So far, I am debt free (but I am still broke). I always wanted to be able to help other kids get to to college debt free too. Now that I am a senior, people are starting to ask me to help their children that are applying to college. I’m not sure if I can really help but I do know I can tell them what I know, which is why I am writing this blog. Throughout this post I will talk about what I know while sharing my personal story about obtaining scholarships.
Apply to them all and see what you get.
While exhausting, the more scholarships you apply to, the more chances you have of getting some. You can’t win if you don’t apply.
What do I need to know before I start looking and applying to scholarships?
Before you apply to scholarships, you
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I looked into scholarships before I knew exactly where I was going, but some scholarships are specifically for students going to specific colleges. Also your college may have a database of scholarships you can apply to within the college. Some colleges may also offer you a scholarships that you did not apply to. That is because some scholarships do not have a separate application from the college. When you apply to the college, you may be applying to some scholarships and not even know. I received large scholarships from my university that I did not have a separate application for.
Family Dynamic/ Background: Single parent household? Orphan? Homeless? Low income? First in family to go to college? Parent an alum from the college you are going to? All of these (and more) may be the main focus of some scholarships. I received scholarship for being a first generation to go to college and for being from a low income family.
Academic Standing: Merit. There are scholarships for people that did well in school. Knowing your grades, your cumulative GPA, and your class ranking may help you find scholarships for
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Do not ask someone who you don’t know well. No letter of recommendation is better than a bad one. Hopefully if someone doesn’t think they can write you one, they will say no, but that is not always the case. You will have to officially ask someone to write you a letter of recommendation. You should tell them as early as possible (at least a month in advance if you can) and give them materials that will go with your application (Cover letter, CV, resume, transcript, essay) and a list of other things that may not be in your application. If you want them to focus on the clubs you are apart of, tell them that. Chances are, this person only knows about a part of your life, so the more you can provide, the better the letter will be. Some may even ask you to write a sample letter that they will edit. Keep in mind these people may have more people asking for letters, so the easier you make it for them, the better. I gave my recommenders a gift after I was accepted to whatever I was applying to. You do not have to do this, but if you can, it is a nice gesture (Handmade gift, gift card, card,