The cost of college tuition is on the rise with an increase of anywhere from 3-6% per year. In order to prepare for this, students have been forced to resort to scholarships, grants, and financial aid as early as their sophomore year in high school. Here are the top eight tips that will help students like you get a scholarship for college!
1. Look Outside Of The Box
With the cost of college tuition on the rise, nearly every student is optimizing their opportunities to find scholarships; this is why national and online scholarships are competitive. You need to be looking in nontraditional venues to get more money. First, check with your parents, and other family members, about work-related scholarships. Many larger companies have scholarships for children of employees. A good area to look into is community organizations like local legions or 4-H groups. Members of these programs (even new members) can apply for scholarship opportunities.
2. No Scholarship Is Out Of Reach
Another tip is to apply for as many scholarships as possible through all venues: organizations, schools, online, etc. If you can meet me all of the qualifications, it is easier to assume that you can get the scholarship. However, keep in mind that for every ten scholarships that you apply for you may only receive 1 or 2. That is why it is important to apply for as many scholarships as possible. Leave no stone unturned.
3. Write Great Essays
Many scholarships require short essays of anywhere to 200-2,000 words. Most applicants overlook these scholarships because they don’t want to write essays outside of school. However, these scholarships are the ones with more monetary value. To maximize your chances of success with these types of scholarships you should have a few topics that you are interested in that would be good essay content (like your guitar talents, sports, clubs, hobby, etc.). Similarly, the essays that you write can almost always be reworked and reused for different scholarships.
4. Build a Resume
In high school, it’s usually not necessary to have a working resume. Students are focused on school and extracurricular activities rather than full-time job applications. However, you should think of a scholarship as a job application; the applicant needs to sell themselves to whoever is giving them a scholarship. Therefore, build a resume to send with your applications. To do this, volunteer and participate in unique opportunities that will help set you apart from the crowd of applicants. Even just getting a regular job and putting it on your resume will increase your candidacy for scholarships.
5. Get a Letter of Recommendation
Do you have a favorite teacher or coach? Consider talking to them or other leaders in organizations that you are a part of to get a letter of recommendation. Letters of Recommendation are fantastic resources for students to use for scholarships. Although most scholarships do not require this tool, a working letter building up the student’s abilities is a great way to attract the attention of scholarship donors.
6. Apply Early And Be Persistent
High school students should start thinking about scholarships by their sophomore year and begin applying to scholarships by their junior year. Similarly, you must be persistent in looking for opportunities. Many times, applicants will miss deadlines because of summer activities. Yet, by applying and researching for an hour a day, you could easily apply for many opportunities over the summer. Don’t get discouraged and walk away. There is a scholarship for everyone.
7. Embrace your Uniqueness
Do you have a weird talent? Are you interested in something unique? Chances are, there’s a scholarship for it. Yup, there’s even a scholarship for aspiring superheroes (Superpower Scholarship). Look for scholarships that are unique and fit you well. If you play in the band, look for instrumental scholarships. If you have poetic inclinations, try looking for poetry contests and scholarships. Many scholarships are just as unique as the applicants that apply for them.
8. Include “Extras” In Applications
Does the scholarship ask for a letter of recommendation? Give them two. A resume? Send them an example of something that you did (i.e. a picture, or newspaper where you volunteered your time). Scholarships really are about straying away from the mainstream. To do this, you have to work to find what makes you different–and then utilize those talents. If you are mailing scholarships, try adding extra things into your application to beef it up.
