Scholarships can help decrease the financial burden by giving you essentially free money to pay for school. The best part is you don’t have to pay it back! Whether you’re a freshman considering college or a senior finishing applications, here’s a guide to making scholarships work for you, including a few easy ones you can apply to today.
Why Apply for Scholarships?
Scholarships are one of the best ways to pay for college because they don’t add to student debt. They can come from schools, companies, nonprofits, or even local organizations in your community. Scholarships reward students for all kinds of achievements—academics, athletics, creativity, volunteering, cultural/ethnic background, or unique qualities like being the first in your family to go to college.
How to Easily Find Scholarships:
- Start Early: The earlier you start searching, the more opportunities you’ll find.
- Use Online Resources: Websites like Fastweb, Scholarships.com, Illuminate, Career One Stop, and the College Board Scholarship Search make finding scholarships easy. Use any of the scholarship searchers to find scholarships tailored to you.
- Think About Your Interests: There are scholarships for athletes, artists, writers, gamers, and more. Whatever your passion, there’s probably a scholarship for it.
- Stay Organized: Keep track of deadlines and requirements in a spreadsheet or planner.
Scholarships to Apply For:
Not all scholarships require long essays or perfect grades. Here are a few simple ones to get you started:
1. The “No Essay” Scholarship
- Amount: $2,000
- Deadline: End of every month
- How to Apply: Sign up and provide personal information on websites like College Board, Niche, or ScholarshipPoints, and you’re entered. The winners are determined randomly.
- Why It’s Great: No essays, no hassle—just a quick form.
2. The Doodle for Google Scholarship
- Amount: Up to $30,000
- Deadline: Around March
- How to Apply: Create a Google-themed doodle based on a yearly prompt and submit it online.
- Why It’s Great: Show off your creativity and potentially win big. Graphic designers and creatives should take advantage of this.
3. The “Be Bold” Scholarship
- Amount: Up to $25,000
- Deadline: Rolling
- How to Apply: Write a short application highlighting your boldness in life choices.
- Why It’s Great: Focuses on personality, not GPA.
Conclusion
Scholarships aren’t just for straight-A students or star athletes. There’s something for everyone, and every little bit helps. Take the time to research, stay organized, and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. A few hours of effort now could save you thousands of dollars later. Start applying today—your future self will thank you!
