Author Spotlight
Abby Walker
As you progress in your high school career, you realize just how expensive college is. Suddenly a $60,000 bill seems to be staring right at your face as you think about what schools to apply to at the beginning of your senior year. It’s never too early to start thinking about how you will lighten the bill for your undergraduate experience. Here are six different approaches to finding scholarships.
The best and easiest way to get scholarships is to focus on your academics. Most schools award merit based scholarships upon acceptance. The higher your SAT, ACT or GPA are, the better chance you have at halving your potential tuition. At the University of Kansas, an ACT bump from a 25 to a 28 results in $4,000 more in scholarship money.
If you know where you want to go, you can look on that school’s website to explore scholarship options. Most of these applications will include an essay, and some will require a letter of recommendation. For example, at the University of Kansas, there is a Hixon Opportunity Award freshman who wouldn’t otherwise be able to enroll at KU can apply for.
The East counselors are a bigger resource than we may know — they have much more information than we do about schools, scholarships. Some scholarships or scholars programs require a nomination for the student to be able to apply. My counselor was able to find for me and nominate me for a scholarship at my top school at the beginning of my senior year. Even though I didn’t get the scholarship, it allowed the school to get to know me better, which never hurts.
Most people know that schools can award their student athletes with scholarship money. But you don’t have to play in college to earn money for your sport. Take a look at unigo.com for a plethora of lists with general athletic scholarships as well as sport-specific scholarships that can apply to any school you enroll at.
Scholarship opportunities are never-ending if you can think of what can set you apart. For example, if you have a summer job as a lifeguard, you can apply for scholarships for lifeguards, like the Ben Carlson Scholarship. If you are involved in journalism you can apply for the American Copy Editors Scholarship Society. The opportunities for these unique scholarships are endless as long as you dig deep.
Scholarships don’t have to award academic achievement, which is why some donors look to deviate from the norm. At websites like yescollege.com and scholarships.com, you can find easy-to-earn scholarships like “Asparagus Club Scholarship,” which awards 10 students with $8,000 over four years, the “Wear Duct Tape to Prom Scholarship” which awards scholarships up to $10,000, and the “Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest” which has award over $60,000 in the past.
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