renee Kochinski ‘23AUD, the newly formed Presidential Scholarship recipient. “Having to maintain a certain GPA has really helped me push my limits to make sure that I am trying my best and staying on top of all of my different coursework and requirements”. 

“The most important thing I want students and families to know about scholarship opportunities is that there is money available if you are willing to take the time, do the research and apply,” said Schulang. “Do not rule out scholarship opportunities based on face value assumptions. Some opportunities are very specific, but you never know if you have a unique background that fits the description of a potential scholarship".

For those interested in scholarship opportunities, Fastweb is another great resource, recommended by the Salus Financial Aid Department to look for external scholarships. Contact the Financial Aid Department at financialaid@salus.edu with any scholarship or financial related questions.