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Holy cow, you’ve made it! Senior year of high school is almost here and you are seeing that light at the end of the tunnel. BUT, don’t get ahead of yourself, there’s a lot of life to happen between now and graduation. Let’s assume, your dream college has received your application and sent you back that highly coveted welcome packet. You’re ecstatic, everyone is cheering, and I’m sending your virtual hugs for your big achievement! Now it’s time to get to work on how you will pay for that dream school. Many seniors don’t realize just how many scholarships are out there, BAZILIONS! It’s just knowing where to look and how to approach them, and don’t forget about the smaller ones. A lot of smaller scholarships go unapplied for because $500 or $1000 just doesn’t seem to make a dent in your overall bill. But these smaller scholarships can really add up! I’ve got 8 resources linked up below for you, to help get your college funding secured!
1. Learn from those who have been there before.
My first resource comes from www.grownandflown.com. This is a hugely resourceful group of parents, who have navigated the college funding, drop off and admissions universe and learned several lessons along the way. They have a vast array of knowledge for parents and students planning their college experience and their website is definitely one to check out.
2. What a past scholarship judge has to say.
Yoora Park has judged many scholarships throughout the years, and offers some great advice on how to put together your scholarship essays. You can read her breakdown at this link: HERE for great tips on putting together an essay that sets you apart.
3. Where to find scholarships that fit you best?
Probably the biggest hurdle is actually finding the scholarships to apply for. There are thousands upon thousands of scholarships floating around, which makes narrowing down the ones you qualify for seem about as easy as finding a needle in a haystack. The College Investor has a great post outlining all the areas to look and research to find the best scholarships for you. You can read that article HERE.
4. Learn from a Current College Student.
No one is a better expert of what’s going on in colleges, admissions, applications and essays than someone who just went through it all. Sarah Olden of the The Olden Chapters runs a blog chronically all things college related. She wrote a great post which you can find HERE where she spells out everything she has learned on winning your dream scholarships.
5. Getting your resume organized and creating a scholarship portfolio.
Charlotte from www.forevercharlottenicole.com put together a fabulous idea of organizing your high school resume into a portfolio, to streamline your application process. She earned a hefty amount of scholarship money, by playing the odds and staying organized. Read her blog post HERE, to learn how to create your own scholarship portfolio.
To sum everything up, scholarships are there and waiting for you. They require planning and prep on your part, but remember the popular saying. “Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail.” Give yourself the best odds possible and use these 5 resources above to maximize your scholarship potential!
Until next time
xoxo
Kody