How to Scholarship: A Comprehensive Guide

How to Scholarship: A Comprehensive Guide

Leigh Duncan, Messenger Reporter

Freshman year is the year that we scramble around the school, trying to find our place (and math class). Sophomore year is the slump year; nothing to worry about, minus the beloved PLAN test. Senior year is the year no one cares about anything anymore, except graduating. But we’ve skipped one, and that’s junior year. Junior year is the year of neurosis and panic, about the ACT, college, adulting, and, most importantly, scholarships.

Most of us are utterly clueless on how to pursue those scholarships though; we know they’re out there, but how do we find them? Never fear, Messenger is here, with a few tips on “How to Scholarship”.

Tip One: Using your House Counselor

This one is fairly simple, and doesn’t really require you to actually talk to them in most cases. You see, unbeknownst to many, most of our house counselors have a box of scholarship applications outside their office. Simply approach the box during some of your free time, open it, and pull out every single application you even remotely think you could meet standards for. Personally, I found seven. Make sure you have an ink pen though- most paper apps require them to be filled out in black or blue ink. For the ones that require a certain ACT score or GPA, get a transcript from said counselor.

Tip Two: Search by Major and Minority

As a Senior on a search for scholarships, I know for a fact that there are dozens upon dozens of scholarships that are awarded based on your major; some of them up to 10,000 dollars yearly. It’s a simple as running a google search; just type “scholarships for (insert major type) majors”. I can all but guarantee, there will be fruitful results worth thousands.

If you happen to be a minority, (such as an African American, Hispanic, Native American, or a member of the LGBT community) then rest assured, there are plenty of scholarships for you. The website colleges.niche.com has a section for minority scholarships, and is also a good “in general” place to search for scholarships- signing up is absolutely free, and will match you to several.

Tip Three: See if you qualify for a Pell Grant

The Federal Pell Grant is awarded based on financial need and background, and, if applied for early enough and if you are in enough need, can be worth up to $5,815 (as of the 2016-2017 school year). To apply, you simply need to fill out your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). There is no essay required.

At any rate, don’t stress too hard- unless you’re a senior. Then stress very, very hard.