3 answers
Marissa
Student
Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania
5
Questions
Asked
1128 views
How should I go about searching for scholarships; as a current junior, am I already late in the searching process?
I would like to apply for scholarships to help fund college tuition. I'm a current junior and I'm having trouble figuring out how to go about this.
Login to comment
3 answers
Doc Frick
Career Coach and Mentor
1799
Answers
California, CA
Updated
Doc’s Answer
Marissa to maximize your chances of securing college scholarships, you should start researching and applying during the summer before your senior year, as many scholarship deadlines falling between September and May.
🧩 TYPES OF SCHOLARSHIPS
There are many types of scholarships. Some scholarships for college are merit-based. You earn them by meeting or exceeding certain standards set by the scholarship-giver. Merit scholarships might be awarded based on academic achievement or on a combination of academics and a special talent, trait, or interest. Other scholarships are based on financial need.
There are also scholarships geared toward particular groups of people; for instance, there are scholarships for women. And some are available because of where you or your parent(s) work, or because you come from a certain background (for instance, there are scholarships for military families). A scholarship might cover the entire cost of your tuition, or it might be a one-time award of a few hundred dollars. Either way, it’s worth applying for, because it’ll help reduce the cost of your education.
📅 WHEN TO APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS
That depends on each scholarship’s deadline. Some deadlines are as early as a year before college starts, so if you’re in high school now, you should be researching and applying for scholarships during the summer between your junior and senior years. But if you’ve missed that window, don’t give up! Look at scholarship information to see which ones you can still apply for now. Each scholarship has its own application requirements. The scholarship’s website should give you an idea of who qualifies for the scholarship and how to apply. Make sure you read the application carefully, fill it out completely, and meet the application deadline.
🌀 HOW TO FIND SCHOLARSHIPS
You can learn about scholarships in several ways, including contacting the financial aid office at the college you plan to attend and checking information in a public library or online. But be careful. Make sure scholarship information and offers you receive are legitimate; beware NEVER PAY to apply for a scholarships or financial aid.
• START EARLY/SEARCH YEAR-ROUND: No matter what stage in the college process you’re at, you should start looking for scholarships now. There are even scholarships that high school students can receive before your senior year. Scholarship deadlines vary, so setting some time aside every few weeks to search and apply will open up more opportunities of securing a scholarship.
• FIND A BALANCE: You should apply for several scholarships—the more you apply for, the better your chances of receiving one. However, it’s important to use your time wisely. You should only apply for those you’re eligible for, based on the requirements.
• RESEARCH LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS: Local scholarships tend to have fewer applicants, meaning you may be more likely to get them. Your high school counselor or college financial aid department might have insight about where to find and apply for local scholarships. Be sure to talk to others in your community, and check with local businesses and organizations like banks and churches.
• USE THE RIGHT SEARCH ENGINE: Finding scholarships to apply for is not difficult, with the right search engine you can narrow your search and find scholarships you’re eligible for.
1️⃣ SCHOLARSHIPS.COM — With Scholarships.com, you’ll get a comprehensive database of 3.7 million scholarships worth roughly $19 billion in financial aid. You can search the website’s directory without a profile, but you’ll need to create one to determine if you qualify.
2️⃣ FASTWEB.COM — The Fastweb database includes 1.5 million scholarships worth more than $3.4 billion. Once you create an account, you can log in and discover matches based on the information you’ve shared. The site even allows parents to create separate accounts to maximize potential earnings.
3️⃣ BIGFUTURE.COM — Backed by The College Board, the BigFuture scholarship database allows students to narrow their search in various ways, including their profession or career field of interest. While a free College Board account is needed to apply for awards, BigFuture retains application information and includes a data syncing option to make applications for multiple awards easy.
4️⃣ APPILY.COM — Appily claims to have more than $44 million worth of scholarship options available. Before you sign up, you can search the directory based on deadline, ZIP code, gender, ethnicity, school year and other factors. You can even weed out lower-paying scholarships by setting a minimum dollar amount for your search.
