English grads find a million ways to pay for college

LYNN – Studying for four years at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is going to cost Joseph Calnan Jr. almost $250,000, but the English High School Class of 2015 graduate has a quarter of that covered thanks to an aggressive hunt for scholarships. Beginning in his junior year, the English salutatorian took his mother?s advice to heart and set his sights on grabbing all the scholarship money he could find.?I always say, ?asking is free,?” Michelle Calnan said.Calnan secured 15 scholarships, including a Milton and Elizabeth Levin scholarship and an Esther Hawkes scholarship that will help cover his Worcester Polytechnic tuition for four years. Taken together, the aid will cover half of Calnan?s $61,000 freshman year tuition and offset tuition costs for the next three years by $10,000 annually.Calnan?s push to get all the money he can mirrors an effort by fellow Class of 2015 members to pursue scholarships, said English guidance counselor Matthew Wilkins.?There are thousands and thousands of scholarships,” he said.Wilkins and fellow English guidance counselors give students website links to scholarships and show them computer search engines to help refine the money search. They also push parents to jump into the money hunt.The results have paid off: Wilkins said scholarship money sought by college-bound English students – as opposed to merit aid and other tuition assistance sources – totaled $332,000 in 2009 compared to $1.1 million in 2015.Classical High School and St. Mary?s High School students also pushed hard to land scholarships this year.?I was amazed at how many references I wrote for scholarships this year,” said St. Mary?s Head of School Grace Cotter Regan.Cotter Regan said St. Mary?s seniors and their parents tapped “multiple revenue sources” to cover upcoming tuition costs while Classical Principal Gene Constantino said college-bound students are increasingly aware they must scramble for tuition money.?We have to challenge kids with big ticket costs to apply for scholarships,” Constantino said.Information on Lynn Vocational Technical Institute college-bound scholarships was not immediately available on Tuesday.Michelle Calnan credited Wilkins with pushing her son and other seniors hard to seek out scholarship money.?Matt?s great – he would really be out there getting people to apply,” she said.