The embers from the homecoming bonfire are cooling, but it’s time for high school seniors to strike while the iron is hot for college scholarships.

For the Oct. 12 Spouse Calls, I talked to Patty Carden, the counselor for my son’s senior class at Ramstein High School here in Germany. She has also been an Army wife for 27 years. Her third child is about to graduate from high school, so I knew she would have good advice.

"Just as all senior parents, we are hoping to help our daughter get the best education she can, at the best cost available," Ms. Carden said of a recent conversation with her husband, David.

"We talked about how important it is to have a student not only choose a major they enjoy, but also that they choose a career field which can be pursued. Having a marketable license of some sort, nursing, teaching, computer technology ... is, of course, icing on the cake. Especially in today's economy, our students need to be prepared for the future."

Here are some suggestions gleaned from my conversation with Ms. Carden: 

• Make the most of your military family experience: When it’s time to apply for scholarships (and colleges too) the global experiences of military students can help them stand out in the crowd of applicants. Sometimes DoDDS students forget this because all their classmates have similar experiences. “Good students who have lived around the world” are a desirable commodity to colleges and universities, Ms. Carden said.

• Be a well-rounded person: Grades are important, but there’s more to life than straight-A’s. When filling out applications and writing essays, draw on volunteer experiences and other interests. There is still time for students who need those experiences. Find a good cause and get involved.
• Talk to your school counselor: Guidance counselors can help students in their scholarships searches and college decisions. A school counselor has information about schools, scholarships and other financial aid, and can be a sounding board for questions and ideas.
• Use the Internet: “I learn so much from students telling me, because they are so computer savvy,” Ms. Carden said. “They get on the computer and do a search on scholarships.”

Some helpful resources include:

• Scholarship search tools like Scholarships.com http://www.scholarships.com/ and FastWeb, http://www.fastweb.com/ 
• MilitaryHOMEFRONT has a list of scholarships especially for military family members, including links, all in one location: Click on http://www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil/portal/page/mhf/MHF/MHF_DETAIL_1?section_id=20.40.500.144.0.0.0.0.0&current_id=20.40.500.144.500.105.60.90.0
• Defense Commissary Agency and Fisher House Foundation sponsored scholarship, which accepts applications beginning Nov. 3 click on http://www.militaryscholar.org/
• ThanksUSA is a private charity, which offers scholarships to spouses as well.
• Another site might be helpful when researching in-state tuition requirements. The Military Child Education Coalition is dedicated to the education of military kids from kindergarten to college. Their Web site offers state-by-state information about in state tuition and residence requirements. http://www.militarychild.org/

For parents of younger children who still have time to plan ahead, Ms. Carden said prepaid college tuition is one way to invest and is more flexible than most people realize.

“Even if you’ve bought a prepaid college tuition plan in Texas -- if your child does not choose to go to school in Texas you can take that prepaid plan and use it in Tennessee,” she said.

“One thing parents need to definitely do … If you’ve bought one of those plans, you always read the fine print.” to be sure that you can transfer to another state or even to another sibling. Most will only allow you to use the funds for undergraduate studies, she said.