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How do I get a scholarship? How do I know I'm eligible for one?
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Teklemuz Ayenew Tesfay
Electrical Engineer, Software Developer, and Career Mentor
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Teklemuz Ayenew’s Answer
Getting a scholarship starts with searching early and staying organized. Check with your school counselors, financial advisors, local organizations, and platforms such as Fastweb, Bold.org, Scholly, Niche, Chegg, Cappex, and College Board’s Scholarship Search. Apply to multiple scholarships and build strong applications with good grades, extracurricular involvement, a well-written and genuine personal essay, and strong recommendation letters from your teachers.
You are eligible if you meet the requirements, which often include grade level, GPA, financial need, location, intended major, personal background, leadership experience, volunteer work, special talents, or relevant training and certifications. If your application is rejected, do not lose hope, review feedback, improve your application, and reapply. Honesty, careful proofreading, and consistent effort greatly improve your chances.
You are eligible if you meet the requirements, which often include grade level, GPA, financial need, location, intended major, personal background, leadership experience, volunteer work, special talents, or relevant training and certifications. If your application is rejected, do not lose hope, review feedback, improve your application, and reapply. Honesty, careful proofreading, and consistent effort greatly improve your chances.
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Karin’s Answer
Hi Ciel,
You can reduce the cost of your college education by starting out at a Community College before transferring to a 4-year school. Tuition at Community Colleges is usually much less than at 4-year universities. If you have already taken some dual enrollment courses for college credit, that would further reduce the cost.
When you pick a university, stay in-state for lower tuition and/or look for schools that are known to give generous aid. If your stats are good, you might be able to get significant merit aid, especially if your stats are way above the average for the school.
Your first stop looking for financial aid should be the FAFSA. FAFSA gives you access to federal and state financial aid. Many colleges also use it to determine your need as well. Talk to the Financial Office at the college you want to attend too. There might be scholarships you qualify for. Sign up for work-study to get a job on campus, possibly even in your department.
For promising scholarships, look what your state and your hometown offer. Some employers also have scholarship programs for children of employees or for their own employees.
Check out scholarships from professional organizations, e.g. nursing scholarships for aspiring nurses. Research companies that would hire people with the degree you want to get, e.g. big tech companies if you are going into computer science. Check if your local Chamber of Commerce or any businesses have any programs.
Search for scholarships that are for certain demographics, e.g. minorities, women in STEM, tall people, twins and multiples etc.
Some useful websites for your search:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
https://scholarships360.org/
https://www.niche.com/colleges/scholarships/
https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Training/find-scholarships.aspx
Specifically for California:
https://www.csac.ca.gov/cal-grant
https://www.csac.ca.gov/middle-class-scholarship
https://dream.csac.ca.gov/
https://risefirst.org/resources/resource-directory?location=California&category=Scholarship
https://www.scholarmatch.org/
I would recommend to be strategic about it. Don't wear yourself out by applying to anything and everything. Consider the requirements and your fit for each scholarship.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
You can reduce the cost of your college education by starting out at a Community College before transferring to a 4-year school. Tuition at Community Colleges is usually much less than at 4-year universities. If you have already taken some dual enrollment courses for college credit, that would further reduce the cost.
When you pick a university, stay in-state for lower tuition and/or look for schools that are known to give generous aid. If your stats are good, you might be able to get significant merit aid, especially if your stats are way above the average for the school.
Your first stop looking for financial aid should be the FAFSA. FAFSA gives you access to federal and state financial aid. Many colleges also use it to determine your need as well. Talk to the Financial Office at the college you want to attend too. There might be scholarships you qualify for. Sign up for work-study to get a job on campus, possibly even in your department.
For promising scholarships, look what your state and your hometown offer. Some employers also have scholarship programs for children of employees or for their own employees.
Check out scholarships from professional organizations, e.g. nursing scholarships for aspiring nurses. Research companies that would hire people with the degree you want to get, e.g. big tech companies if you are going into computer science. Check if your local Chamber of Commerce or any businesses have any programs.
Search for scholarships that are for certain demographics, e.g. minorities, women in STEM, tall people, twins and multiples etc.
Some useful websites for your search:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
https://scholarships360.org/
https://www.niche.com/colleges/scholarships/
https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Training/find-scholarships.aspx
Specifically for California:
https://www.csac.ca.gov/cal-grant
https://www.csac.ca.gov/middle-class-scholarship
https://dream.csac.ca.gov/
https://risefirst.org/resources/resource-directory?location=California&category=Scholarship
https://www.scholarmatch.org/
I would recommend to be strategic about it. Don't wear yourself out by applying to anything and everything. Consider the requirements and your fit for each scholarship.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
Updated
Jerome’s Answer
Fill out the FASFA for sure! You will be surprised by what is offered to you depending on your parents financial situation. Most community colleges offer low cost or reduced classes these days. Going through a community college can save you tens of thousands of dollars.
There are some local nonprofits and even organizations that have scholarships available. I would start with asking teachers and adults in your life if they could check with their job to see if anything is available.
There are some local nonprofits and even organizations that have scholarships available. I would start with asking teachers and adults in your life if they could check with their job to see if anything is available.