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How to avoid scholarship traps and win money
Over the years I have heard an endless amount of reasons why students can not get scholarships. Today I would like to dispel the top three myths behind hunting for scholarships and show your student how to win some scholarship money!
If you have a student in grade school, high school or college they should be applying for scholarships.
Here are some of the top scholarship myths:
Myth One:
All the scholarships take my families financial situation into consideration and I don’t qualify.
Reality:
There are two types of scholarships, need based and merit based. There is an endless amount of both scholarships. If you can not qualify for need based scholarships focus your search on merit based scholarships.
Myth Two:
Merit scholarships are impossible to get unless you have a very high GPA.
Reality:
Merit can mean many things in the world of scholarships. However, grades are only one component. Many scholarships only require a minimum GPA to be considered. For example a scholarship may require a 2.5 GPA. Once you have cleared the bar you are just as eligible as the person with the 4.0. There are scholarships for all kinds of merit such as writing, science, community service, athletics, music, just to name a few.
Myth Three:
I have heard of others applying for many scholarships and not winning any. I am not going to bother.
Reality:
Never assume that you can not win a scholarship. When I hear of students that apply for many and win none I usually find they fall into several scholarship traps.
First, they don’t shoot any layups. If you have ever played basketball you realize that a layup is a very easy high probability shot. When searching for scholarships you should look for some easier local scholarships as well as the big national ones. I talk to many local churches, civic groups, non profits, business groups and associations that have small scholarships to give away. Often these scholarships are not used. These scholarships tend to be only a few hundred dollars so no one ask for them. If you win a half dozen of these it can be very meaningful.
Second, they don’t have a game plan. If you are not a good writer why apply for a short story scholarship. Many students apply to every scholarship they come across. Instead you should focus your time and energy on creating a scholarship list that fits your interest.
Third, they are inefficient. Don’t start from scratch every time you apply to a scholarship. If you have a big project, essay, story, etc that you have worked on chances are you can use it to apply for several scholarships. Chances are good that you have done 60% of the work for a half dozen or more scholarships. Reuse and recycle things you have already done as much as possible.