Deck the Halls... With Scholarships!

It’s that time of year again. Scholarship time. With the hustle and bustle of seniors applying to colleges and juniors getting ready, this time of year can be really overwhelming. Scholarships are a big part of the whole college process. There are so many different types of scholarships. Billions of dollars go unclaimed because people don’t take time out to do scholarships. It’s understandable because on top of your school work, nobody wants to go home and write an essay if there is no guarantee of a prize. Here are three reasons why students don’t apply for scholarships: They think it’s only for freshman, they think there’s no scholarships out there for them, or they think it’s better to focus on something that you’re guaranteed than wasting time on something they won’t get it. Here are why these are far from the truth!

“Applying for scholarships is something freshman do, not seniors like me.” I hear this statement being said so many times in different ways. Applying for scholarships every year, even when you’re in college is such an important thing. Most students think that scholarships don’t apply to them after their first year of college but they do! One student at Penn State University graduated debt free because she continuously applied for scholarships throughout all four years. Think of all the free time we spend lying down, on our phones, or watching television

. That’s a perfect time to knock out a few scholarships and get that chance of putting some money in your pocket.

Students, including myself at first, think that scholarships are only for the really smart kids with extremely high GPAs, are involved in every club and sport, and who have really high test scores. That is not the case at all. There are scholarships for everyone out there. There are scholarships for having glasses, contacts, freckles, brown hair, blue eyes, there’s even ones for being a certain height! There are so many different scholarships based on the career you want, or even ones where you have to write an essay about your life with your dog. There are scholarships out there for everybody.

Students who feel like scholarships are a waste of time are not alone. With school work, it can be hard to get motivated to do a scholarship essay, but it’ll be worth it. If you manage your time correctly and organize your work, there will be plenty of time to be able to do 2-3 scholarships a day and over time, with consistent work, that can add up to 1,080 scholarships a year! You’ll definitely win something and who knows how much that could help with your schooling financially. A scholarship might cover the entire cost of your tuition, or it might be a one-time award of a few hundred dollars. Either way, it’s worth applying for, because it’ll help reduce the cost of your education.

Some scholarships for college are merit-based. You can earn them by meeting or exceeding certain standards set by the scholarship-giver. Other scholarships are based on financial need. Many scholarships are geared toward particular groups of people. There are scholarships for women or high school seniors. And some are available because of where you or your parents work, or because you come from a certain background, like being in a military family.

So, what is a scholarship? And why do people want to just give away free money? Well, by definition, a scholarship is a grant or payment made to support a student's education, awarded on the basis of academic or other achievement. The reason people or companies give out scholarships is to give back. If the head of a company graduated from a certain college, they might offer a scholarship for students only attending that university. Also, a scholarship will help raise the profile of of an organization, company, or individual in an industry or in the community to show commitment to education.

When you first start the scholarship process, it can be really confusing. How do they work and how do you know which ones are legit? Sadly, you might deal with a few scams but that happens to everyone, just be aware. Some of the legitimate websites that are really good:

• Zinch.com

• Fastweb.com

• ScholarshipPoints.com

• Cappex.com

• Scholarships.com

• CollegeNET.com

Along with that, here are some tips that I wish I knew about:

• Apply for local scholarships

• Get personal

• Don’t introduce yourself in an essay

• Don’t repeat the essay prompt

• Stick to the word limit

• Don’t use quotes

• Proofread

• Submit early

• Apply for as many as you can

• Don’t give up!

Most scholarships are essays, but not all! There are so many different submissions. There are ones where you just make an account with a website and you’re put in a drawing for a scholarship, many do that once a month. There are others where you have to make a video, take a picture, or just write a one paragraph or one sentence answer to a question. The point is, don’t think that scholarships are just long essays, there are so many fun ones!

Scholarships are stressful, but so worth it! Don’t let your grades slip because of them. It is so easy to do that essay that might get you money than an essay for English, but you’ll need that class to graduate, and if you don’t graduate that scholarship isn’t going to be any use to you. Relax, and remember that there are millions of scholarships out there, don’t stress over the ones do tomorrow if you can’t do it. Most importantly, have fun with the process and don’t forget to make time for yourself, family, and friends!