A Small Pool of Applicants Can Increase Your Chance of Being Awarded a College Scholarship.
There is promise for high schools students applying for college scholarships. This recent article indicates that some Illinois high school guidance counselors are finding that the number of students applying for scholarships is much lower than expected. This problem isn’t specific to Illinois, though. Nationwide, guidance counselors encounter similar challenges when trying to assist students.
That is great news for our readers who are here because of their interest and commitment to seeking out college scholarship opportunities. According to the article, Brad Brittin, a high school counselor, recalls a scholarship worth $1,000 going unclaimed because no one applied for it. While it may be a rare occurrence for no one to apply for a particular scholarship, the number of applicants isn’t always as high as many students mistakenly assume.
There are several factors that play a role in whether or not students apply for scholarships. One common problem is that many students assume that all scholarships have strict academic criteria. The reality is that sometimes the requirements are not as strict as students assume, but students refrain from applying if they don’t feel confident that their grades are good enough. Sometimes students aren’t even aware of certain scholarships.
To combat this, stay up-to-date on scholarship opportunities. Begin the search process early so you don’t miss any deadlines and consult with your guidance counselor to uncover scholarships that aren’t as widely known. The only “cost†involved in applying for scholarships is your time, so the tradeoff is worth a potential scholarship to help defray tuition, which according to Mitchell Schnurman has outpaced inflation and family income.
The article reinforces some important points to keep in mind when applying for scholarships. If you find a scholarship that you really want to apply for, don’t be deterred. If you meet the requirements, you should apply. The opinion of your friends, classmates, or even school counselor should not be a deciding factor in whether or not you apply for a scholarship. Don’t be intimidated just because a scholarship is a national one.
In the above-linked article, guidance counselor Cathy Noel indicated that she encounters students who don’t apply for state or national scholarships because they don’t think they will be awarded them. If you don’t apply for fear of not being awarded the scholarship, you’ve prematurely made the decision about whether or not you will receive the scholarship. Let the scholarship committee make that decision.
Noel also mentioned that the process involved in applying can be a deterrent for students. If a scholarship has many requirements to fulfill as part of the application process, students avoid applying. Sometimes the scholarship requires students and their families fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. This discourages some applicants. It’s important to mention that students shouldn’t be discouraged from applying for a scholarship simply because a completed FAFSA form is required. The financial aid offices at many colleges and universities requires new students to have a FAFSA form on file anyway, so eventually you might have to complete this form regardless of whether or not a particular scholarship requires it.
