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CNN Live At Daybreak

College Week: Finding That Scholarship; Decorating the Dorm

Aired August 30, 2001 - 08:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, welcome back. I'm Carol Lin.

VINCE CELLINI, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Vince Cellini. And in case you haven't noticed, it's "College Week" here on CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK. We've had a lot of fun all week long.

LIN: We have.

Ahead this half-hour, we'll tell you how you or your child can go to college without having to pay for tuition, room, or board.

CELLINI: Also, how to make the most of your buck when it comes to decorating your dorm rooms. Some creative ideas on the way.

LIN: Yes, you see the students back there who -- we had a little competition to see what the boy and girl is going to do.

Anyway, Brian Nelson is working on the news today.

(NEWS BREAK)

LIN: In the meantime, we're going to be talking about money and going to school.

CELLINI: Yes, very much so. How do you go to school without having to pay? Imagine that.

LIN: Pretty good deal. That's right, scholarship champ Ben Kaplan. He wrote a book entitled "How to Go to College Almost for Free," and he joins us now from Portland, Oregon. Ben graduating from Harvard University, and he's only 23 years old and now an author.

CELLINI: All right, so, Ben, years and years of kids paying for college tuition, and you come up with this, applying for all these scholarships. How did you do it?

BEN KAPLAN, SCHOLARSHIP MASTER: Well, you know, I stumbled upon it accidentally. I was a junior in high school, didn't have a clue how I was going to pay for college, and I stumbled upon one of these scholarship applications, didn't really know what it was, so I assumed, you know, the only scholarships out there, you had to be a Michael Jordan, amazing athlete or something like that to get it.

But I filled it out, I sent it in, and it's something if anyone out there watching has ever entered the Publisher Clearing House Sweepstakes or something, it was kind of like that. You know, I sent off, but I wasn't exactly expecting the prize patrol to come knocking. What happened was I got the scholarship. I was, you know, amazed, my parents were amazed, and so like, after that, what else is out there? I ended up applying for three dozen different scholarships.

LIN: Three dozen. How much does Harvard cost these days?

KAPLAN: It will run you into the six figures, so I knew I needed to apply for a lot of awards. I applied for three dozen scholarships, ended up winning about two dozen of them, and accumulating about $90,000 in scholarship money, which completely changed my life. You can imagine my parents were dancing around the house. It was kind of like that old James Brown line "I Feel Good!." We felt good. And so now we're just trying to spread the word about the scholarship money that's out there for all different types of students.

LIN: Well, let's get to it, Ben. Ben, I'm looking at your chapters "Rules of the Merit Money Game," and it sure sounds like a game. And for example, you're talking to people about taking advantage of pretty obvious things, like their the race and their religion.

KAPLAN: Right, all kinds of different affiliations can make you eligible for scholarship awards. A lot of different affiliations. I mean, one thing people assume that scholarships are only for minority students or something like that. Well, certainly those scholarships exists, but you mentioned scholarships based on ethnicity. There are a lot for other kinds of ethnic groups, just if you are Italian, for instance, I've seen different scholarship programs, or some other group. But not just that, all kinds of other affiliations, but based upon what jobs your parents might have, what organizations or clubs you might belong to.

I even saw a scholarship recently sponsored by an organization that is about sort of about nude sunbathing. That's what their organization recognized. If their parents sunbathe in the nude, their children can get a scholarship. So all kinds of programs are out there. So I suppose if your parents are very casual dressers...

CELLINI: So you passed on that one? You passed on that one, Ben?

KAPLAN: I did not apply for that one. Fortunately, actually, I couldn't qualify for that one. So...

CELLINI: Well, can't get them all.

LIN: Well, at least everybody can get naked.

KAPLAN: Right.

CELLINI: We want to hit you up with an e-mail here. It's from Larry in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

And he says, "Having little knowledge of where to begin seeking scholarships, where do you recommend starting?"

KAPLAN: Well, that's a great question -- and a couple of different ways. There are these key action steps.

One way is to start in your, community definitely at own school, whether that be a high school or a college. A lot of school have resources like a bulletin board that list upcoming deadlines, binders that have old applications people have applied for.

And a lot of times, these resources are sometimes hidden. You really have to ask. And one guerrilla tactic that you can really use -- I have these 16 guerrilla tactics in the book. One is, don't just depend on your own school resources. Go to other schools in your community as well, because no school has the same resources. Different schools are on different mailing lists. They have different information. So that's one way: Start in your community.

The second way is to use these online scholarship databases. What you do is, you input information about yourself -- where you are from; your interests, your backgrounds; a career goal or two -- into the database. And they try to help match you with different scholarships. So, actually, if you go to a Web site I help with called winscholarships.com -- it's winscholarships.com -- there's an interface there that will help you link to all these different databases.

