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What are ways I can get scholarships for college?
I am a junior in high school and would like any advice on how to get scholarships #high-school #scholarships
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Daniela if you’re relying on scholarship funding in order to be able to study, you should let the school in question know of your situation. Some schools offer only ‘fully funded’ places, meaning all applicants must have sufficient funding in place. But many allow you to apply to a program before gaining scholarships, on the understanding that you let them know as soon as possible if you have to reject the place due to lack of funding . If you do not get the scholarship, you should still have time to withdraw your university application or find an alternative method of funding before the start of term.
UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SCHOLARSHIPS
If you don’t know already, there are different types of scholarships out there, and the type of scholarship heavily impacts whether you qualify for it. Here are two main distinctions to look out for when distinguishing between different scholarship types:
• NEED BASED VS. MERIT BASED – If a scholarship is need-based, it means that the scholarship committee will take into consideration the demonstrated financial need of the applicant when making the final decision on who gets the scholarship. Indeed, many need-based scholarships list a maximum family income level as one of the base qualifications. On the other hand, if a scholarship is merit-based, financial need is not a relevant factor in the award decision. It is simply the work and accomplishments of the students that are considered when choosing a winner.
• COLLEGE SPECIFIC VS. INDEPENDENT – Many colleges and universities offer scholarships to incoming students. At the same time, independent organizations outside of colleges and universities also offer scholarships. Both are great options, and you should apply for both. However, it’s important to note that most college-specific scholarships will only be awarded to a student who ultimately chooses to attend that university, whereas independent scholarships don’t usually have those restrictions.
MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE SCHOLARSHIP CRITERIA
Each scholarship is unique and will involve different qualification criteria, different requirements, and different thematic selection criteria. Before you start writing and submitting scholarship applications, make sure to do your research and find out which organizations are offering which scholarships and what they are expecting to see from a winning application. If you tailor your submission as closely as possible to the requirements and expectations of the organization, you have a much better shot at winning. It’s important to note that, as you apply to more and more scholarships, the essay prompts and the application requirements can start to seem similar. You might then be tempted to borrow an essay or personal statement from one scholarship application and use it in another. If you decide to do that, make sure you heavily rework the essay so that it fits exactly what the scholarship committee is looking for. In other words, make your submission specific to the scholarship you are applying for. Don’t be too generic in your responses. Each scholarship has a different set of requirements, including a different due date. If you decide to apply to a large number of scholarships, all of those deadlines can be hard to keep track of. To keep yourself from being overwhelmed, consider creating a scholarship schedule where you note down all of the important due dates in one convenient location. That way, you will be able to look at the schedule and visualize exactly how much scholarship work you have ahead of you.
Daniela you know that scholarships exist, but where do you find them? How do you discover which ones you qualify for and have a shot at winning? The good news is that there are many resources for you to look for scholarships.
Hope this was Helpful Daniela
Guidance Counselor’s Office – If your high school has a guidance counselor’s office, they most likely have some sort of resources available to help you search for scholarships to apply to. For some, it’s a large filing cabinet of applications. For others, it’s an online database that will give you a long list of scholarships to apply to. This is a great place to start because your guidance counselor has likely organized a list of scholarships that many students would qualify for, including yourself.
Look Around You – Whether it be a church or other religious group, club, community organization, or a local business, you’d be amazed at how many groups of people around you are willing and able to help you finance your college education. Tons of businesses, groups, and clubs offer scholarships to students in the community to show their commitment to bettering the lives of individuals in the community. It is up to you to take advantage of these opportunities. Local scholarships such as these are found at every level of social organization, from local centers to state-wide contests. While these scholarships might seem hard to find given their specificity, it’s worth doing a cursory search to see what might be available.
Online – One great thing about the internet in recent years is that there are tons of scholarships and scholarship applications available completely free and online. You just need to sit down and take the time to sift through Google and find the scholarships that seem legitimate and are ones you qualify for. Scholarships.com claims to be the largest free scholarship search resource available, with a total of over 2.7 million scholarships listed in their database. The site lets you save, “favorite,” or remove scholarship matches associated with your account.
UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SCHOLARSHIPS
If you don’t know already, there are different types of scholarships out there, and the type of scholarship heavily impacts whether you qualify for it. Here are two main distinctions to look out for when distinguishing between different scholarship types:
• NEED BASED VS. MERIT BASED – If a scholarship is need-based, it means that the scholarship committee will take into consideration the demonstrated financial need of the applicant when making the final decision on who gets the scholarship. Indeed, many need-based scholarships list a maximum family income level as one of the base qualifications. On the other hand, if a scholarship is merit-based, financial need is not a relevant factor in the award decision. It is simply the work and accomplishments of the students that are considered when choosing a winner.
• COLLEGE SPECIFIC VS. INDEPENDENT – Many colleges and universities offer scholarships to incoming students. At the same time, independent organizations outside of colleges and universities also offer scholarships. Both are great options, and you should apply for both. However, it’s important to note that most college-specific scholarships will only be awarded to a student who ultimately chooses to attend that university, whereas independent scholarships don’t usually have those restrictions.
MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE SCHOLARSHIP CRITERIA
Each scholarship is unique and will involve different qualification criteria, different requirements, and different thematic selection criteria. Before you start writing and submitting scholarship applications, make sure to do your research and find out which organizations are offering which scholarships and what they are expecting to see from a winning application. If you tailor your submission as closely as possible to the requirements and expectations of the organization, you have a much better shot at winning. It’s important to note that, as you apply to more and more scholarships, the essay prompts and the application requirements can start to seem similar. You might then be tempted to borrow an essay or personal statement from one scholarship application and use it in another. If you decide to do that, make sure you heavily rework the essay so that it fits exactly what the scholarship committee is looking for. In other words, make your submission specific to the scholarship you are applying for. Don’t be too generic in your responses. Each scholarship has a different set of requirements, including a different due date. If you decide to apply to a large number of scholarships, all of those deadlines can be hard to keep track of. To keep yourself from being overwhelmed, consider creating a scholarship schedule where you note down all of the important due dates in one convenient location. That way, you will be able to look at the schedule and visualize exactly how much scholarship work you have ahead of you.
Daniela you know that scholarships exist, but where do you find them? How do you discover which ones you qualify for and have a shot at winning? The good news is that there are many resources for you to look for scholarships.
Hope this was Helpful Daniela
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Thank you, this is very helpful!
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Tristen’s Answer
Hi there! I would definitely check with your height school counselors. They should have access to many many scholarship available. Also ask them about scholarships in your local community. I received scholarships from a few nonprofit organizations when I graduated high school. Many don’t know they even exist.