My Scholarship Search Story

Long story short, it was crazy. I must have applied to at least 100 scholarships, but I won 2 of them and that’s all the counts! Now the long story starts here: If you really want a scholarship, you need to set up many accounts on websites that will help you look for scholarships you are most likely to win. Websites like Fastweb, GetSchooled, Niche and DoSomething are great sources in order to find the scholarship/s you are destined to win. We are going to break up the scholarship search in simple categories, which are: Ethnicity: There are scholarships for every type of person, including all races and ethnicities. We all want our own “culture” to better itself, so helping people who share your own values and beliefs is a good way to get back to your community. Age: If you are a certain age, you are eligible for a certain type of scholarship (range). It is not common for companies to use them, but it is important because some students think just because they are getting older, they will not be eligible for scholarship, which is not true at all. Even grad students can apply to scholarships tailored to them. Grade (sophomore, junior, etc.): Some scholarships are exclusive to some school years, so keep your eye for those because in theory, you may be more likely to win them. It counts both for high school and college students. GPA: If you have really good grades, it is easier for you to win a scholarship. On the other hand, a lot of scholarships no longer require you to give them your GPA because they focus more on your extracurricular activities, volunteer experiences and/or your writing skills. Athletics: If you are part of any official sport team in your school, you should qualify for scholarships that are targeted to you. Thousands of students get large scholarships because they can play sports, so if you can play one or more, go to your adviser or coach, and ask for advice in this topic, or look up information about it right here on Fastweb. Jobs: Some jobs have scholarships if you work for them for a certain amount of time. If you are lucky enough to work for them, do not let this opportunity go. It is better trying and failing, than not trying at all. Personally, I have only won two scholarships - one of them was from my high school and the other one was from a website called Get Schooled, which had a partnership with Taco Bell. I am not counting grants and federal aid from the government, as they helped me a lot and completing the FAFSA was completely worth it (it opened on October 1st for the 2018-2019 year), but it did not fulfill all the money I needed, so I had to take college loans, which I talked about in my previous article. Last piece of advice; never give up in your scholarship search. You can be a freshman in high school or a senior in college and there will still be a scholarship out there for you. To recap, I think it is great how companies, powerful people and even your local businesses owners make scholarships for people they think are the best fit. If you are the winner of a scholarship, know that there is more than one person that apply to it and make the most out of your scholarship by getting good grades and giving back to your community in any way possible.