Are the rising costs of higher education frightening? Recently, colleges and universities throughout the U.S. have boosted their tuition by 10-15%. This figure is lower than the 35% (inflation-adjusted) increase in tuition costs at public universities, from 2001-2006. However, it still translates into students spending hundreds of dollars more, to earn their degrees. For many of us, delaying or suspending our college studies seems more logical than applying for scholarships for college.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with joining the workforce before or between college semesters, but another option is to consider scholarships. In fact, there is over $3.5 billion available in public and private scholarships available, just waiting to be tapped. Here are some tips to help maximize your chances of landing a scholarship that will help to put a framed college diploma on your future office wall:
1. Gentlemen, start your search engines!
While literally thousands of scholarships are available, nobody can qualify for all of them. By using a quality scholarship search engine you can filter out scholarships that you do not qualify for, and at the same time, meet your particular scholarship needs.
2. Apply yourself!
Whether you are applying for common or unusual scholarships, these guidelines can help to boost the chance of your application being approved:
- Type up the application. Save your calligraphy skills for your college graduation invitations.
- Only apply for scholarships that you qualify for. Although it is a wise rule to "never say "never," the odds of receiving scholarships that you are ineligible for are stacked against you.
- Send your application through certified mail. This will provide proof that the office that you sent it to, indeed received your application.
- Make a duplicate of your application packet. Though the post office dutifully delivers mail during snow, rain, heat and nights—stuff happens.
3. Honors and Hockey
When listing activities and honors for your college financial aid application, only list the major ones. Include your service as senior class president, but exclude the Spelling Bee you won in 5th period English class. In general, scholarship reviewers are looking for well-rounded applicants who can contribute something new and exciting to whichever school they attend. On a more specific level, make sure that the activities and honors that you list on your application, match up well with the nature of the scholarship you are applying for.
4. Recommendations from recommenders
The letters of recommendation are key elements in the scholarship application process. It is wise to have one from an academic source, including a teacher or even a principle. However, it would be helpful to also have another letter of recommendation that stresses your leadership skills and dedication to your community.
Each letter of recommendation that you secure should be from someone who knows you and your work. For example, do not randomly pick a teacher out of the yearbook. Instead, select one who knows your academic work and perhaps your extracurricular activities as well. Most importantly, the letter of recommendation should cater to whatever type of scholarship you are applying for.
5. Writing killer essays
Scholarship essays give the reviewers of your application, a chance to get to know you. It is important that you demonstrate your ability express yourself clearly, logically, and concisely. When doing any writing, it is vital to remember your audience. On one hand, you do not want to seem childish or tentative. However, it is also unwise to talk down to the reader. You need to keep in mind what type of scholarship you are applying for. But in a nutshell, you want to explain where you have been academically, and where you want to go next.
6. Your first college deadline: the scholarship application.
Keep in mind that regardless of how high your high school GPA is, how many extracurricular activities you participated in, and how complete your application is—if you miss the scholarship application deadline, it probably will not be qualified for the scholarship.
The rising costs of higher learning may seem overbearing at first. But along with means such as student loans for college, you may be surprised at the number of scholarships that are available for college and university students. By taking the right steps in preparing your scholarship application, paying for higher learning can become academic!
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