Scolarship/School Thread in Career Guidance?

[G01]

I was just in a thread over in the Academic and Career Guidance forum asking if there was a special thread for listing possible scholarships. I noticed there wasn't one stickied, so I thought I'd ask to see if it would be feasible to get a thread like that stickied in that forum. I think it would be very useful to future undergrads and graduate students who frequent the site. What do you think? Is it worth the extra clutter in the sticky bar?

EDIT: Here is a link to the thread I was referring to. https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=196013

 

[Moonbear]

If folks start a thread and it looks popular enough/useful enough, we could sticky it.

 

[ZapperZ]

I am hesitant to endorse such an idea. First of all, there's no way for us to verify such a thing. Secondly, such openings are usually advertised in relevant organizations, such as Physics Today, Physics World, etc... Physics students especially should already know and be aware of where to look for these - if they don't, they've been missing a bigger part of physics than just looking for scholarships.

Zz.

 

[Moonbear]

I am hesitant to endorse such an idea. First of all, there's no way for us to verify such a thing. Secondly, such openings are usually advertised in relevant organizations, such as Physics Today, Physics World, etc... Physics students especially should already know and be aware of where to look for these - if they don't, they've been missing a bigger part of physics than just looking for scholarships.

Zz.

Um...that would be fellowships, not scholarships. Scholarships are for the undergrads, and they wouldn't have a clue that such a thing as Physics World exists (nor do they necessarily need to look for something subject specific).

I think it's a good idea. A lot of high school guidance counselors are pretty lousy at helping students find these sources other than the largest and most obvious ones. There are tons of opportunities for smaller awards that can make all the difference for a kid who is just a little short of being able to afford college, but if you don't know they're out there, you can't apply.

 

[ZapperZ]

Um...that would be fellowships, not scholarships. Scholarships are for the undergrads, and they wouldn't have a clue that such a thing as Physics World exists (nor do they necessarily need to look for something subject specific).

I think it's a good idea. A lot of high school guidance counselors are pretty lousy at helping students find these sources other than the largest and most obvious ones. There are tons of opportunities for smaller awards that can make all the difference for a kid who is just a little short of being able to afford college, but if you don't know they're out there, you can't apply.

Still, how do you verify the validity of such a thing?

Guidance counselors may be busy, but they can certainly provide the info. At the very least, they have all the necessary websites for students to look at. So I would think that they would be the first place a student should look, not on some public forum.

I would think that if we start that, we'd have to spend time asking for verification (how would you know that it isn't a spam?). And I can see how someone would then ask why we would not expand it to include not only advertisement for fellowships and assistantships, but also job openings?

BTW, I think the term "scholarships" has different meaning to different people in various parts of the world. A scholarship can mean fellowships, even for graduate students, etc.

Zz.

 

[Moonbear]

Still, how do you verify the validity of such a thing?

Guidance counselors may be busy, but they can certainly provide the info. At the very least, they have all the necessary websites for students to look at. So I would think that they would be the first place a student should look, not on some public forum.

Actually, very many guidance counselors are useless for this. I know mine were in high school. Mine seemed more intent on making sure all the best students applied to her alma mater than that we applied to schools that made sense. And, we were on our own to find scholarships. People DO look for scholarships on public forums. At least here, there'd be some endorsement, and you wouldn't have to wonder if you need to pay for some site to do a search for you (I still wouldn't know if those are legit or just a scam).

I would think that if we start that, we'd have to spend time asking for verification (how would you know that it isn't a spam?). And I can see how someone would then ask why we would not expand it to include not only advertisement for fellowships and assistantships, but also job openings?

What's to verify? A group either offers a scholarship or they don't. If you follow a link and it's not to a webpage for a group offering a scholarship, people will report it as spam like any other spam.

They can ask to expand it, but that doesn't mean we need to do so. That doesn't invalidate the request to have a thread where people can share scholarship opportunities. I wouldn't have a problem with including fellowships either, actually. Not all are subject specific and listed in easy to find places either. I've found ones in rather unlikely places before myself. Job offers are completely different, since those are only open for a short time. There would be no point in a sticky keeping those posted, and by the time you're looking for a job, you should be a bit more sophisticated about knowing where to look for position announcements. Scholarships and fellowships are typically offered every year, so would make more sense to keep listed in a sticky.

BTW, I think the term "scholarships" has different meaning to different people in various parts of the world. A scholarship can mean fellowships, even for graduate students, etc.

Well, I don't have a problem with including fellowships too. I would just limit that to ones that are open for anyone to apply, not tied to specific graduate programs. If you apply to a specific graduate program, of course you'll get all the information from them about those fellowships, and often don't even need to do anything other than get accepted to the program to have someone in the program handle your application for you.

 

[robphy]

As a first step, can we correct the title to reflect our "scholarship"?