5️⃣ SALLIE.COM — Sallie uses artificial intelligence to provide scholarship matches and prioritizes them based on which ones you’re best qualified for. The platform also gives users access to exclusive scholarships that aren’t available anywhere else, so there’s less competition. Additionally, Sallie removes awards after the application due date passes. Even if the scholarship money is generally available every year, it won’t reappear on the app until the organization behind it is accepting new applicants.
Hopefully, this gives you more information on scholarships Melissa and what’s available to you. It is definitely worth looking into as this could give you the financial assistance that you need. Even if you don’t think you’re eligible, you won’t know until you actually try.
🧩 TYPES OF SCHOLARSHIPS
There are many types of scholarships. Some scholarships for college are merit-based. You earn them by meeting or exceeding certain standards set by the scholarship-giver. Merit scholarships might be awarded based on academic achievement or on a combination of academics and a special talent, trait, or interest. Other scholarships are based on financial need.
There are also scholarships geared toward particular groups of people; for instance, there are scholarships for women. And some are available because of where you or your parent(s) work, or because you come from a certain background (for instance, there are scholarships for military families). A scholarship might cover the entire cost of your tuition, or it might be a one-time award of a few hundred dollars. Either way, it’s worth applying for, because it’ll help reduce the cost of your education.
📅 WHEN TO APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS
That depends on each scholarship’s deadline. Some deadlines are as early as a year before college starts, so if you’re in high school now, you should be researching and applying for scholarships during the summer between your junior and senior years. But if you’ve missed that window, don’t give up! Look at scholarship information to see which ones you can still apply for now. Each scholarship has its own application requirements. The scholarship’s website should give you an idea of who qualifies for the scholarship and how to apply. Make sure you read the application carefully, fill it out completely, and meet the application deadline.
🌀 HOW TO FIND SCHOLARSHIPS
You can learn about scholarships in several ways, including contacting the financial aid office at the college you plan to attend and checking information in a public library or online. But be careful. Make sure scholarship information and offers you receive are legitimate; beware NEVER PAY to apply for a scholarships or financial aid.
• START EARLY/SEARCH YEAR-ROUND: No matter what stage in the college process you’re at, you should start looking for scholarships now. There are even scholarships that high school students can receive before your senior year. Scholarship deadlines vary, so setting some time aside every few weeks to search and apply will open up more opportunities of securing a scholarship.
• FIND A BALANCE: You should apply for several scholarships—the more you apply for, the better your chances of receiving one. However, it’s important to use your time wisely. You should only apply for those you’re eligible for, based on the requirements.
• RESEARCH LOCAL SCHOLARSHIPS: Local scholarships tend to have fewer applicants, meaning you may be more likely to get them. Your high school counselor or college financial aid department might have insight about where to find and apply for local scholarships. Be sure to talk to others in your community, and check with local businesses and organizations like banks and churches.
• USE THE RIGHT SEARCH ENGINE: Finding scholarships to apply for is not difficult, with the right search engine you can narrow your search and find scholarships you’re eligible for.
1️⃣ SCHOLARSHIPS.COM — With Scholarships.com, you’ll get a comprehensive database of 3.7 million scholarships worth roughly $19 billion in financial aid. You can search the website’s directory without a profile, but you’ll need to create one to determine if you qualify.
2️⃣ FASTWEB.COM — The Fastweb database includes 1.5 million scholarships worth more than $3.4 billion. Once you create an account, you can log in and discover matches based on the information you’ve shared. The site even allows parents to create separate accounts to maximize potential earnings.
3️⃣ BIGFUTURE.COM — Backed by The College Board, the BigFuture scholarship database allows students to narrow their search in various ways, including their profession or career field of interest. While a free College Board account is needed to apply for awards, BigFuture retains application information and includes a data syncing option to make applications for multiple awards easy.
4️⃣ APPILY.COM — Appily claims to have more than $44 million worth of scholarship options available. Before you sign up, you can search the directory based on deadline, ZIP code, gender, ethnicity, school year and other factors. You can even weed out lower-paying scholarships by setting a minimum dollar amount for your search.