And it's a great way to start. However, one warning about that: Don't make that your entire search. Sometimes people, they do one or two of these databases, then they think: OK, my scholarship search is done.

Well, it's just a starting point, but it's a great way to start.

LIN: All right.

Ben, we've got one here from Jeff Henry, Halifax, Pennsylvania.

He says: "My daughter is a high school junior this year. When do I start seeking scholarships and loans?"

KAPLAN: That's another great question.

And, you know, I did a lot of this -- I started the end of my junior year in high school. And I did this all through my senior year in high school. If I could do this all over again, I would actually start as early as seventh or eighth grade. And a lot of people are surprised by that. The reason is -- it's two things.

One, there are actually scholarships out there for kids under 14. A lot of them -- a lot of times, these are project-oriented scholarships. You might do a science project or an art project or something like that. And you can actually earn money, often awarded -- they either hold it for you or awarded in the form of like a U.S. savings bond. But even more important than that, when you start early, the great thing is, you can sort of see what's coming up down the road and prepare and position yourself for those awards. Now, that being said, you know, it is never, ever too late. This isn't just for high school students even. You can apply throughout high school. In college, there's all sorts of programs, including a lot of new ones that pop up based around career interest when you start to specialize a little more. For graduate school, there's scholarships. Even for adults going back to school, parents watching who want to go back to school themselves, there's programs, like, for instance, the Orville Redenbacher Second Start Scholarship for people making a second start in life.

LIN: Oh, that's really cool.

KAPLAN: So -- yes, so there's all these programs. And the key is to start now, start right away.

LIN: Excellent.

Ben Kaplan, you're getting an early start now: economics degree from Harvard and now an author.

Thanks for joining us this morning and taking some e-mails.

CELLINI: Thanks, Ben.

KAPLAN: Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me.

LIN: We'll see you later.

Well, animal prints, fuzzy pillows, stylish alarm clocks -- dorm decor: It's not a class, but just as important to most college students.

CELLINI: Yes, still ahead: an artful abode on a student salary -- or lack thereof. We're doing some decorating.

LIN: Abode?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CELLINI: So, why all the fuss at the Nasdaq? Why the big crowds there? Because in less than an hour -- read the sign -- Michael Jackson, the kind of pop, will be making his appearance there. And fans have already lined up to get a peek at the great entertainer, who's up here to also promote a concert.

Michael Jackson stirring up some excitement at the Nasdaq, like they care about the money.

LIN: You know what, Vince, I lost my microphone. Can I borrow yours?

CELLINI: Here you go.

LIN: I got so excited. Now I got two microphones. Thank you very much. Anyway, at college, home away from home is often four walls and a lumpy bed along with your Michael Jackson albums. And, it's your responsibility to dress up that dorm room.

Jason Bellini followed two students on a quest to outfit their dorms in style.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIRSTEN GLADDING, STUDENT, WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY: Hi, I'm a Kirsten Gladding. And I'm a senior at Washington and Lee University. I've been given $250 to do whatever I want with to decorate a dorm room.

MATT SLOAN, STUDENT, EMORY UNIVERSITY: My name is Matt Sloan (ph), I'm a sophomore at Emory University, and I'm here to buy some cool stuff to decorate my dorm room.

I'm going to get this George Foreman grill, because when I get sick of the dorm room, I'm going to make some of my own stuff on this.

GLADDING: If you have a roommate, one who has to stay up and read, then this can kind of clip on to your bed, if that actually makes sense.

It's close to these Mexican hats.

SLOAN: It's the love thing.

GLADDING: It's a French memo board. French, French.

SLOAN: It's on sale for $15. I don't know, do you think it will go?

GLADDING: No.

SLOAN: Yes, I could fit that in the den lover thing.

GLADDING: Look what we found hiding in this cart.

50, 150, 200, 250.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: So how far did $250 get? Well, we've got Kirsten Gladding. And, who do you have over there, Vince?

CELLINI: We have Matt Sloan, who's the sophomore from Emory.

LIN: All right. Kirsten, I would say that you were a little more practical than Matt. You got a lot for your bucks here. What's your favorite item here?

GLADDING: Definitely the chips and salsa bowl.

LIN: Very nice. GLADDING: We have a little three-piece bar set with all of the recipes for the drinks there.

LIN: 7.99

GLADDING: Yes. A lamp. A little lamp, which is perfect because it clips onto the side of your bed. A memo board, you definitely need one of those. Cordless phone, is so important. A robotic puppy, definitely a necessity. A light-up martini lamp. Picture frames, and an alarm clock.

LIN: All right. So, you are thinking about going to school, doing a little entertaining, making sure you stay in style while you're getting your well-deserved sleep.

