by our College Data Analytics TeamIt can be extremely difficult to wrap your head around the idea of paying for college. Before I went to college the largest purchase I had ever made was less than $500. Spending tens of thousands of dollars on a place to stay, food, and an abstract education was difficult to comprehend. Earning scholarships is one of the primary ways students can lower costs, but finding and winning those scholarships can be even more overwhelming than your college search.
Scholarships are a tool to lowering the financial burden you place on yourself, your parents, or the bank when playing for college. Scholarships come from a business, organization, or school who is saying “I believe you can do great things and be successful, so here’s some money to put towards your education.” Sometimes, the money comes with some strings attached, like maintain a 3.5 GPA or have a major in a particular field. If you do not abide by the guidelines of the scholarship, the money is taken away.
Some of the larger scholarships expect you to get a job in a particular field or industry for a limited number of years once you graduate. If you fail to either find a job in that field or choose not to pursue that job, you may find yourself paying the donor back for the investment they made in you. For this reason, finding a scholarship that matches your career goals, interests, and passions is important.
The best time to start the scholarship search process would be freshman year in high school. This allows you to realize what types of activities or commitments you could be doing to be awarded scholarships. However, this thought doesn’t cross many students' minds until junior or senior year in high school. I didn’t begin to seriously think about it until I was accepted into my current school and looked at the price. This was a little too late to do the necessary work to apply for some of the larger scholarships. I have since learned from my mistakes and am ahead of the game for the limited graduate school scholarships that are offered.
There are two places where financial assistance for attending college comes from. The first is outside sources, this includes non-profits, organizations, credit unions, banks, and businesses. The second is from the specific school one will attend.
List your Interests. Create a list of everything you are interested in. This should include clubs, instruments, hobbies, passions, religious affiliations, and social issues. On this list, you should also write your home location, your hometown (if they are different), and your GPA. All of this information will be useful for your scholarship search.
Begin Your Search. Take your list of interests and begin your scholarship search by picking an interest and searching the internet. For example, if you are an avid video gamer, there are scholarships for you. Try searching your interests with the word scholarships after it. You can also search for scholarship categories for specific traits, like being left handed, having red hair, or having blue eyes. In addition, there are scholarships for first generation college students or first generation citizens. Anything that makes you unique, there is most likely a scholarship for!
Even though there are many interest-specific scholarships available, they can be difficult to win as they are available to anyone matching the criteria. You will have to commit a decent amount of time and effort into applying for these as they typically require a topic-specific essay.
If you are looking into playing in college, search much like you would with interests. For example, if you were a cross country runner in high school and wish to, search “Cross Country Scholarships.” Some scholarships may be specific for students who will go into that sport in their designated schools or for the sport in general.
Go local. Another great supplier of scholarships are from where you live. Many credit unions, small businesses, and other local companies offer scholarships. Look into your bank or credit union along with your parents' banks, place of work, and other local businesses you support. You never know what type of scholarship you may come across from a local organization. These scholarships are less competitive as they are only available to those in the community.
What’s your major? If you know your major, that’s great. You can do searches like “Physics major scholarships” or “English major scholarships.”
However, do not accept any scholarships If you’re unsure about your major. Major-specific scholarships generally have strings attached. These requirements range from working a certain number of years working in the particular field or staying that major until you graduate. I changed my major four times, so I am happy I didn’t have a major-specific scholarship. However, I have friends whom haven’t changed their major and has sported a major-specific scholarship all four years.
If you need help determining a major, try Majors Matcher.
To get a jump-start on your search we recommend using Scholarship Owl. Register for hundreds of scholarships by filling out one simple form, and get entered for a $2,222 scholarship just by signing up!
Remind yourself often of the task and set reminders. Breaking the application into smaller, achievable goals will help you stay focused and do your best.
This article can help you with the essay portion of your application.
Some schools are better endowed then others and therefore offer more aid and scholarship packages. College Factual has a lot of detailed information on the financial aid and scholarships available from each school as well.
If that isn’t the case, write a heartfelt email to the financial aid office asking for money. Explain why you need it and why you’re a worthy investment. Worst case scenario is that they will refuse and your initial offer will be intact. Note that you will be more successful with this method if you can demonstrate that you are a good student who will likely do well at their college. You can find some additional information on this approach here.
It is critical for you to know that you can still ask for money even while you’re attending school. Once you receive your bill for the following year, it is reasonable to write an email to the school asking for more support. Again, this approach is most successful if you are at good academic and disciplinary standing.
While at school, you can also continue to apply for outside scholarships and additional assistance.
Remember, while in school it is important to maintain the standard expected by any scholarship you obtain. If you drop below this standard, or switch out of expected programs, you are running risk of losing the support and potentially having to pay back any previous support you have been given.
Overall, scholarships are a simple way to lower your education’s financial burden. Geared with these tools, you may be able to get additional support that succeeds that initially provided to you.
Sign up for hundreds of scholarships by filling out one simple form at Scholarship Owl