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Scholarships for college can help make higher education more affordable, and are offered for various reasons. They serve as gift aid and may come in the form of scholarships or grant aid.
Academic, athletic and identity-based scholarships focus on specific criteria like grades, special abilities or interests, family background or the like; chance-based scholarships take the form of sweepstakes giveaways.
Departmental Scholarships
Departmental scholarships are granted by individual departments and often require that a specific major be declared before being eligible to receive one. Departmental scholarships may be one-year awards or renewable contingent on meeting certain criteria such as maintaining an acceptable GPA or remaining in good academic standing. Information on available departmental scholarship opportunities can be found through academic programs or ScholarshipUniverse (the University’s scholarship matching website).
Private departmental scholarships can also provide invaluable financial aid. While their criteria differ from merit-based scholarship programs, many provide invaluable professional and personal development opportunities – for instance the Edison Scholars Program is a two-year departmental scholarship funded by Southern California Edison and the Executive Leadership Council, offering students interested in innovation and entrepreneurship the chance to participate. It even features an internship placement opportunity with Hewlett-Packard Enterprise!
Beyond private departmental scholarships, there are also non-profit and corporate organizations offering scholarship programs that may help students. Such examples include Coca-Cola Foundation Scholarships for high-achieving high school seniors as well as community service or artistic achievement scholarships from organizations like Burger King. Such opportunities are particularly helpful to students who don’t qualify for much need-based aid but have strong records in extracurricular activities and community involvement.
Government- and state-sponsored scholarships are another effective means of lowering college costs, with grants available to local, county or state scholarships and federal grants and loans for qualifying applicants. Some scholarships may apply to all students attending a particular institution while in others they are exclusive for top applicants only.
Students looking for government and state-sponsored scholarships should review their school’s scholarship application. For instance, at State University of New York the application requests information such as achievements and honors awarded along with financial need as well as scholarships available from arts/humanities/STEM fields – most being merit based.
Merit-Based Scholarships
Merit scholarship awards are estimated at over $22 billion and competition for them can be fierce. Schools, states and private organizations like civic groups, family trusts and corporate sponsors typically award merit scholarships on the basis of academic achievements or demonstrated talent such as athletics, arts or music; unlike need-based scholarship programs which award aid based solely on need. Merit aid varies significantly across states universities from as little as $1,000 up to full ride aid at some prestigious colleges.
Merit-based scholarships often have stringent eligibility criteria that differ by organization and school, such as having above average grades, high SAT/ACT scores, outstanding extracurricular activities or community service activities and writing a personal essay outlining courage in pursuit of goals, strength to overcome obstacles and wisdom shared with others. Sometimes these essays provide students with their only chance to make a memorable impression and set themselves apart from other applicants.
Merit scholarships are often competitively awarded and their application process can take time, so it’s advisable to start searching and applying early in high school, particularly since most applications require one or more recommendation letters from teachers and mentors who know your abilities, character traits and achievements well. It is wise to ask these individuals for recommendations that reflect how best to represent you for these scholarships.
Some merit scholarships target specific groups; for instance, there are numerous awards dedicated to women and graduate students. Other scholarships may depend on where a student or parent works or their military heritage. Still others provide financial assistance to dependents of soldiers killed or severely wounded while on duty.
An effective way to increase your odds of winning a merit-based scholarship is to apply broadly across both need- and non-need based scholarships, writing an outstanding essay and carefully reviewing application requirements so that when due dates arrive you are prepared with all required materials.
Need-Based Scholarships
Need-based scholarships provide assistance for students experiencing financial issues by considering family income and assets when determining the amount of financial aid given out. In contrast with merit based scholarships that emphasize academic achievements like GPA or test scores. Students may find need based scholarships from federal, state, local and school sponsored programs as well as private companies and nonprofits; it is advisable that they search both options to increase their chances of receiving awards.
Many scholarship applications include an essay component where students are asked to share their personal experiences and how they overcame hardships to become successful. These essays allow students to demonstrate their creativity and individuality; for instance, someone pursuing a healthcare-related degree might write about how they overcame illness and addiction of a parent to achieve graduation with a nursing degree.
Many need based scholarships have specific eligibility requirements in addition to personal essays in order to be considered eligible for awards. These requirements could be something as basic as maintaining a certain GPA or membership in a minority group or possessing community service experience – anything to help the scholarship committee identify students who would make suitable recipients.
One effective strategy to increase your odds of need-based financial aid is submitting early applications. Doing this ensures your application meets deadlines on time while helping you compete against other applicants for scholarships and grants.
Students should make sure to apply early, and also search online and in their community for need-based scholarships that may apply to them. Colleges use the formula known as COA- EFC to determine financial need.
Students should understand that their cost-of-attendance (COA) will change over time as tuition fees increase or decrease, so it is wise for them to actively search for scholarships in order to ensure they receive as much money as possible.
Chance-Based Scholarships
Even if you don’t fall within the typical parameters for scholarship winners, there may still be ways of receiving financial assistance. Scholarships that don’t rely on merit alone may be available from colleges, community organizations and philanthropic groups who want to see you excel – these scholarships tend to be competitive but could save significant sums of money!
Many scholarships require applicants to fulfill certain requirements to be eligible for them, such as writing essays answering a prompt. If writing is not your strong suit, consider taking time to enhance your writing abilities before applying.
Other scholarship requirements may include letters of recommendation and transcripts from high school. Make sure you have recent copies available when applying for scholarships; college acceptance letters and test scores such as the SAT/ACT may also be needed, depending on which scholarship it is. Also be sure to request these recommendations well ahead of any submission deadline to avoid leaving recommenders feeling pressured or overwhelmed.
Scholarships may come from the federal government, your college or career school, private organizations and nonprofits or even you alone! Most are merit based, though there may also be chance-based and need-based options available to you.
There are various scholarship programs available for students, with the Pell Grant being one of the most well-known options. Distributed by the federal government, this student aid source offers ample assistance and should be explored fully so you can determine what would work best in your situation. It is beneficial to gain as much information about student aid available as possible so you can select those most suited to you and your unique circumstances.
As soon as you decide to attend college, begin searching and applying for scholarships as soon as possible. Starting early is important because many merit and need-based scholarships have fierce competition; therefore it’s advisable to submit applications for as many scholarships as possible regardless of whether you believe you stand a chance of being selected for them.
