This page shows the PROFIT – the scholarships, grants and other free financial aid that added-up to be more than the cost of tuition & books. These California community college and university students leveraged on-campus and off-campus opportunities – student success opportunities – and they used AcademicPROFIT strategies. Students highlighted below varied in age, ethnicity, gender, income level, major/career choice, college/high school GPA, history of community service work, high school accomplishments, work experience, personal history, parental status (children/no children), and citizenship. Success opportunities & AcademicPROFIT strategies serve all students regardless of their personal characteristics.
Below, I highlight three students with very different personal characteristics and each segment ends with a table illustrating the $$$. Each California community college and university student never knew or anticipated that they'd earn bachelor degrees WITHOUT owing tuition.
I PROFITed
scholarships, grants & many other sources by developing strategies
| Who: |
me! See My Story for more details. |
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| What: |
awarded over $60,000 in scholarships, grants & stipends, averaging almost $1,000 in PROFIT every semester. |
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| Where: |
Long Beach City College (LBCC) and then transferred to the University of Southern California (USC). |
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| Why: |
about 45 percent of my $60,000+ came from scholarships – winning 12 of the 14 I applied for (86 percent success rate). Grants & stipends made-up the rest; however, winning scholarships ‘put me over the top’ in terms of PROFITing. Finding scholarships was/is easy, but knowing the strategies, tactics, best-sources, and how to apply for them – how to win them – is everything! USC’s Presidential scholarship (highest to a transfer student), Norman Topping scholarship and Leventhal School of Accounting scholarship, the National Society of Accountants scholarship, California’s Virginia Coffey Scholarship, and LBCC’s Presidential scholarship and many many other LBCC scholarships were not given away indiscriminatingly.
I had to work very hard and very smart which makes my point - it's the collection of on-campus & off-campus student success opportunities that made the PROFIT possible. I would have had nothing without leveraging all the different opportunities; the California community college system and a 'million' other institutions will support your success - because you're a student - and that translates directly & indirect to earning a PROFIT.
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| How: |
I explored almost every student success opportunity and applied to MANY different ones. The opportunities ranged from a NOT-well-known on-campus department to an off-campus national organization’s scholarship. In two semesters I received money from as many as seven different sources – for a variety of reasons. I had built the experience and created the tactics that all combined, I call AcademicPROFIT strategies. |
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Long Beach City College |
Univ. of Southern California |
| School Yr 01
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School Yr 02
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School Yr 03
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School Yr 04
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School Yr 05
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| FREE money (total) |
$ 2,147 |
$ 3,021 |
$ 3,980 |
$ 27,156 |
$ 25,576 |
| Minus: Tuition |
-$ 377 |
-$ 371 |
-$ 360 |
-$ 22,196 |
-$ 23,664 |
| Minus: Books |
-$ 1,000 |
-$ 1,000 |
-$ 1,000 |
-$ 1,000 |
-$ 1,000 |
| Total PROFIT |
$ 770 |
$ 1,650 |
$ 2,620 |
$ 3,960 |
$ 912 |
| * Each semester-system School Year consisted of a fall and spring semester and books estimated at $500 / semester. |
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She PROFITed!
private & university scholarships using AcademicPROFIT strategies
| Who: |
a study partner who was continuously bombarded by my encouragement. She, a single Hispanic professional who earned a relatively high income, had immigrated to this country at 15 years of age. She was of traditional college age, no remarkable community work, and was a good high school student. However, at the time we met, this business major already had 55 units of virtually all non-transferable courses, and a cumulative GPA of 2.58. Not a good starting point for PROFIT. |
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| What: |
after applying several AcademicPROFIT strategies and having never won a university or California community college scholarship, California or federal grant (e.g., university grant, Cal Grant, Pell Grant, FEOG, etc.), she was awarded just under $9,000 of scholarship, grant and other free financial aid. She averaged over $800 inPROFIT every semester while attending the California State University. When we met she was paying for her education; afterwards, she was making a PROFIT for getting an education.
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| Where: |
she attended Long Beach City College (LBCC) and then transferred to California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). |
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| Why: |
about 75 percent of her $9,000 came from scholarships, which she won at a very high rate of success (scholarships won ¸ scholarships applied for). She also received financial aid from the government, although her immigration status and high salary prevented her from receiving some government aid. She earned the CSUDH Faculty & Staff Scholarship, Future Scholars Scholarship, Honors Scholarship and private ones such as the TELACU-Education Foundation Scholarship. A California State University grant and a Federal Pell Grant were also earned. |
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| How: |
she used AcademicPROFIT strategies to ‘fix’ & emphasize her personal characteristic.
