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College Advice: See Steps I Followed to Earn over $30,000+ in College Scholarships.
College is expensive, so why not consider college scholarships to help?
It’s a fact that almost everyone knows, and it’s drilled into our minds the second we mention going to college. The price tag associated with attending college is often a deterrent for many who want to pursue higher education. Many students file for FAFSA and take out extreme student loans that take years to pay off. Scholarships, including those based on financial need, are available, but it can be hard to make the time to apply. If you were like me, I balanced high school expectations, such as band, clubs, & GPA, while preparing for college. How do they expect us to handle writing essays and completing more “homework” on top of everything else?
I’ve been there. I wanted to go out of state for college and struggled to find the money to support me. I almost stayed in-state until I finally learned the secrets of scholarship hunting and writing a powerful scholarship essay. Today, I’m sharing the secrets that let me attend college with a hefty discount (and even get paid to go). I’ll be covering:
GPA Isn’t Everything
How Colleges Evaluate Scholarship Applications
The Types of Scholarships Available to Apply For
How To Stay Organized in the Scholarship Application Process
How To Avoid Burnout When Applying for Scholarships
So, if you’re worried about funding your college expenses or having high student loans, keep reading! I will share some hot tips for rocking your scholarship application journey.
How I Secured Money for College: Two Full Ride Scholarships
When high school came around, I knew I wanted to go out of state for college. However, I also knew there was a strong possibility that I wouldn’t be able to. I’m from a single-parent household, and finances were not pretty while growing up. My dad constantly told me to apply for scholarships if I wanted to attend my dream college. I dismissed applying for them at the time because I either “didn’t have time” or became overwhelmed with where to start or how to craft the perfect essay. I also fell victim to the typical teenage angst of “well, if my parents told me to, now I’m not gonna.” This mindset quickly came to bite me in the butt once I started research on just how expensive my dream colleges were.
It took me a while to leave the mindset of viewing applying for scholarships as a chore. I thought you only apply for scholarships once you apply for college, which didn’t help either. When I attended a college fair during the second half of my sophomore year in high school, I saw how expensive out-of-state tuition was. This sticker price motivated me to kick my application process into high gear.
What I Changed and Where It Got Me
I hunkered down, started researching methods for applying to scholarships, and immediately started implementing and creating beneficial ones. Once I learned the secrets of scholarships, not only did I start receiving small scholarships from ISU, but by my senior year of high school, I had a full-tuition scholarship offer! The application process involved writing essays, providing references, and demonstrating my extracurricular activities and community involvement. Once I got to college, the hustle didn’t stop. I was also offered ANOTHER full-ride scholarship with a living stipend, health insurance payments, and a guaranteed full-time job post-graduation.
By my junior year of college, I had secured well over $100,000 in potential scholarships per year. Having this much money and only being a 20-year-old college student blew my mind!
I felt so good after being awarded both major scholarships (and the smaller ones). I made my family proud and less stressed about finances, which was essential to me. This also meant that I didn’t have to work while in school and could be more involved on campus. The scholarships I received reduced my financial burden and opened up opportunities for me to focus on my studies and personal growth. So, here’s what I learned when applying for merit scholarships and how to implement it yourself. These secret tips show you how to break the scholarship application code and find success in your application journey.
The Valuable Secrets of College Scholarship Applications
Secret #1: GPA isn’t Everything!
Internal and external scholarship applications (meaning those offered directly through a college or scholarships you can apply for without college affiliation) will often tell you that they use a holistic review of your application. Your GPA, volunteer experiences, work experiences, awards, and everything else you submit on your application are considered when choosing winners.
However, a major secret is that GPA isn’t always everything. I know, shocking. We’re told that we must have 4.0 grade points to do well when, in reality, colleges and scholarship evaluators want to see balance. Many scholarship evaluators value when students have slightly lower GPAs but demonstrate passion, involvement, and a willingness to learn inside and outside the classroom. This means you don’t have to be perfect in every aspect, but rather show a well-rounded and balanced approach to your academic and extracurricular life.
Don’t interpret this as “I can slack off and get scholarships as long as I am engaged.” Instead, understand that scholarship evaluators want to see well-rounded students, meaning that you are involved with a few clubs, so you don’t spread yourself thin but also take responsibility in your classes. Within these clubs, take on leadership positions. In high school, I was involved with the band and was heavily involved with my school’s community leadership team, National Honor Society, and Academic Decathlon. I didn’t try to join every club possible but enrolled in clubs I connected with and was passionate about. This balanced approach is what scholarship evaluators are looking for, and it’s something you can strive for in your application.
