1. Start searching for scholarships as soon as possible. Don’t wait until the spring of your senior year in high school to start searching, or you’ll miss half the deadlines. There are many scholarships available to students in grades 9, 10, and 11, not just high school seniors. There are even scholarships for students in grades K-8. Continue searching for scholarships even after you are enrolled in college.
2. Answer all of the optional questions on a scholarship matching web site for about twice as many matches.
3. Use a free scholarship matching service.
4. Look for local scholarships on bulletin boards near the guidance counselor of financial aid offices, or the library’s jobs and careers section.
5. Apply to every scholarship for which you are eligible. Pursue less competitive scholarships, such as small awards and essay contests, since they are easier to win and the money adds up and helps you win bigger scholarships.
6. Don’t miss deadlines. Use a calendar and checklist to get organized.
7. Tailor your application to the sponsor’s goals. Read and follow the instructions carefully.
8. Personalize your essay and be passionate. Write about something of interest to you. Make your application stand out from the crowd. Talk about your impact on other people. Give examples and be specific. If you have difficulty writing essays, try recording yourself as you answer the question out loud, and transcribe the recording later. Most people can think and speak faster than they can write or type. Create an outline afterward to organize your thoughts. Proofread a printed copy of your essay and the application for spelling and grammar errors.
9. Google your name and make sure you have a professional online profile. Use a professional email address, such as firstname.lastname@gmail.com. Clean up the content of your Facebook account, removing inappropriate and immature material.
10. More work = fewer applicants = better chances. Many students avoid scholarships that require a lot of work, such as essays, videos, and projects. As a result, the applicant pool is much smaller, which means greater chances for you. Scholarships with essays over 1,000 words often have fewer than 500 applicants, compared to the 5,000 students who enter easier scholarships.
Scholarship Deadlines
Most scholarship application deadlines will occur during the regular academic year, typically from September through May. While this does give you some time to apply for scholarships, it still is a good idea to start searching for scholarships early. Many of the scholarships with the largest awards have the earliest deadlines but those who wait till December or January may be severely disappointed. We have provided scholarship application deadlines for just a few of the larger scholarship awards for high school students. For complete information on scholarship deadlines and requirements, conduct a free college scholarship search.
