Getting into your dream school is one thing, but affording it is becoming an even harder proposition for many families nationwide. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of college in the United States is over $36,000 a year when you factor in tuition, books, supplies, and other daily living expenses.  Each year, 30 percent of students rely on borrowing to pay for college, piling up an average federal student loan debt of nearly $38,000. Scholarships continue to be a popular way to help people afford college, with 58 percent of families in 2020 using them to help pay for classes. With well over 100 scholarships to choose from, Bret Bicoy from the Door County Community Foundation says he is still shocked by how many students do not even know about their scholarship network, let alone believe they are eligible for many of the awards.

Bicoy recommends students thinking about attending college this fall take a deep dive into its Door County Scholarship Network, as this is the time of the year when many deadlines are approaching. One of those deadlines is March 15th, when applications for many scholarships through the foundation are due.