Scholarship Information
You’ve written your personal statement, sent all your Entrance Exam scores in and submitted your College Application, but have you thought about applying to scholarships? Most High School seniors get so caught up with the application process, they completely forget about applying for scholarships. Here are some Tips to help you find and apply for the scholarships that are right for you!
- Look for local scholarships
- Many schools post listings of local scholarships which are sadly overlooked. Don’t be discouraged by small local scholarships, you’re more likely to get one than a national scholarship because of the smaller applicant pool.
- Ready, Set…Internet!
- The Internet is a great place to go to search for national and international scholarships! Fastweb.com, Collegeboard.com, CaliforniaColleges.edu and Scholarships.com are all great sites to begin your search. Make sure you set up an account so that the websites can do the tedious scholarship searches for you!
- To Whom it May Concern…
- Many scholarships require you to submit a letter of recommendation, and not having a letter is a major reason why some students don’t apply. Get a heads start on the scholarship deadline by requesting a generic letter of recommendation from a teacher, counselor, supervisor or non-familial adult who knows you well. Have them address the letters “To whom it may concern.”
- Resumes are A-OK!
- Whether you are requesting a letter of recommendation or submitting a scholarship application, including a copy of your resume allows readers to know more about your skills and accomplishments—always a good thing. Unless the scholarship application explicitly prohibits extra materials, send in a resume!
- Modify your U.C. Personal Statement
- Many scholarships will ask you to provide a personal statement. Why write a new one when you already have your U.C. Personal Statement? Just change some of the words around to fit the purpose of the scholarship and send it on its way!
- Create a Calendar
- You find the perfect scholarship, and then miss the deadline! Prevent this from happening by creating a calendar or agenda just for your scholarships. Schedule the due dates a few days in advance so you’re never late!
- “Post Marked” versus “Received By”
- If a scholarship application says it needs to be postmarked by a certain day, then that day posted is the last day you can put your application in the mail. If they have a received by date as the deadline, then you need to send the application ahead of the deadline so that they have it in their hands by the due date.
- Make Scholarships your Second Job
- Schedule some time every week to devote to finding and applying for scholarships. Think of applying for scholarships as a part-time job: If you spent 2 hours a week applying for scholarships and received only a small $100 scholarship every week you would still be making $50 an hour!
- Apply, even if you don’t Qualify
- Lots of scholarships have specific criteria for their applicants, but if you have the time still try to apply especially if the scholarship has an essay prompt. Scholarships with very selective criteria don’t always get applicants, so if you are the only person who applies you could potentially be selected!
- Study Hard, Work Hard…but also Beware!
- There are great resources on the internet, in schools and in local libraries for finding scholarships, but for every legitimate resource there is also a sneaky scam. Never apply for a scholarship that requires you to PAY for anything. Also, you should never pay someone to find scholarships for you or provide you with information—all of the information you could ever want is on the internet! Do the time and reap the rewards and if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn’t
- More Scholarship Information can be found on the College Options website.