It is important not to focus only on grades. Yes, grades are important, but so are the other aspects of your applications, which matter just as much (if not more).
Secret #2: The types of scholarships you need to find and apply for
Some students only apply for scholarships that their college offers and stop there. There needs to be a better approach.
There are so many other outside scholarships that many students overlook. As mentioned, outside or external scholarships include those not directly supported by a college or school, making them perfect for undergraduate students. This can look like local companies or large businesses hosting annual scholarship applications. Often, these are the best college scholarships to apply for because only some college and high school students actually do. The reward pool varies based on company size and funding, so you can find big and small scholarships to apply for outside your university’s scholarship portal. Don’t forget to also look for major-specific scholarships, local scholarships, scholarships that fit your interests, and others that best meet your wants and needs. Additionally, graduate students should look for scholarships specifically for post-graduate studies, as many opportunities are available to help pay off student debt.
Well, What Types of Scholarships Exist?
There are even some fun random qualification scholarships that exist. These include requirements such as needing glasses, having red hair, juggling, and so much more. So, you aren’t limited to strictly academic-based scholarship programs! Take the time to search for some of these more creative and fun applications, including internships, fellowships, and grants. Branching out ensures that you won’t get bored applying, and it also opens up new opportunities for you that you wouldn’t be eligible for solely based on academics.
However, you should still complete any relevant scholarship applications you qualify for that your future college or university offers. At ISU, students gain access to a general scholarship portal during their senior year of high school and apply for scholarships that they get automatically matched with based on their field of study. Pretty neat? It helps relieve the stress of researching more scholarships alone if you don’t have time.
Many academic-based scholarships require GPAs or test scores as baselines (even if it isn’t what they are solely evaluating you on, as we discussed in the first tip). You may be limited on what you can apply for if you don’t have a GPA (typically freshman in high school) or your GPA isn’t where you want it to be. Don’t worry if this is the case, as I have another post on studying habits and tips that will help you achieve that 3.0+!
To provide more examples of the power of applying for both internal and external scholarships, my full-ride was external, and my full-tuition scholarship was an internal by ISU (and yes, I was able to keep both, so now I get nice refunds from the college every semester!)
Secret #3: Staying Organized
A strong organization system is KEY to streamline your scholarship application process. By keeping track of the scholarships you want to apply to (and already have applied for), you can better manage deadlines, request letters of recommendation, and even keep track of essay prompts to see if you can reuse some. I saved so much time by compiling all the scholarships I applied for into a condensed form. It makes you feel in control of the process and keeps you from missing something, such as an important deadline. This also allows you to create a scholarship database of applications to resubmit the following year. Who says you can’t reapply for scholarships?
Secret #4: How to avoid burnout when applying for scholarships
As I mentioned earlier, many students, like myself, don’t start applying for scholarships because they view it as a chore or extra assignment on top of responsibilities for their current classes. If students begin to use it, many give up because they become overwhelmed and exhausted from not pacing themselves. Applying for scholarships is challenging, as many high-value scholarships have extensive application processes. The full-ride scholarship I obtained was a year-long application process with multiple interviews. Here are ways to mitigate burnout while still staying on top of applications.
Treat it as a mini homework assignment and time block it.
Setting a schedule for yourself and pacing during application seasons is critical to ensure you entirely focus on creating high-quality submissions. When you apply for scholarships, tired or unmotivated, it will reflect in your writing. Your responses will not be as elaborate; you’ll forget key points and accolades, and the evaluator will be able to tell.
With this, I set aside 1-2 hours every two or three days to apply for scholarships. This way, I wasn’t forcing myself to use daily and gave myself mental breaks. It also ensured I always had scholarship applications to work on. I would also not work on Sundays and keep it a personal rest day if needed.
Ask your family and teachers to help proofread.
One of my favorite English teachers from middle school always loved it when we former students would reach out and ask for her to help revise our college essays. See if you have a teacher or two willing to assist before or after school. Building these relationships with teachers is also essential when you need letters of recommendation.
I would also have days when my friend group would switch essays and peer-edit for each other. This is great because you can see writing techniques from others, and you are also able to get improvements for your paper!
Once I learned these secrets and tips, I saw dramatic changes in my scholarship journey. I was applying to relevant scholarships, pacing myself, staying focused, and better understanding what scholarship reviewers were looking for in my application. I encourage you to use this advice on your scholarship journey, and you should hopefully start to see changes for the better over time!
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