Student life means there is never a moment of respite from one thing or the other. One day, it is worrying over applications for a kindergarten student, and before you know it, students and parents are agitated over exam results and other academic achievements. It seems like a blink of an eye before a simple yearly routine of just worrying about passing a grade turns into fussing over college applications and checking websites to acquire information about various scholarships offered.
Now, as we know, even though scholarships sound easy enough, applying for one might be more than overwhelming for students and parents alike. Almost everyone has a few misconceptions regarding how the scholarship process works. Common questions such as when to apply, who can apply, how to get the scholarship money, and so on always arise. So, the following are some important pointers and answers to some burning questions regarding the scholarship process.
1. Apply as early as possible
When it comes to applying for scholarships, the sooner, the better, the senior year's beginning is the best time to start looking for scholarship applications. By doing this, by the end of the year, you can get your applications shortlisted and can make an easy decision regarding which scholarship opportunity to utilize. Also, another thing it helps with is to meet the deadline of a particular scholarship. If you apply for a scholarship early, it gives you an ample amount of time to fill it up before the deadline. In this way, you can avoid rash decisions.
2. Know the types of scholarship
Scholarships are not only of a single variety. They can be of many different types targeting different sets of students. For example, need-based scholarships only aid the financially weaker section, whereas merit-based scholarships focus on students who have reached academic excellence. Then there are music and athletics-based scholarships, which extend to students' excellence in these fields. There's also a test called PSAT, based on the score of which you can also qualify for a scholarship.
3. FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student, or what is commonly known as FAFSA, is a form that needs to be filled up by students to determine their eligibility for any kind of financial aid in their further education. After completing FAFSA, students are presented with a SAR or what is known as a Student Aid Report. This SAR provides the student with their eligibility for various types of financial aid.
4. Check university websites for opportunities
Students should start shortlisting their college options as soon as they begin with their senior year. This would help them get an overview of everything a particular college or university has to offer, ranging from the college campus to housing, food, and of course, the courses they offer and their fees. After this procedure, students can log in to a particular university or college's website to check for any available scholarship offers on their chosen course and the eligibility criteria to apply for the same.
5. Know the terms and conditions
It is absolutely necessary to go through the terms and conditions of any scholarship that you apply for. Terms and conditions vary for every scholarship. You have to know if it is a merit-based scholarship or something else. So, to avoid any kind of misconception regarding a scholarship, it is mandatory to read and understand the terms and conditions of a scholarship very thoroughly.
6. Scholarships can be used for more than tuition fees
Most scholarship offers just extend till covering the tuition fees of a student. But, several scholarships also cover housing costs and stationery costs in addition to the tuition fees.
7. How much a scholarship is awarding
To avoid any kind of confusion or financial stress, you should know for sure how much a scholarship is awarding. Besides avoiding financial stress, knowing this will also help you avoid any kind of scam or loss of scholarship money.
8. Availability of a scholarship
Check the availability of a scholarship before applying. All scholarships are not available for all students. As mentioned in the second point, there are various types of scholarships with various eligibility criteria available for a particular set of students.
9. Paying close attention to the essay topic
The essay you submit for your scholarship application also plays an important role in getting you a scholarship. This should be taken into account by all students that they need to understand the topic of the essay and write it on point to increase their chances of getting a scholarship.
10. Scams Exist
Last but definitely not least, you should know that scholarship scams exist. Before applying for a scholarship, you should thoroughly check the authenticity of the same. Some sites might ask for social security number or might ask you to make a payment. Note that those are scams. To avoid scams, all you need to do is make sure to apply for a scholarship from a reputable site.