How much did you spend?

GLADDING: I was about $13 under.

LIN: Awesome. Just enough for a hottie pillow case, maybe? Vince.

CELLINI: Well, actually, she was a better spender than Matt. First of all, I'm going to give you the good news. The good news, this is a great buy, this chair. Why the chair?

SLOAN: $14.99. You know you always need good seating in a dorm room. It's a little cramped, and this is great. You can fold it up and put it back away in the closet when you're done with it.

CELLINI: OK, now the bad news. Step back here. The green fuzzy pillow. What the hell is this, Matt?

LIN: You have some explaining to do, Matt.

CELLINI: I don't care how much that cost, Matt. Why?

SLOAN: Well, I don't know. I figured it would look good with the bed. I mean, girls like fuzzy green pillows.

CELLINI: Do they?

SLOAN: That's what I've heard.

LIN: Let's check in with the girl. Kirsten, if you met a guy with a green fuzzy pillow?

GLADDING: Run.

(LAUGHTER)

LIN: Run.

CELLINI: All right, let's talk about some other good buys here. You've got the George Foreman grill, right?

SLOAN: Yes.

CELLINI: And then you picked up the snow cone maker for those kind of hot Indian summer-type deals in fall?

SLOAN: I noticed last year, I kind of got sick of the dining hall food. I figured I would get a George Foreman Grill. I could make some of my own food in the snow cone maker if I ever got hungry later on at night, or something like that. And the George Foreman is definitely a must. The snow cone maker is just kind of fun. And here I got this...

CELLINI: We almost missed one here, down in front. The ducky scrubber?

SLOAN: Well, the dishes get kind dirty. I have to clean them somehow. I'll make my roommate do it, though. It shouldn't be a problem.

CELLINI: Did you buy that on your own, or were you forced a little bit to pick this one up? I'm trying to help you.

SLOAN: Well, I was a little bit strong-armed into buying some of these things, but most of them I chose. The hottie pillow. That was a little bit tough, but I got it anyway.

LIN: How you compare your strategies for spending Kirsten, in terms of what you save and what you prioritize?

GLADDING: Well, we obviously didn't get a lot of the essentials like a microwave. This was all just sort of for fun. But you know, a cordless phone is just sort of cute, but it served a purpose. This was decorative, but you need to keep your schedule and pictures and stuff like that up.

CELLINI: What was...

GLADDING: The snow cone maker was fun.

CELLINI: What was your strategy?

See, now the snow cone maker was a good move.

SLOAN: I thought maybe I would buy things to make dorm life easier. It gets tough living in a tiny room like that, and I thought if you could buy a few things just to make it a little bit easier, you know, cook for yourself a little bit, that kind of stuff, that's my strategy here.

CELLINI: Actually, this fuzzy pillow is kind of growing on me.

SLOAN: I knew you were going to like it, Ben.

LIN: All right, two guys we can avoid here, so thanks so much.

Kirsten Gladding from Washington and Lee. Matt, thanks so much.

SLOAN: Thank you.

LIN: All right, Vince, if we want more decorating tips, you know where we can go. Plenty on "College Week" info on our Web site, including the coolest dorm room competition. E-mail your photos of your dorm room to us. The winner will be announced on CNN.com next week.

We'll be right back, and we're going way back with CNN employees, a look at our college days, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Well, this is "College Week," and it's time for us to look back -- way back.

CELLINI: I've been tortured a few times, so now it's someone else's turn.

LIN: We want share you a picture of John Dedakis. He's our copy editor. He's responsible for the words we say.

CELLINI: What's going on, man?

LIN: How we say them.

CELLINI: I graduated.

LIN: That's John yesterday. Do we have a shot of John today? Maybe not.

OK, on to Betsy Anderson. This is Betsy Anderson now, one of the faces in the crowd. This was then.

LIN: Cool chick.

And then the person we know and love.

CELLINI: Kyra Phillips.

LIN: I don't even recognize her. That's her next to Sam Donaldson.

CELLINI: See that fellow in the background, come on, Kyra, let's go and get another cold one.

LIN: Still the partier. This is 1989, Usc. Kyra was a Trojan, I'm sorry to say.

CELLINI: You won't let that go.

LIN: No, I won't, and she should be here today, but, boo, she has the day off.

Thanks so much everybody for turning your photos in. We love our family here at CNN. CELLINI: And coming up tomorrow, we're going to continue with "College Week." We'll be tailgating in the eve of the first big Saturday in college football, so come on down to the CNN Center. We'd love to see you and have some fun.

LIN: Right here, CNN LIVE AT DAYBREAK.

Thanks so much for joining us, I'm Carol Lin.

CELLINI: I'm Vince Cellini, so long.

LIN: We'll see you tomorrow morning.

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