Scholarship application is a vital part of the college application process. Scholarships will help take some of the inevitable financial burdens of college off your shoulders. While applying for scholarships may seem tedious, in the end, they will make a big difference.
Most likely, the bulk of your scholarship money will come from the school you're accepted into. Therefore, make sure to check scholarship deadlines for the schools you apply to. Also, Some schools may only let you apply for scholarships after you’ve been accepted, so make sure you know your college's guidelines for scholarship application.
Apart from school scholarships, you can also apply for any third-party scholarships. There are thousands of random scholarships out there, so be specific in your searches. You can use Google to search for scholarships tailored to your skills and talents. For example, you can google “ Theater scholarships,” or “ Art scholarships” for high school seniors. Be sure that you meet the specific criteria that scholarship is looking for. For instance, don’t apply to scholarships only awarded to graduate students.
Try to find scholarships that pique your interest and you feel passionate about. I recently applied for the Make Me Laugh scholarship, where I attempted to write a funny paragraph to win scholarship money. You can make your scholarship application process more enjoyable by seeking out scholarships that don’t bore you.
Watch out for any scholarship scams and non-legit sites. If you can’t tell if a scholarship is real or not, email your college counselor and they should be able to tell. More often than not, scholarship sites are legit and if they’re not you'll be able to tell.
There are also scholarship search engines that give you scholarship matches based on your personal profile. Going Merry.com, fastweb.com, and scholly.com are great scholarship search engines. You enter information such as test scores, interests, and skills into your personal profile, and the sites match you with thousands of scholarships you can apply to.
Most Vestavia students find scholarship opportunities by looking through the scholarship bin on Mrs. Tinney’s desk or reading the morning announcements. Try to visit the scholarship bin in the counselor’s office at least twice a month, and check the morning announcements a few times a week. More scholarships geared towards Alabama and Vestavia students should be available as the school year goes on.
Finally, try to stay organized and make a google doc or spreadsheet with your scholarship deadlines. Having all your scholarship information in one place will ensure that nothing slips through the cracks. Don’t try to rush your applications and don’t wait till the last minute to apply for a bunch of scholarships. Procrastination will only hurt your chances of being accepted for scholarships. Try not to stress too much about scholarship applications. I know it seems like a lot, but applying for scholarships will make your life easier in the future.
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