College is expensive; whether you’re going to a trade
school, community college, or university, in-state or out of state, private or
public, there’s no denying it. Post-secondary education, as useful and
important as it is, can really put a dent in your pocketbook. As a first year
student at Iowa State University, I am well aware of the struggles of affording
college. While I don’t claim to be a scholarship expert by any means, as
someone who graduated high school with nearly $40,000 in scholarships I also
know there are a lot of opportunities to ease the financial burden of the next
step in your life. Here are some of my best tips:
Get organized. I
know how busy your senior year can be: planning commencement with your class,
figuring out details for your graduation party, enjoying the “lasts” of all
your extracurriculars, working a part-time job, getting good grades, and trying
to be a kid and an adult at the same time. Things can easily get lost in the
shuffle of your last year of high school, so organization is the key to earning
as many scholarships as possible. Whether this organization is physical or
electronic, or both, figure out a system that works for you to keep track of
due dates, applications, essays, transcripts, and other important information.
One thing I did to keep my scholarship hunt on track was
create a “Scholarship Notebook” using Microsoft Word’s Notebook template. I
used this organize general information that many scholarships ask for in one
tab, like estimated college cost per year, University ID, high school GPA and class rank,
standardized test scores (like the ACT, SAT, or COMPASS), and your school’s address.
I also used tabs for scholarships I still needed to work on, applications that
needed signatures or mailed, applications I had competed, and scholarships I
was awarded.
Use all your
resources. The most common thing I heard from my classmates regarding
scholarships was “I don’t know where to look for them.” There are so many places to find scholarships and
grants, you just need to open your eyes! Here’s just a handful of the places I
used to find free money:
·
My high school guidance counselor was a
wonderful resource. The guidance counselor is usually the person who receives
scholarship information from people and clubs in your community. They also went
to school to help you go to school!
·
Your college/university/trade school’s financial
aid website is another great place to find scholarships. Even if you receive an
automatic award from your school, you can, and should, look for other
scholarships through your financial aid office because they are completely different.
I can only speak for Iowa State’s site personally, but I do know they have a
lot of great resources, and with only a few quick searches it was easy to find similar
information for schools like DMACC, Kirkwood, Indian Hills, NWMSU, and SDSU.
Often times money distributed by your school requires little effort compared to
other scholarships, so it’s definitely worth a look.
·
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or
the FAFSA, is not the most exciting application to fill out. However, not only
can you receive some money directly from the application depending on your
financial situation, many scholarships also require you to prove you filled the
application out. If you live in Iowa, your FAFSA will give you the option to
fill out the Iowa College Aid application after you complete it. Do this as
well!
·
Scholarship search engines, like Fastweb, Unigo,
or Scholarships.com are another place many people forget to look for
scholarships. These websites can open your search up to a national and global
level.
Ask for some stellar
letters of recommendation. I would say over half of the scholarships I
applied for required at least one letter of recommendation or character
reference. My best advice on this topic is to ask the people you want to write
for you as soon as possible. Not only
is it more courteous to them, there’s also a pretty good chance you will get a
better letter because they had more time to craft it. Also, don’t be afraid to
send them an academic resume or list of activities you’ve been involved in when
you ask them to write for you. Even if they know you very well, they may forget
what you’ve done throughout high school. These lists will help them write the
best letter possible. Some of the people you may want to ask for letters
include:
·
Guidance counselor
·
Principal or superintendent
·
FFA advisor
·
4-H leader or county extension employee
·
Coach, band director, or other extracurricular
leader
·
Employer or supervisor
·
Professional contacts you may have (One of mine
was from the Iowa Soybean Association, for example)
·
Pastor, priest, or other contacts from your
church
Apply, apply, apply!
Seriously, unless the scholarship is restricted to Aerospace Engineering majors
and you are going to school for English, apply for anything that comes down the
pipe. I know many of the people reading this are probably interested in some
sort of agriculture or life science major. While there are a lot of
scholarships in that area, don’t be afraid to look into more general
opportunities that aren’t major specific. I applied for a scholarship that I
“wasn’t going to get,” and I got $800 out of it, so never be afraid to apply
for something you don’t feel quite as confidently about. On that same note,
don’t discount the scholarships that only award $250, $500, or even $1000.
Aside from the automatic awards I received from ISU, only two of my
scholarships were $2000 or more; the smaller amounts are really what add up. My
guidance counselor explained it best: if you spend 2 hours on a scholarship
that is $500 and you receive it, you just made $250 per hour. Now, unless your
part time afterschool job pays $250 an hour, I’d say those smaller scholarships
are worth it, too.
Scholarships are the best way to ease the financial burden
of furthering your education after high school. With a little bit of
researching, and some effort, you can completely transform how you pay for
college in just a few months!
Emily Campbell
Agricultural Studies,
Iowa State University
Past Southwest District
Reporter
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