395: College Without The Debt - How To Win Scholarships And Build Wealth With Melissa Rowe

2026-01-20

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❤ Subscribe to the Clever Girl Finance newsletter for weekly motivation! clevergirlfinance.com/subscribe On this episode of the podcast, we're joined by Melissa A. Rowe, M.Ed., award-winning Scholarship Specialist, College Coach, and founder of Capture Greatness!, to explore how students can graduate from college without the debt. Melissa has helped students secure over $12 million in scholarships, including multiple Gates Millennium Scholars, and gain acceptance to elite institutions like Yale, UPenn, Cornell, Howard, and Morehouse—all while keeping their families financially secure. As the author of

❤ Subscribe to the Clever Girl Finance newsletter for weekly motivation! clevergirlfinance.com/subscribe

On this episode of the podcast, we're joined by Melissa A. Rowe, M.Ed., award-winning Scholarship Specialist, College Coach, and founder of Capture Greatness!, to explore how students can graduate from college without the debt.

Melissa has helped students secure over $12 million in scholarships, including multiple Gates Millennium Scholars, and gain acceptance to elite institutions like Yale, UPenn, Cornell, Howard, and Morehouse—all while keeping their families financially secure.

As the author of Scholars Get Dollars and a Certified Financial Education Instructor™, Melissa believes college should be a legacy-building experience, not a lifelong financial burden. She shares practical strategies to find scholarships, busts myths about who qualifies for them, and explains how to turn the college journey into a launchpad for long-term wealth.

What Melissa Discussed on the Podcast:

Her journey into college coaching and why she's passionate about helping students graduate debt-free.
The secret to standing out in the scholarship application process.
Common myths about scholarships, and why they're not just for straight-A students.
Where to find scholarships and how to start the search effectively.
How she helps students get into top-tier schools with a financial strategy in place.
What it really means to treat college as a wealth-building opportunity.
Common mistakes families make when planning for college and how to avoid them.
How she integrates financial education into the college planning process.
Simple, actionable steps for families who feel behind or overwhelmed by college costs.
A success story of a student who used scholarships to build a legacy, not just fund their education.