INDIANAPOLIS — Teachers and TikTok are how twins Goodness and Mercy Makanjuola are learning about scholarships.
"There's a lot of videos that talks about scholarships. My sister sent me some like a few weeks ago," Mercy said.
The Arsenal Tech seniors, who both have above a 4.0 grade point average, said they are applying for the free money to keep a certain family tradition alive.
"Luckily, none of my family has student debt," Goodness smiled, "so I want to keep that going."
And they are off to a good start.
If the 21st Century Scholars go to a private school, tuition is partially covered.
Still, there are costs to cover.
"The costs I'm looking at is like dorms, boarding and food," Goodness said, "books."
"The last thing you want is having to pay for student debt or having to call your parents to help you with the college," Mercy said.
Randy Stegemoller, a college adviser with Class 101, said applying for free money is confusing.
"That's why a lot of them go unclaimed," Stegemoller said.
He said that is in part because scholarships have different directions, deadlines or dot com locations.
To find the money, look to your social circles, starting with your family. Check with employers and possibly your place of worship.
The next social circle? Your community. That includes your guidance counselor, a school or country foundation and service organizations.
Finally, look at national opportunities.
Stegemoller said popular sites include FastWeb.com, Scholarships.com and GoingMerry.com.
"You're going to want to keep a list going," Stegemoller said, "when you did the application and if it tells you when they're going to be announcing it, I would put that date on there."
Students can help cash flow for college now instead of digging out of debt later.