An Interview with Elizabeth Wallace
By Jeanette A. Fratto, Orange Branch
Elizabeth Wallace was a successful language teacher in California public secondary schools, adjunct community college professor, author and public speaker in the U.S. and abroad for more than four decades. She helped her high school students learn how to stand out from the crowd, so they would be accepted into college and win scholarships. Elizabeth later researched the habits of successful scholarship winners so families wouldn’t need student loans. Her new book, Free College, clearly outlines what she discovered, so students and families everywhere could benefit. Recently we chatted.
JF: Most parents don’t begin thinking about college for their children until they are in high school. Your book suggests an earlier approach. Why is that?
EW: After conducting a great deal of research, I found families of the most successful scholarship winners, those who earned the most money, began preparing while their children were in preschool. Only half of their sixteen defining habits began in high school.
JF: Your book is not only a guide, but a workbook as well. How did you decide on the format?
EW: I realized it would be helpful for families to keep information they need for scholarship and grant applications in one place. I added an action plan to each chapter to make this easier for them.
JF: You’ve had a very long and impressive career in education. At what point did the light click on about a different way to gain scholarship money?
EW: I knew student loans should be avoided many years ago, but it wasn’t until several of my students won full-ride scholarships, while other equally qualified students earned far less money, that I began to wonder what made the difference.
JF: Your title, Free College, is intriguing. Who is your audience and when is the best time for parents to begin the process you outline?
EW: Families of preschool through high school students are my audience. The earlier families acquire the defining habits of scholarship winners, the easier it will be for their children; and the more free cash for college they will earn.
JF: Are there any success stories, using your ideas, you’d like to share?
EW: One student who had adopted all of the tactics outlined in my book, was offered a full-ride scholarship by Harvard, Yale and MIT. It was fun helping her decide where to go. She graduated MIT with honors, and is now a successful software engineer with a well-known company. Several of my students were awarded the Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholarship. All the students who followed the guidelines in the book won scholarships. Those who did it well, won the most free cash for college.
JF: Please provide your website and let parents know where Free College is available.
EW: My website is RoadToFreeCollege.com. The book is available from Amazon.