How to Find Scholarship Opportunities
There are many ways to find scholarship opportunities. If you are still in high school, check with your guidance counselor for scholarships you may be eligible for. For high school students, as well as current college students, it’s always worth checking with your college’s financial aid office for scholarships that may be specific to your school. If you’re looking for any scholarships you may be eligible for, we suggest using a scholarship search site. Another great online tool for locating scholarships is careeronestop, sponsored by the US Dept of Labor. Lastly, we recommend checking out the lists of scholarship opportunities assembled on our site ScholarshipPoints.com, where you can find categorized scholarship lists and apply for our three monthly $1,000 scholarships as well as our monthly $2,500 scholarship.
Key Takeaways
- College-bound students can find scholarships to help pay for school by looking online and at schools, employers, and organizations.
- Carefully review eligibility criteria for each scholarship to ensure you are eligible to apply.
- Use a search engine or database to find local and national scholarship opportunities.
- Consider applying for a lot of scholarships; the more chances you have, the better chance you'll get some money for school.
How to Get a Scholarship
Once you have found scholarships you qualify for, you’ll need to apply in order to be considered. For no-essay scholarships, application may consist of simply signing up for the website sponsoring the scholarship and entering. However, many scholarships will require a bit more work in order to apply.
How to Apply for Scholarships
Let’s talk about what it takes to apply for scholarships. Once you’ve located the scholarships you plan to apply for, you will want to make a list or a spreadsheet with all of the scholarships and note the following:
- Application deadline
- Essay prompt
- Essay minimum and maximum length
- Interview requirements
- GPA requirements
- Transcript requirements
- Community service history
- Decision dates
- Any other information that is needed to complete your application
By recording this information you can prioritize the scholarships with the soonest deadlines and identify similarities in essay prompts (this is a great way to repurpose some or all of your scholarship essay text if the essay prompts are similar). You’ll also know which opportunities may require your transcripts so you can be sure to request those from your school. Finally, you’ll be well-equipped to keep track of which scholarships you have applied for and when you can expect to hear back.
How to Write a Scholarship Essay
You will likely find many scholarships that require an essay as part of the application. This can seem like a daunting task, especially if you are applying for several scholarships that have this requirement. One tip is to repurpose some of your essay components if possible. You may find scholarships that have similar prompts where you can reuse some or all of your essay.
For detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to write a scholarship essay check out How to Write a Scholarship Essay Step-by-Step on ScholarshipPoints.com.
Easy Scholarships
Enough about scholarships that require essays. What about easy scholarships? Many easy scholarships are simply scholarship drawings where you complete a basic profile, or provide basic information in order to enter. These scholarships drawings do not take into account an essay or your GPA, and therefore are open to a pretty wide audience of applicants.
Here’s a list of websites where you can find easy scholarships to enter.
How to Find Local Scholarships
One often overlooked area for free money for college is local scholarships. These are scholarships sponsored by the local government or local organizations. For some local scholarships, you or a family member may be required to be a member of a specific organization, but for some local scholarships you will simply need to be a local resident or attend a specific high school. Your guidance counselor is a great place to start when looking for these opportunities.
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