For example, she 'fixed' her GPA; she substantially increased her GPA from 2.58 to 3.54. The 2.58 GPA, which was cumulative over three years before we met, was of easy & mostly non-transferable courses. Using AcademicPROFIT strategies over the next two years, she boosted her GPA to 3.54 while completing harder & entirely transferable courses. Consequently, her cumulative transfer GPA was 3.13; she needed 3.10 to receive the university grant and one scholarship! The same student & the same study habits & the same full time job; however, she used AcademicPROFIT strategies and leveraged student success opportunities that were tailor made for her personal characteristics.
Also, we emphasized who she was: a Hispanic woman working full-time, a business major, first generation college student with language barriers, who delicately addressed the gender bias from within the family, and more. We simply told her story, as needed and when needed.
Like most students, she “knew” that she didn’t qualify for a scholarship or a grant but very quickly, won them all. She became such a believer in using AcademicPROFIT strategies that she helped her sister –– and her sister started getting money too! |
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California State University,
Dominguez Hills |
| School Yr 01
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School Yr 02
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| FREE money (total) |
$ 3,352 |
$ 5,537 |
| Minus: Tuition |
$ 1,818 |
$ 1,740 |
| Minus: Books |
-$ 1,000 |
-$ 1,000 |
| Total PROFIT |
$ 534 |
$ 2,797 |
| * Each semester-system School Year consisted of a fall and spring semester and books estimated at $500 / semester. |
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She PROFITed too!
Federal Pell Grant, State University Grant & Cal Grant
| Who: |
a single Canadian mother who worked part-time and re-entered college after being away for 28 years. She had dropped out of college with a low GPA almost three decades ago. She had been involved in community service work, and was committed to teach special education K-12 students. This was a fairly good starting point for PROFIT. |
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| What: |
right from the start, she was awarded a small PROFIT over the first two quarters and then, substantially increased her PROFIT the next school year. She was awarded over $10,000 in grants ALONE. Unfortunately, this student didn’t pursue any scholarships, which would have been a ‘gold mine’ of scholarship opportunity – easily doubling her PROFIT. |
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| Where: |
she attended California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). Many units were transferred to CSUSB from several colleges she attended years ago. |
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| Why: |
her status – a not-wealthy single parent pursuing a teaching credential who worked part-time – is a PROFITable scenario. AcademicPROFIT strategies simply opened her to the student success opportunities that she selected to pursue, and the strategies helped her to earn a bachelor degree while making MORE money than the cost of tuition and books! |
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| How: |
the monies she received were from student success opportunities previously UNknown to the student. Unfortunately, too many students do not know about the most obvious and most easily obtainable scholarship, university grant, Federal Pell Grant, California grant, stipend, and other free financial aid across all California community colleges and universities. Again, we simply leveraged to her personal characteristics by applying them to the student success opportunities that were designed to help her get a degree. |
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California State University,
San Bernardino |
| School Yr 01
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School Yr 02
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| FREE money (total) |
$ 3,303 |
$ 6,979 |
| Minus: Tuition |
$ 1,842 |
$ 2,007 |
| Minus: Books |
-$ 1,200 |
-$ 1,200 |
| Total PROFIT |
$ 261 |
$ 3,772 |
* Each quarter-system School Year consisted of a fall, winter and spring semester and
books estimated at $400 / semester. |
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There are MANY student success opportunities, both on-campus and off-campus, that directly or indirectly translate to PROFIT. However, most students do not know about the most basic ones. University financial aid directors observed that, “despite the importance [of college as an investment], many parents and students stumble confused through the college financial aid process. . . .” I worked in the California community college system and I saw that, not only do parents and students stumble through financial aid, they stumble past many opportunities across the entire campus. These overlooked opportunities would fully solve or, at least, soften the very financial & academic issues they are concerned with.
But even if parents and students knew of all the student success opportunities, that’s not enough! There are soooo many opportunities that serve students & they serve students for different reasons, by different criteria! I consolidate the full range of opportunities and, explain and illustrate where and how to find them, and how to apply them to your personal characteristics in the most efficient and effective way! I explain how to position yourself for student success opportunities; even if you “know” that you do not qualify, you will! Remember that all of this can be accomplished irrespective of your age, ethnicity, gender, income level, major, GPA, personal history, parental status or citizenship, as the student above.
If I earned a degree, you can. And, if WE made a PROFIT by earning a degree, then perhaps everyone should! Next, why earn a degree explains the importance of earning a bachelor degree.
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