 Technology & Supplies: Before you spend the first dollar, take inventory. Are there packs of lined paper, pencils, pens, markers, crayons, calculators and other supplies stuffed in a cabinet somewhere around the house? If you have more than one child, can some things be passed down? That Spiderman lunchbox your middle-schooler thinks is “babyish” may be hipper than hip to your first-grader.
Make a list and price items online and in newspaper circulars and map out the most efficient route to the store(s) you need to visit. The fewer trips, the less gasoline burned.
Major computer shows – often held at arenas and other large venues – have computers with all the bells and whistles, software and accessories at a fraction of the cost of retail. Check to see if newer, less expensive models are about to hit the stores before you buy. Buy some tech magazines and read a few tech columns online or in the newspaper to see where the trends are.
If you’re thinking about going green, the National Geographic Society’s Web site has a list of environmentally conscious tips for using recycled paper, pens and reducing waste in lunch packaging and recycling old electronics.
 Study skills: Here are some basic tips and if you’re really stumpedyou’re your child doesn’t want question the teacher in front of friends, tap a couple of study Web sites, including http://www.studytips.org/ or http://www.how-to-study.com/ or http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/howtostudy.html. Many fraternal organizations, community centers and churches offer tutoring and study programs, as well as afterschool programs. When in doubt, ask a librarian – and libraries have extensive resources, both online as well as in books.
1. Have a designated area in which to study. A place that doesn’t have all the distractions that take you off task, such as, including Blitzmail, Snood, the telephone, video games, friends down the hall (for students in college dorms). Lying down on the bed to read turns into an hour long nap and a bright yellow highlighter spot on your sheets!
 Success Bound Student: Black Excel The College Help Network http://www.blackexcel.org provides a number of links for students looking for one-stop shopping on college tours, scholarships, preparation programs and statistics on how black students are faring on the SAT and other admission tests.
There is also “The Black Student’s Guide to High School Success,” for younger students who need to juggle the demands of academics, extracurricular activities and a social life.
The Upward Bound program prepares high school students for successful college careers. The program serves students from low-income families; families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree; and low-income, first-generation military veterans seeking postsecondary education.
Upward Bound provides classes in math, science, writing, literature and foreign languages, in addition to tutoring, mentoring, counseling and it supports work-study programs.
 Scholarships: A number of sites provide listings for various scholarships, but there really isn’t one-stop shopping for every scholarship out there.
That said, however, http://www.fastweb.com, helps tailor your search based on a personal profile you provide and has access to there more than 1.5 million scholarships worth more than $3.4 billion. There are other free scholarship search sites that can help you narrow your choices as well.
The Tom Joyner Foundation provides scholarships through HBCUs to help students continue their education and has a partnership with the National Education Association to help teachers serving communities in need become fully certified.
YourBlackWorld.com, provides a list with links to 200 different scholarship, grant and loan programs, ranging from the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
In addition to scholarships and links to scholarship programs, the UNCF, http://www.uncf.org, provides internship and research fellowship opportunities.
U.S. News & World Report magazine warns scholarship seekers to be careful of cleverly disguised sites that are nothing more than marketing schemes. Be especially wary, the magazine said, of any site that requires you to pay for consideration.
The magazine also listed several reputable sites:
There's no one central clearinghouse of all the legitimate graduate scholarships and fellowships, but recommended several sites it described as reputable:
scholarsite.com
scholarships.fatomei.com
cgsnet.org
gradschool.cornell.edu
gradschool.unh.edu
fellowships.ssrc.org
gdnet.ucla.edu
sciencecareers.sciencemag.org
lib.msu.edu
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