The Hunt for the College Scholarship
Tackling the job of applying for college is an exciting yet stressful time. Even more stressful is the task of raising enough money to attend your dream school. While financial aid and both government and private loans are available to students, even more appealing is the scholarship. Reducing tuition by just a thousand dollars can mean a big difference in your tuition bill each month. Finding the right scholarship can be as difficult as finding the right college for you. Scholarships are tailored specifically towards certain student qualifications and requirements. Being able to narrow down the scholarship pool to those scholarships you qualify for is the first step.
Narrowing it All Down
Because many of the large, private scholarships are open to everyone, the applicant pool can be huge, numbering in the hundreds and possibly even thousands of students. Jump that hurdle at the end. Start with scholarships whose applicant pool is smaller and for which you qualify. The best places to start are locally. Scholarships may be offered exclusively to students at your high school or at the college you are attending. Start by visiting your guidance counselor or the financial aid office of the college you plan on attending and asking for scholarship applications available only to students attending the school. Check your local library as well, as many scholarships are community based and sponsored by an organization wishing to give money to a local resident. Many local businesses and social organizations sponsor scholarships and will have a much smaller applicant pool. Ask your parents to check with their employers to see if the business offers scholarships to children of employees.
Looking Everywhere
Once you have exhausted your local and school resources, you can turn to the more daunting task of seeking out and applying to scholarships offered to the open public with no restrictions on school being attended or residential status. These scholarships do not come without criteria, however, and many have very strict guidelines regarding grade point average and standardized test scores. These scholarships often post information and applications through the internet and are often listed within a scholarship search site. Scholarship search sites are databases comprising thousands of scholarships. A student may enter their information in an internet form, and the site will then narrow down available scholarships to those for which the student qualifies. This is a good method to use when searching for scholarships that have rigid grade point average and standardized test requirements. It may not be so useful for scholarships aimed more towards athletic achievement, community involvement or extracurricular accomplishments.
Apply only for those scholarships for which you clearly qualify. If a scholarship specifies only students with grade point averages over 3.5 will be considered and you do not meet that requirement, do not apply, regardless of how stellar the rest of your application may seem. With applicant pools so large, scholarship selection committees will discard applications not meeting the initial qualifications before even looking at all the other qualities and accomplishments a student may have. Apply to scholarships whose qualifications you clearly meet or exceed first, and then work your way down to scholarships you may not be as highly qualified for. Some of the large, private scholarships are open to applicants based upon gender, ethnicity or financial ability. If you qualify for one of these groups, spend time researching scholarships open exclusively to these categories. The applicant pool will be significantly narrowed and many students may not have thought to search for such specialized criteria.
The Earlier the Better!
Start your scholarship search early. Many scholarships have early deadlines, with some ending at the beginning of your senior year. If possible, try to do most of your research and searching during junior year and have your application documents and papers ready. Not only will you get a head start on some of your fellow students, but you can also devote more time to schoolwork and college preparation by finishing your scholarship hunting early. Less stress is key to a time like this and finishing your scholarship search early will be a relief to you and hopefully to your wallet!