Hi, I have a challenge on my hands! I'm tired of always applying for
the same scholarships/grants/awards that the entire social sciences
community knows about. I'm hoping that someone can help.

I would like information on at least 7, bonus if more than 10
non-defunct scholarships that fit the following conditions:

1) Pre-dissertation sociology graduate students are eligible.

2) White women are eligible.

3) It is not an ASA, NSF, SSRC, Ford, Jacobs, or Javits fellowship.
Nor is it the Clogg award. I want something smaller, less competitive,
and oriented toward helping researchers with particular goals. I can
find the obvious; I want help with the more obscure ones.

4) Scholarship would fund language study in French or Spanish, travel
to explore research sites, travel to examine contents of an archive,
workshop or training session attendance, etc. but NOT conference
attendance where one is required to present a paper or poster.

5) Topical areas can include: studies of science and technology, risk,
trust, consumption, transaction, economic sociology, media and
technology, organizational change, public understanding of science and
technology, qualitative methods, archival research, survey research,
Internet inequality, or
Internet and health. Please request clarification if you have
something that seems in the ballpark but isn't explicitly listed here.

6) I'd also be interested in scholarships that are available to
pre-diss grad students who are the first in their family to attend
college. Not that there are any, but that's another direction to go.
Also, another possible match might relate to the geographic area that
my university is in: New Jersey.

What I want in the way of information is a short description of the
amount of the award, eligibility, and its deadline plus a link to the
website that describes it and provides some way of getting the
application. If the application information is not available online,
then I would like the business phone number/mailing address for the
scholarship. Please pre-screen these to ensure that the award fits my
criteria. They might actually be better because they'd be even less
well-known.

For turning up virtually unknown scholarships that fit the
set of criteria I've outlined here (ie easier academic money than
most), I will tip especially well. 

Can anyone help?

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Clarification of Question by silkstocking-ga on 05 Mar 2005 14:51 PST

I implied it in my question, but I wonder if I should make it
explicit: I am already enrolled at a particular university, so funding
that is tied to being enrolled elsewhere won't work for me.

I'm delighted to see that someone is working on this! I'm eager to
read what you come up with.

Thanks!
silkstocking-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 05 Mar 2005 18:43 PST

Hello silkstocking-ga,

Please tell me what resources you?ve exhausted in searching for the
scholarships you?ve identified on your own. I?ve started working on
your question but I don?t want to duplicate your efforts. Your
detailed and very circumscribed question shows that you?ve already
done a lot of research on your own and it would be helpful to know
what resources I should not bother with.

I?m also quite sure that it?s highly unlikely that I will be able to
find 7-10 scholarships with the amount of time that?s appropriate for
the price of your question. I suggest that you adjust the question
parameters or the price. As a new user you might find it helpful to
review the Google Answers pricing guidelines. Thanks.

http://answers.google.com/answers/pricing.html

I look forward to your clarification.

~ czh ~

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Clarification of Question by silkstocking-ga on 05 Mar 2005 22:17 PST

Hi, czh --

Thanks for your prompt attention to my question! I have exhausted
FastWeb (and have come across a few essay question- based scholarships
as well as one for women in NJ). The organizations I listed in my
original post: ASA, NSF, SSRC, Ford, Jacobs, Javits, and I forgot to
mention the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation all have general
websites that one can visit directly, so I visited them already. They
are among the largest funding sources in my discipline.

About the price and scope of my question, I consulted the GA pricing
guide and was surprised about what I found there. I actually hadn't
seen it before. At my university, I believe that individual research
assistants (students and nonstudents alike) with a masters degree are
paid almost $20 an hour. When I set my price, I was aware that you
folks get 75% of any accepted price, so I figured that you would get
$37.50 plus the tip I was planning to leave (because you keep all of
that). Given my experience, I thought that it would be a fair price
for two hours of effort. If you like having a bigger bid up front, I
can always build what I was planning to tip into my asking price. I
didn't want to do this because a) you keep more of what I pay with
nice tips and b) I have never used GA, so I wanted to be able to
exercise discretion if I got a really good answer or...one that really
didn't fit what I asked.

Back to the time issue...perhaps my estimate that it would take about
two hours is wrong?

The other interpretation is that the neighborhood of $25/hour is not
enough. The Google pricing guide seems to suggest that this is indeed
the case: $50 should pay for 30 minutes (or one-hour depending upon in
what part of the guide you look). Which would mean the equivalent of
$75 an hour (or $37.50). If this is the going rate, then perhaps I
need to bow out...gracefully. I am, after all, a graduate student who
is looking for money.

This really is a longwinded of saying: how much do you think this
question is worth given your going rate and how many hours you expect
it to take? I think it would be good to clarify this before we
transact; I want to make sure I can afford your help, and I also want
to be sensitive to what you think is fair.

Thanks!
silkstocking-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 05 Mar 2005 23:18 PST

Hello again silkstocking-ga,

Thank you for the additional information. I'm surprised that the only
scholarship tool that you've used is FastWeb. I expected that you were
familiar with Peterson's, Collegeboard and other search services.
These types of services are very personalized and you have to answer
lots of questions to build your profile so they can do a productive
search. Your criteria are so specialized and selective that it will be
difficult for someone else to use these tools on your behalf. If you
really haven't used anything beyond FastWeb, I suggest that I provide
you with a selection of search resources to help you find exactly what
you need. If this is not suitable I will bow out and invite other
researchers to help you find the financial help you seek. I look
forward to your clarification.

~ czh ~

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Clarification of Question by silkstocking-ga on 06 Mar 2005 12:49 PST

Hello czh,

I decided to use GA because I thought that google researchers with
experience/interest in education/reference might be more efficient
(not necessarily effective) at sorting through scholarships that meet
the criteria I listed than I would be. I do know about other sites and
have used them myself during my undergrad days, including college
board, foundation center, etc.

If you can't help me, I understand. Perhaps someone else would be interested? 

Thanks again for your interest.

silkstocking-ga