It will take more than one Saturday afternoon to find college scholarships! It’s never too early to start, even though rules and applications for scholarships could change from year to year.
There are scholarships available that cater to a variety of criteria, including geographic location, extracurricular activities, abilities, academic interests, and career aspirations. Here are 8 actions you may do to expedite your search and lower the cost of college.
Many students assume that their only alternatives for paying for college are student loans and financial assistance.
Prioritizing your applications for merit-based scholarships will help make college even cheaper, even if completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a must for all students seeking need-based financial aid.
Scholarships are available to help lower the expense of higher education, regardless of where you are in your studies—undergrad, graduate school, or your senior year of high school.
These eight expert suggestions will simplify the application process and increase your chances of being awarded a scholarship.
1. Check Your Prospective Schools
Visit their webpage or give the financial aid department a call. Find out how to apply if you fit the requirements. Applying for admission does not equate to applying for scholarships. Usually, it’s a different procedure.
Keep in mind that deadlines for scholarships may differ from those for applying to colleges.
As a matter of fact, several colleges require you to submit your scholarship application before your admissions application. Increasing your high school GPA and test scores will assist you have a better chance of being awarded merit aid.
2. Ask Your Academic Advisor
You most likely have access to a school counselor if you are a current student. Profit from it! He or she might be aware of a scholarship that might be a suitable fit for you.
Find out what services your school offers and whether there is a special office for students planning to attend college. You can also get assistance from our college counselors in creating a financial aid plan!
3. Dig Into Your Network
Do you participate in a local chapter of a national club or a church group? Do either of your parents belong to a union or other community organization?
Do any of them have a job at a big company? Members and their kids can apply for scholarships from several of these kinds of organizations.
In your area, there are typically PTA, Kiwanis Club, Chamber of Commerce, churches, foundations, and other organizations that grant scholarships based on a number of criteria. Check them out. Because these must be given out locally, there is frequently less competition for them.
4. Try Online
We advise you to be as detailed as you can be while conducting an online search. Doing a simple search for “scholarships” can return thousands and thousands of results. To assist reduce the field, use qualifiers like the names of colleges and study programs.
A word of caution: Never spend money on scholarship research. Scholarship providers give their awards to all students, not only those who pay to locate them.
5. Be Keenly Aware of Scholarship Deadlines
Each scholarship has a different deadline. It might be the summer before your senior year, fall, or even spring in some cases.
We advise keeping a calendar and setting your earliest deadline as the deadline for all of your applications in order to stay organized and remember when things are due.
Finally, remember to meet your deadlines—this cannot be emphasized enough. In addition to having no chance of winning that award, you won’t have any options if your application is received after the deadline.
A scholarship essay will be required for many applications, so bear that in mind as you schedule your time.
6. Take Both the SAT and ACT
Test results are required for many scholarships. To ensure you have the scores you need to fulfill a range of requirements, think about taking both the SAT and the ACT.
7. Start Your Scholarship Applications Early
Just as your college application starts long before you send in your transcripts, your chances of getting scholarships will be greater if you start thinking about what would make you a good applicant before your senior year of high school.
Different scholarships will take into account a variety of factors, but you’ll generally set yourself up for success by getting good grades, participating in extracurricular activities, and building relationships with teachers, professors, and other people who can speak favorably on your behalf.
In addition, many scholarships will require a written submission — so don’t shirk your writing classes. Your ability to write quickly and efficiently will be useful when completing multiple essays both for your school applications as well as the scholarships.
8. Explore College Scholarships and Grants
The majority of people associate scholarship programs with private corporations, such as the Exxon Mobile scholarship that is included in this list. However, the bulk of scholarships that are offered are not of this nature.
Rather, the majority of scholarship funds are given out by specific universities. According to the College Board, institutional scholarships and grants made up 53% of financial aid for all undergraduate and graduate students in the 2022–2023 academic year.
nearly the past ten years, this kind of grant money has climbed by 33% to reach a total of nearly $75 billion, while federal grant money has fallen.
In summary, before you discover a scholarship that suits you, you might look through one hundred. Have patience, persevere, and maintain your current academic standing.
You’ll eventually find someone who fits well. And when you finally get some money, you’ll be glad you did all that research!
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