As high school seniors dash to secure private scholarship funding for the fall, juniors and their parents need to start turning their attention to private scholarships now.
There are many scholarships with applications that are due in the fall and winter of the student’s senior year. If you delay this process due to procrastination or because you are preoccupied with upcoming summer activities, you could lose a major opportunity to get money for college.
It is best to package this process with the creation of your college list and essay prep. In fact, you can use your application essays to inform your scholarship essays. Same as your college list, don’t hesitate to cast a wide net in the search for outside scholarships. Your goal, however, is to narrow this down by application time.
To win a scholarship, you need to be selective in the application process. This means that for every ten or so scholarships you find, you may only end up applying to one of them. But how do you find the scholarships that are right for you? And how do you make sure you won’t miss out on scholarships with fall deadlines?
The following tips will help you increase your odds of obtaining free money from outside sources:
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Start your scholarship search no later than the spring of your junior year.
The number one reason most seniors miss the fall scholarship deadlines is that they do not start their scholarship search until the spring. Either on paper or computer, create a master file of the awards you want to apply for, along with their deadlines and requirements. If you’re an overachiever, start even earlier. There are some scholarships available for kids between the ages of 6-16.
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Prepare in advance.
In addition to your scholarship calendar, create and continue to update a portfolio of accomplishments, essays, and recommendations. For the scholarships that are due in the fall, make them a part of your normal homework routine. Work on them a little every day or block out time on school breaks to complete them. This will prevent you from being overwhelmed and ensure that you don’t turn in a hastily completed, last-minute application.
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Learn the art of adaptation.
You can save yourself some time by pulling pieces from your college admission essays and incorporating them into your scholarship essays. To clarify, do not copy and paste. Each essay should be tailored to the question asked.
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Throw your scholarship net far and wide.
There are three main avenues for finding scholarships:
– Search based on interests or location on Google.
– Use online scholarship databases. These are convenient but may not show smaller local scholarships. Examples of scholarship databases include Scholarship Owl, Going Merry, Fastweb, and Unigo. Major tip: With few exceptions, like Scholarship Owl Premium, don’t apply through these sites. Go directly to the source. Do your research and find which database you prefer. Most of these overlap—and all of them will firehose your inbox.
– Don’t forget the local search. Talk to your counselor. Send word through your parents to their co-workers and friends. Check local newspapers, bulletins, and the chamber of commerce. More on this below. -
Look for scholarships within your interests.
Instead of finding scholarships that match your interests, why not look at your interests to find scholarships? If you’re interested in computer graphics, you might search NVIDIA’s website for scholarships. More of an outdoorsy type? Search LL Bean, Patagonia, Backcountry, REI, etc. Make sure to search smaller brands as well!
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Focus on your community.
One of the best places to find scholarships is in your community. Not only are there a lot of awards, but many of them are specifically designed to help local students. As a resident, you are already pre-qualified, and the applicant pool is smaller – better odds for you! We’re talking chambers of commerce, community centers, religious organizations, non-profits, local businesses, and more.
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Read local newspapers.
This may seem like a hugely outdated tip. You’d be surprised, however, how many smaller scholarships are still announced in community newspapers, church bulletins, town magazines, and other print mail. Furthermore, these publications will often publish the local winners of certain scholarships. Use these announcements to potentially add more scholarships to your list.
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Ask for help from your high school counselor.
Guidance counselors normally receive an abundance of information on various private scholarships. Take advantage of their knowledge.
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Start eliminating scholarships that don’t match you.
Look at your list of scholarships with the idea of eliminating those that simply don’t match your background and talents. Don’t feel bad since each scholarship that you remove means less time wasted and more time you can spend on scholarships that you can win.
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Prioritize your scholarships.
After you have eliminated the obvious awards that don’t match you, the next step is to prioritize the awards that do. Focus your time and effort on the best fits first, then move on down the line. You will need to be familiar with each scholarship and understand the goals behind the reason for giving the award.
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Consider timing.
There’s more to your life than applying for scholarships, which means that you will need to consider deadlines when deciding which scholarships to apply to. You simply can’t apply to every scholarship, and you’ll need to use this as another way to prioritize. This is especially true for incoming seniors – the fall of senior year is absolute chaos.
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Don’t despair if you miss a deadline.
The secret to winning scholarships is that you must apply not only when you are in high school but throughout college as well. Apply for the awards that you haven’t missed and start prepping for next year. As a college student, a whole new door of scholarship opportunities will open to you.
Bonus Tip:
Go off script.
In scholarship applications, just like college essays or interviews, readers are looking for authenticity, depth, and intellectual curiosity. They’ve heard the same spiel over and over again. Honesty and introspection really do stand out.
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When it comes to winning private scholarships, the early bird really does get the worm. If you’re looking for some help in starting your scholarship search, check out our favorite scholarship resource:
The Scholarship System Free Webinar
Additionally, here are our two favorite scholarship engines right now:
2. Going Merry
Additional scholarship resources can be found on our resources page.
Happy Hunting!
Author:
While private scholarships can provide much-needed financial assistance, you will need to come up with a college funding plan and budget that link financial aid strategies and financial planning strategies. Most importantly, you need to figure out how to save and pay for college as efficiently as possible so you can still retire one day!
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