Friday, April 17, 2009

Getting a Scholarship



Post By: Dana Sunderlin

One of the most important aspects of financing a college education is applying for scholarships. All scholarships are potentially free money to go towards your education, so you should apply for as many as you can.

There are many simple guidelines you should follow in order to receive the highest amount of your college expenses through scholarships as possible. The first step is to prepare for the application process. To do this, try to be involved in different clubs and organizations, in and out of school. Many times, ‘well-rounded’ students are the ones who are likely to receive scholarships. In addition to this, many clubs and organizations have their own scholarships that they are associated with.

Another step you should take to be prepared is to do some research. There are many different ways to research scholarships, including consulting the financial aid office at your school, contacting your academic department, and using a free scholarship engine. You should also consider unique circumstances in your life, such as being a foster child or having divorced parents, so that you can gauge what specialty scholarships you can apply for. Regardless of this, never assume that you won’t get a scholarship because someone else is probably more qualified. Applying never hurts!

The most important step of the process is actually applying for the scholarships. An important thing to keep in mind is that millions of scholarships go unused every year because students simply do not apply for them. Some other things to remember are that you should always write an essay; many students won’t apply for these scholarships because they are too lazy to do so! Also, apply early and try for smaller scholarships too. A big scholarship seems more appealing, but getting numerous, smaller scholarships can also add up. You may also want to keep a calendar with application deadlines so you don’t miss any of them.


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