5️⃣ SALLIE.COM — Sallie uses artificial intelligence to provide scholarship matches and prioritizes them based on which ones you’re best qualified for. The platform also gives users access to exclusive scholarships that aren’t available anywhere else, so there’s less competition. Additionally, Sallie removes awards after the application due date passes. Even if the scholarship money is generally available every year, it won’t reappear on the app until the organization behind it is accepting new applicants.
Hopefully, this gives you more information on scholarships Melissa and what’s available to you. It is definitely worth looking into as this could give you the financial assistance that you need. Even if you don’t think you’re eligible, you won’t know until you actually try.
Thank you so much Doc! This is really helpful!
Marissa
Jess A
6
Answers
Washington, Washington
Updated
Jess’s Answer
Hi Marissa,
I think you're at the right time to start looking for scholarships! I'd like to share a diverse perspective based on my personal experience. I would suggest considering your community college as a potential option, if you think it might suit your needs. I was accepted into the honors program at my community college, which came with a full merit scholarship. Completing this program was highly regarded by my state's university, and as a result, I received a decent merit scholarship upon transferring. Furthermore, my community college offered another program with a combination of merit and financial aid scholarships, which continued at my state's university. This highlights how attending a community college might open up more scholarship opportunities than directly enrolling at a state university. I do want to note, however, that my community college was one of the top cc's in my state. I think this might have contributed to its ability to offer such opportunities to students, so this is something to consider when evaluating your community's college.
Hope this helps!
Jess
I think you're at the right time to start looking for scholarships! I'd like to share a diverse perspective based on my personal experience. I would suggest considering your community college as a potential option, if you think it might suit your needs. I was accepted into the honors program at my community college, which came with a full merit scholarship. Completing this program was highly regarded by my state's university, and as a result, I received a decent merit scholarship upon transferring. Furthermore, my community college offered another program with a combination of merit and financial aid scholarships, which continued at my state's university. This highlights how attending a community college might open up more scholarship opportunities than directly enrolling at a state university. I do want to note, however, that my community college was one of the top cc's in my state. I think this might have contributed to its ability to offer such opportunities to students, so this is something to consider when evaluating your community's college.
Hope this helps!
Jess
Thank you so much Jess! I never considered that so I really appreciate the advice!
Marissa
Christopher Williams, CEBS, PMP
Senior Engagement Manager
36
Answers
Woodstock, Georgia
Updated
Christopher’s Answer
Hey Marissa -
I've been through the college process with my kids, so I know how it goes. When applying for college scholarships, start by finding ones that fit you well. Fill out the FAFSA, and put together a strong application with great essays and recommendation letters. Make sure to send everything in before the deadline.
Get a Head Start: Begin looking for scholarships long before the deadlines arrive.
Use Available Resources:
- School Counselors: Talk to your school counselor about scholarship options.
- Financial Aid Offices: Reach out to the financial aid offices at the colleges you like.
- Online Search Tools: Check out websites like College Board's Scholarship Search or Fastweb.
- Local Opportunities: Look into scholarships from local businesses, foundations, or community groups.
You've got this, Marissa! Stay organized, and keep pushing forward.
I've been through the college process with my kids, so I know how it goes. When applying for college scholarships, start by finding ones that fit you well. Fill out the FAFSA, and put together a strong application with great essays and recommendation letters. Make sure to send everything in before the deadline.
Get a Head Start: Begin looking for scholarships long before the deadlines arrive.
Use Available Resources:
- School Counselors: Talk to your school counselor about scholarship options.
- Financial Aid Offices: Reach out to the financial aid offices at the colleges you like.
- Online Search Tools: Check out websites like College Board's Scholarship Search or Fastweb.
- Local Opportunities: Look into scholarships from local businesses, foundations, or community groups.
You've got this, Marissa! Stay organized, and keep pushing forward.
I appreciate the advice Christopher! Thank you so much!
Marissa