The scholarship process, from a personal perspective, was especially easy to navigate with the help of my teachers and the CommonApp. I was accepted to Colby Sawyer College with an academic scholarship because of my application essay, transcript, and my extracurricular activities.
Before applying to Colby Sawyer, I reached out to only one other college, and I did not receive an answer from them. In contrast, Colby Sawyer responded with rich information about how early action (early action is the opposite of early decision; it is a non-binding agreement that lets students consider other schools) applicants are awarded more scholarships. Additionally, early action helps students in terms of receiving additional scholarships.
What most students are told that isn’t true is students have to write different applications for each scholarship. With our internet obsessed culture, the CommonApp was created to allow students to write one essay for all eligible applications and scholarships. “A lot of students also assume that scholarships are for people with high grades when in reality, they’re for everyone,” Kassidy Moore, a dedicated VSAC counselor, explained. “Underrepresented students, like first generation college students, English language learners, students from modest income families, students of color, student’s from rural high schools and towns, have lots of scholarships waiting to be applied for.”
Thousands of students often think of applying for scholarships and immediately run to big companies like Burger King or Dr. Pepper that pan out a lot of money on ONE scholarship, rarely more, and they’re all applying for said scholarship. “Applying for scholarships that are smaller with more to award is exceptionally beneficial because $500-2500 scholarships can add up fast” Kassidy noted. It will be hard to weed out the first few scholarships that are worth it but, if you discover your criteria or explore a scholarship search engine, you will develop a rhythm of how to apply and search for scholarships.
Scholarships can be difficult, but once you apply to one, it sparks you to apply for so much more! If you want more information, you can go to VSAC.org, go to the search bar and search Scholarship process for articles more in depth, or you can Email Kassidy at [email protected].
