4 Clever Secrets To Help You Earn College Scholarships

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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, “I’m thinking about 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 FASFA and take out extreme student loans that take years to pay off. Scholarships, also known as financial aid, are available, including those based on financial need, but it can be challenging to remember to apply for them or take the time to apply in the first place. If you were like me, I balanced high school to-dos and expectations, such as band, clubs, GPA, and more, while preparing for college costs. How do they expect us to handle writing more essays and completing more “homework” on top of what we already have to do?

I’ve been there. I wanted to go out of state for college (and did!) and struggled to find the money to support me early on in high school. I was about ready to change my mind and stay in-state with my family until I finally learned the secrets of successful scholarship hunting and writing a powerful scholarship essay. In this post, I’m sharing the top secrets I learned that allowed me to attend college with a hefty discount (and even get paid to go), so hopefully, you can renovate your college application journey for the best! 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 trying to fund your college expenses or having high student loans, keep on 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 would constantly tell me early in my freshman and sophomore years to apply for scholarships if I wanted to go to my dream college. I dismissed applying for them at the time because I either “didn’t have time” or I 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 doing more 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. Many friends and I were under the impression that you only apply for scholarships once you apply for college, which didn’t help either. It was when a college fair during the late half of my sophomore year in high school that I saw how expensive out-of-state tuition was. This sticker price of college motivated me to kick my application process into high gear if I wanted to go out of state. 

What I Changed and Where It Got Me

I hunkered down and started researching methods for applying to scholarships and immediately started implementing and creating ones I found beneficial (which was no easy task). 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! 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 important to me. Not to mention, this also meant that I didn’t have to work while in school and could be more involved on campus (and have more time to hang with friends!) 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.

How Does The Cost of College Education Impact Students and Their Families?

The cost of college education can significantly impact students and families, leading to financial stress, increased student loan debt, and limited access to higher education. Scholarships provide relief by reducing financial burdens and making college more affordable and accessible for deserving students.

The Valuable Secrets of College Scholarship Applications

Secret #1: GPA isn’t Everything!

Both internal and external scholarship applications (meaning ones 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.

Now, don’t interpret this as “I can slack off and get scholarships as long as I am engaged.” For example, if your GPA is in the 2.0 range and you have ten clubs listed when you apply, the evaluator will wonder why you valued clubs over your grades. And guess what? You aren’t getting that scholarship. 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 I enrolled in clubs I connected with and was passionate about. 

Knowing this, 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 exist 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 other types of scholarships that best meet your wants and needs. Additionally, graduate students should also look for scholarships specifically for post-graduate studies, as there are many opportunities available to help pay off student debt.

Well, What Types of Scholarship’s 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 and 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.

On the topic of academic-based scholarships, many 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 if 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 accidentally 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 start to apply, many give up because they become overwhelmed and exhausted from not pacing themselves. Applying for scholarships is a challenging task, 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 fully 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 apply daily and gave myself mental breaks. It also ensured I always had scholarship applications to work on. If needed, I would also not work on Sundays and keep it a personal rest day.

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 important 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!