Learning about scholarships in the USA

What is a College Scholarship?

A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further their education. A scholarship provides a more accessible for students as it makes the education less expensive. It is awarded based on different criteria such as the merits (academic, athletic…), or needs. The college scholarships help the students pay for their degrees, and this money is not required to be paid back.

 

Types of Scholarships

It is common to think that scholarships are only given to people with an impressive GPA, or incredible athletes with an outstanding record. However, there are a lot more types of scholarships available for all kinds of students. Some types of scholarships are named and described below:

1. Academic scholarship

It is a scholarship based on the person’s merits. It awards students with an outstanding history of academic achievement, impressive GPA and SAT scores. It is a very prestigious scholarship and improves your resume.

2. Average academic performance scholarship

This scholarship awards students with leadership qualities, that do a lot of community service with solid grades (even if it is not a 4.0 GPA)

3. Athletic scholarship

It is a scholarship based on the person’s merits and hard-work. This scholarship is a very visible and competitive one. It is given to students with a very high level of the sport played, with solid acceptable grades. In order to get this scholarship, you have to be recruited by a coach.

4. Scholarships for minorities

It is a scholarship that can be general or specific within the ethnic requirements (some are opened to every minority, and some are exclusively for some particular group). This scholarship is created in order to diversify the workplace and give opportunities to everyone.

 

 

5. Scholarships for women

It is a scholarship just for women. This scholarship exists in order to make equality in society as white male predominate when getting a college degree. This scholarship is sponsored by associations and corporations.

6. Creative scholarships

It is a merit-based scholarship. This scholarship is very competitive that awards artistic students. In order to apply for this scholarship, the students have to submit their artwork like a portfolio or an audition tape.

7. Unusual scholarships

It is a scholarship sponsored by organizations, agencies, or businesses. An example of people who can be given this scholarship is the children of immigrants.

8. Community service scholarships

It is a scholarship that rewards students that give back to their community. It is given to students with a history of community involvement and civic accomplishments.

 

 

How do I find a Scholarship?

Finding a scholarship may seem easy, but there is a need to be careful of not being scammed and making sure the scholarships’ information offered is legit. There are some trustful resources that can be used to find a scholarship. Listed below, there are some of these sources of information:

• Financial aid office of the college or university of interest.
• Your guidance counselor in the case you are attending high school or a community college.
• Different organizations, associations, or agencies that provide their service of help.
• Different websites of the university or college that provide information about this topic.

 

How to Get a Scholarship? 

The process of getting a scholarship is a slow process. Because of the difficulty of the process and in order to make it easier, there are companies or agencies that provide a service that helps you find a scholarship. In the “getting a scholarship process,” there is a lot of effort needed as well as time.

For getting a scholarship you have to work hard to get it; For example, if it is in the athletic field, you need to practice very hard every day to get better so the coaches are interested in you. You would also have to study hard in order to get good grades so more opportunities and better universities can be offered. (there is a minimum overall grade from high school or the SAT required to get into a college.

Each college or university has a different minimum grade). Another example could be an academic scholarship in which you need to work hard and focused on your studies and getting remarkable grades as there is a required GPA needed in order to apply for this scholarship. The last example I am going to name is the creative scholarship. A person who wants to get rewarded with a creative scholarship has to work very hard to improve their artistic skills, they have to work hard in the portfolio or audio record that they have to send to apply for the scholarship.

In conclusion, in order to get a scholarship, you need to be mindful and focused on what you want. You need to always have your goal in mind so you can work for it, and the last is being consistent to be ready for the final step which is submitting the application.

 

When to apply for a scholarship and how to do it?

Scholarships have a deadline so it is possible to apply for it any day until that due date. However, it is better to apply the earliest as possible so the chances of missing the deadline are lower. One thing to consider is that there is a very wide range of options regarding scholarships so people can apply to various scholarships so the chances of being rewarded are higher, and there are more options to consider which will help the student find a scholarship that can be a right fit for the applicant’s personality. So, this wide range of options is a positive thing when applying for scholarships not just because you can find your best and favorite options, but also because the more options of scholarship you have and you apply to, the highest possibilities of getting rewarded with a scholarship you are.

In conclusion, it is better to apply with time and no rushing, and also be consistent and apply for more than one scholarship for increasing the chances of getting it.

 

 

Strategies for scholarship applications

Remark your strengths

First, it is convenient to do some previous research about the scholarship and try to find the most desirable or interesting option or the one in which you can show your strengths the most as there will be serious competition with other students that will apply for the scholarship too.

From that research, write down a list of the scholarships you consider you would be able to earn and have it organized in order to start the application process. In the application, it is important to remark those strengths you have and make yourself look like the best applicant. It is helpful to have a letter of recommendation for boasting the strengths.

Write the best essay as possible

This strategy is needed when the application requires an essay, which is most of the times. This essay is very important for the scholarship reviewers when choosing the person that will be receiving the scholarship.

For writing a strong essay it is important to follow the instructions, rules, guidelines, and respond to the questions using examples or evidence that support your strengths. It is also essential to analyze who you are writing to, and what they want. It is very important to pay attention to the details within the essay such as the format, or the spelling.