How to Best Organize Your Scholarship Search

Applying for scholarships can be a big hassle. With so many out there, how do you know which one to pick? Keeping track of all the due dates and the different requirements they have is an entirely new struggle. Not to mention the time it takes! And after all that work, is it even worth it? The answer is yes. It’s always worth it to apply for scholarships. Even if you don’t win, you’re learning about what different institutions look for when giving out scholarships. You’re learning what works and what doesn’t work, as well as putting yourself out there for others to see. Not to mention the skills you gain - such as time management and organization. This article will give you tips on how to organize your scholarship search to maximize your efficiency and make the process a whole lot easier. Here’s a few tips on how to organize your scholarship search.

1. Keep an ongoing list.

It’s absolutely essential you keep a list of all the scholarships you want to, have, and are going to apply for. The word “ongoing” is in there because you need to be updating this list very often. This list could be in the form of an Excel spreadsheet or a checklist on a whiteboard. After the name of the scholarship, include other information such as the application deadline, what else you need to submit with it and an indication to yourself as to whether you’ve applied or not. It should look a little something like this:

Scholarship	Due Date	Requirements	Application Status
Scholarship A	11/15/17	Essay	Submitted
Scholarship B	11/25/17	Transcript	In process
Scholarship C	12/01/17	Short essay; 2 Letter of recommendation	Incomplete

This list will provide you a visual of not only how many scholarships you’ve applied for, but how many more you need to apply for as well as what you need for each.

2. Have the essentials prepared.

This would mean having any academic or personal information at the ready in case the scholarship needs it. Also, some scholarships require brief essays, often about yourself but topics can vary. If you have one pre-written you can tailor to each requirement this will save you lots of time for when you apply for many scholarships (and you should). Keeping these essentials in a single document will prove to be very convenient when you just copy and paste it into an application one day.

3. Set aside time.

Just like you set aside time to exercise or practice piano, you need to set aside time to apply for scholarships. It can be pretty daunting to look at a long list of scholarships that you haven’t applied for yet. So every day, set aside a certain amount of time to go through your list and apply for scholarships, one by one. Even if you can only apply to one a day, that’s better than saving up all twenty for the evening before they’re all due. This also makes applying for scholarships part of your daily routine. Once you get used to it, you’ll become efficient enough to apply for more and more, thus obliterating your list.

4. Know where to look.

That seems kind of obvious, but one reason why students don’t apply for scholarships is simply because they don’t know where to find them. Luckily for you, you happen to be reading an article from an organization that is all about giving scholarships to students. Besides from Fastweb, there are several other websites that can be found by just typing “scholarships” into a Google search bar. Don’t just limit your search online, though! Your school’s counseling office will probably have some information about scholarships from organizations such as grocery stores or local businesses. Remember, these companies and businesses want to give you money to pay for college. All you have to do is find them! If you follow those tips, you’ll come to learn that applying for scholarships isn’t that bad - it just takes practice to get used to it. Best of luck to you!