Erika Barger: ‘Many students miss out on scholarship opportunities because they don’t know where to look or when to begin the process or make errors when completing applications that could cost them thousands of dollars.’
Erika J. Barger, litigation counsel with Brown & Brown in Daytona Beach, has released her first book, Scholarship Hacks: Insider Tips for Winning College Money, an Amazon best-selling guide to assist students and their families in navigating the process of applying for scholarships, including to law school.
“With the rising cost of higher education and student debt at an all-time high, securing scholarships to fund one’s education is more important than ever,” says Barger. “Many students miss out on scholarship opportunities because they don’t know where to look or when to begin the process or make errors when completing applications that could cost them thousands of dollars.”
The guide provides students with proven application strategies, tips on how to write winning essays, the “dos and don’ts” of the application process, common mistakes and how to avoid them, and insider tips to maximize their chances of securing financial aid, says Barger, who has over 10 years of experience in judging scholarship eligibility and chairing scholarship committees.
Barger wrote the book at the suggestion of a friend after serving as the “go-to person” for scholarships among her family and friends.
“All the content in the book came from my experience as an applicant or as a judge,” she says. “Anybody looking for free money or scholarships should benefit from the guide…Students have a lot more help today, but as a judge and chairperson I have seen errors that could lead to disqualification, which I address in the book.”
A native Floridian, Barger secured nearly $250,000 in college and law school scholarships and financial aid when she was a high school student in Daytona Beach. Dual-enrolled at Daytona State College while at Seabreeze High School, she received an associate degree a year before her high school diploma, graduating high school as valedictorian. Her success in securing scholarships allowed her to fully fund her undergraduate degree in government at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She earned her juris doctorate from Florida State University College of Law, where she graduated magna cum laude in 2013.
She says if students take the application process seriously “and work it like a job,” like she did, they can find success.
“There aren’t many jobs that give back $250,000 to a teenager,” she added.
Barger shares scholarship tips online at hackingscholarships.com and on social media: Scholarship Hacks (Facebook), @scholarhacks (X), @scholarshiphacksbook (Instagram and TikTok).
‘To inculcate in its members the principles of duty and service to the public, to improve the administration of justice, and to advance the science of jurisprudence.’
~ From the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar
