Something I procrastinated on until just recently was applying for scholarships to help pay for college. It's terrifying enough to complete FAFSA for financial aid, or even registering for classes. The mentality I've always held about them was that they were straight-up impossible to get, so why bother?
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Since school starts up again for me tomorrow, I thought what better time than now to share some things that I'm learning about when applying for them. Maybe this will help others who are scared to begin to sum up the courage to apply for them! Below are what I think are some of the personal "deal-breakers" that will scare someone out of applying.
I am a junior for my bachelor's in Computer Information Systems, and I only started applying for scholarships this past Friday. My friend V and her boyfriend C asked to come over this past weekend so that we could work on them together.
Resources
V asked this favor of me because I had purchased a physical scholarship book for $20 called; "The Ultimate Scholarship Book 2020". While I have tried to find scholarships online before, it was a challenge to determine which ones were real, and which ones were trying to make me sign up for a service, or data mine my personal information.
I feel that one of the things that make it difficult to apply is getting resources on where to apply for them. One really amazing feature about this book (other than multiple guides contained inside) is that at the end of each full detail listing there is a code that you type into the book's website that will take you to the exact page you can apply for that scholarship! I don't have to make accounts or worry about identity theft. finding a reliable resource takes out a lot of the pain of even finding a scholarship to apply to.
Scholarship Types & Qualifications
I was skeptical at first, but there is literally a scholarship for anything that exists. As we began reading through the listings, a strange one caught our attention. Did you know that there's a Final Fantasy fan scholarship? Yes, the video game series. One of the requirements is to include an essay on one of the games from this franchise and how it changed your life. Insane.
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A lot of people think that they won't qualify for any scholarships because their grades aren't high enough, or they aren't a minority. Hogwash. If you take the time, you can definitely find a scholarship that fits you. Multiple really. There is a slew of different qualifications that may or may not be required, so it's a good idea to have some information available in case it is requested.
Not all of them are going to need SAT/ACT scores, essays, transcripts, or recommendations. Some of them are as simple as entering your general information, and pressing submit. This is one of the reasons that I took so long to start, I thought that I was severely unprepared in terms of paperwork and that acquiring these things would be too challenging for me.
Letters of Recommendation
When we selected some scholarships we wanted to apply to, V asked me if I had gotten any professors that would be willing to write me a letter of recommendation. I was like a letter of what? I learned from her that there are many scholarships that ask for contact information for the person who is writing your recommendation—In the event that you become a finalist in the selection process.
School is hard enough as is. Are you saying that I would have had to do super well in a class, and been a teacher's pet in order to get a letter that will help determine my eligibility? To be honest, I had never given a thought to this before. One of the longer applications required contact information for my recommendation.
All you have to do is email your professor and ask. Surprisingly if you did okay in their class, they are more than happy to help you continue your education. I emailed two of my recent professors right away, and both of them were excited. One of them even wrote a rough draft of what they wanted to say about me! Much like transcripts, when you are requested to provide a recommendation it must be mailed without being opened directly to the committee. They will not accept them if they have been opened to prevent cheating and false documents.
Essays
You can probably apply for scholarships without writing a single essay, but you will be more likely to win one if you do! Some of the ones we applied for this past weekend required essays. Make sure you read the fine print, some of them have a word requirement, and others a character limit. This is called a "personal statement". When a scholarship requires one, they are asking you to write something from a prompt, or topic they've selected.
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The shortest essay I wrote was a 140 character statement. Only half the amount of a tweet! Many of the questions for essays require some time to reflect and there are some that ask about communities you are in, hobbies, and other things about yourself. The selection committees want to get a better idea of who the applicant is. I promise you, essays are not there to punish us!
What I also learned is that you can reuse your essays for other scholarships. Many of the ones I applied to even emailed me a copy of my essay with my confirmation of it being submitted. In the emails, I was informed that I can save and use these answers on other submissions if they ask the same question. You don't have to write a brand new essay for every scholarship, and it is not cheating to reuse your answers.
Make sure to read the questions carefully! One of them asked me:
"Describe a time in your life (in school or out of school) when you found something challenging. How did you handle it?"
While my friend answered about a time about a project they did in class that was painfully difficult, my answer was about overcoming adversity in a challenging part in my life. You don't have to write a memoir, but it helps to understand the context of the question. In our case, both answers show that we understand what is being requested!
We read our answers aloud and helped each other with formatting and grammar errors. It made writing these essays more fun, and we could better understand our motivations and what we wanted to convey to those who would read them.
Remember:
• Find a trusted resource
• You will qualify for scholarships
• Invest the amount of time you are comfortable with
• Ask professors over email for recommendations
• A lot of scholarships have short or no essays
• Understanding the questions helps answer them better
• Ask a friend to proofread or read your essays out loud to yourself
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There are a lot of unknowns when trying something new, and scholarships are no different!
Wish me luck! 💖
@shello
It's interesting to read about the scholarships in a different country. In my home country something like this doesn't exist. You can only ask for a scholarship if you're from a family with low income and your parents can't support your studies.
I do like your system way better as it's you who is represented and you can do your best to get one.
I hope for you that you will get it! :) Good luck!
Thank you for sharing and have a good day!
Hello @delishtreats,
I think that the system you guys have is also good! We are offered some assistance for low income, but it isn't enough to fully cover intuition, especially for Bachelors and above. Doing scholarships allows for what you've mentioned of each person being represented, they also provide more opportunities to students to practice skills such as writing and communication!
Have an awesome day!
@shello
Before reading this comment, please notice, that in Finland we have a different school system and naming. This is why I'm calling them all as universities.
That sounds complicated compared to the system we have. We have the standard universities available in one web service, in which we can click and choose the universities we want to apply to and which studies we're going for.
Depending on your points based on your earlier studies, you can get into centralized tests and depending on which universities you applied to, you might or might not get in. More focus is put on the earlier studies and quite many get in based on their earlier grades, but tests are still a way to get in.
If and when you get in, you'll get supported by the government for the duration of your studies, just as long as they proceed in a normal speed. Quite big part of the "support" is a loan, so there are quite many people who decline the support and fund their studies by working during the studies.
Few years of study and BOOM, you're ready.
Finland does have a similar education system to what the US has in place. Interesting! We have "Universities" which you can transfer between if you want to attend a different school, community colleges that have a degree, and course limitations, and other private institutions. When I applied for the current school I attend, I had to submit an essay for acceptance. Many Universities also require some form of testing.
Financial Aid consists of grants and loans. Many people also choose to work during their studies depending on their situation. A student can receive funding as long as their grades meet the threshold for government funding. Our support is similar, but by applying for scholarships, less of the support can be loans, and more of it can be in the form of rewards that do not need paying back.
I was working during my studies, but as I get closer to graduation I realize that I need more time to work on my classes and get things in order.
I'm a student who is attending half-time, my options a little different. A few years? Education can span several years as well!
excellent publication.
Useful for everyone who needs to do this process.
Interesting book and how I help you.
Scholarships for game fans?
Incredible.
I think there is some experiment.
Congrats on a Curie vote!
Thank you for your blessings! I agree that learning how to complete the scholarship process is important. There is something for everyone c:
Final fantasy! It did change my life! I wish I was 12 years younger so I could have gotten a scholarship!
I guess being a student is a requirement for getting a scholarship , right?
Right? Now only if there was one for Dance Dance Revolution we'd be in business!~
Lmao you can always go back to school c;
I just want the free money!!!
And please show me your essay on how dance dance revolution changed your life. I’ll gladly give you 5 steem hahah
Everyone likes money xDD
I could share about how Dance Dance Revolution changed my life, but I swear, it's just a hobby!
I used to not like money when I was kind of living with gifts but the airline companies didn’t want to join my experiment and neither did landlords so I joined money again.
Yeah money isn't everything, but it can allow you to do some cool stuff. lmao if only my landlord would be down for "experiments". Sometimes I wish I was a bard, and I could pay things in songs...
Hi shello,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
Thank you very much, I appreciate 💕
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this is a great post! you're right, most of the time bureaucracy is really a wall that bounces you off and discourages you from moving forward. and not just for scholarships !! but as you say it is not only knowing how to do it but above all knowing that they exist !! congratulations on your work and the curie vote, and ... good luck !!
Yeah, why make it so difficult to even get started? I'm somewhat split on this. If the system works because many people are discouraged in fear, don't you think we would need a new system?
Thank you for your blessings! c:
I totally agree with you! they do it for a sort of natural selection, to see who survives !!
For me the most relevant part of this publication is the spirit you have in helping others from your own experience.
Sharing and describing your story, in terms of scholarship applications, is very commendable.
I congratulate you, I get the impression that you are a great leader. I hope you finish your studies without economic pressures. A big hello @shello
Thank you for your blessings @marcybetancourt! When I read guides online, I feel like there is some type of narrative being pushed and that sometimes the information won't apply to what I want to do. One of my main goals on Steemit is to help enrich others' experiences by sharing my own. These are some of the things I wish I knew about before diving into scholarship applications. I appreciate your thoughts, and hopefully I actually win some!!
Stay blessed!~
@shello