What are the Top 3 Tips for applying for scholarships?
Let’s focus on the Top 3 Tips to apply for scholarships and reduce the time and exhaustion associated with the process.
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Tip #1: Start Early
The early bird devours the worm and has an opportunity to have more choices at the worm buffet. Complete the Federal Application for Student Aid (F.A.F.S.A.) even if your family makes more than $100,000 annually. Some colleges and universities will not provide a financial aid package unless the F.A.F.S.A. is on file. Also, starting to apply early builds your student’s confidence. Heading into the fall with at least one scholarship is golden.
Pro Tip: Don’t assume the scholarship deadlines and amounts will be the same every year. Confirm with your college’s financial aid department every year when your student is in college that scholarships renew and criteria haven’t changed.
Tip #2: Source Local
Scholarships within the local community provide a competitive advantage. They often don’t have as much competition as national or regional scholarships. Reach out to your local libraries—scan public and private high school websites for scholarships within a 20 to 30-mile radius of your home. Connect with local credit unions and banks. Find out when their scholarships are open and research their websites for prior winners of scholarships. Other community resources include fraternities, sororities, and clubs, such as Rotary, Girls Scouts, and Boy Scouts of America.
Pro Tip: If you walk in your neighborhood, get curious about your neighbors, and ask how their high school and college students are doing. You’ll be surprised at the information you can learn about alumni and institutional scholarships.
Tip #3: Stop, Look, and Listen
Scholarship tips are all around if you pay attention, especially when you’re around family, friends, and neighbors. Strike up a discussion with other parents while sitting in the bleachers at a high school basketball game. Compare notes while in line for concessions at the club volleyball tournament. Take a break from texting or checking social media. Look around at the sea of sweatshirts and jackets with college logos on them. Scholarship connections are around us. Let’s practice leveraging our networks!
Need the inspiration to start applying for scholarships?
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