how can i get scholarships for college?

Question

i'm a pretty good student ...97 average....2020 SAT
it seems like for every scholarship you have to write an essay and i simply don't have time to write twenty essays.
i've checked out fastweb and applyed for the two or three that don't require essays but i doubt i will hear anything about them.
the college i wish to go to is very competitive and they dont give out any money expect to those who are in serious financial need (i dont think i'll get anything out of them)
i've checked out local scholarships at the local bank and at the hospital but those are only 500 dollars each which would cover about 1/40th of my college expenses for one year.
where can i get this money without taking out loans?

any advice would be appreciated...thanks!

oh and i'm not a minority :/ wish i was

Answer 1

Unfortunately, most scholarships are either a need based scholarship or requires an essay. There are a limited number of scholarships that would require a picture (wearing duct tape to the prom), a portfolio, or interview. You could write a single essay and just modify it for the particular scholarship application on what they ask for in the question. Unfortunately, these days scholarships are pretty competitive to get and thousands of students apply for some of them. I will include some other free sources to locate a scholarship.

First, complete the FAFSA form after January 1 and before your earliest school's financial aid deadline. This will qualify you for need based scholarships from the school. It needs to be completed every year until you graduate from college with your degree. For a little extra money, you can fill out the CSS report which can bring in more specific help from the college itself. Apply for this even if you think your parents make too much money.

Second, the public library has a book listing scholarships with some not even listed on the web.

Finally, I recommend going to your high school guidance office. They have a list of local scholarships and grant programs from the state. Some states do reward students with certain GPAs.

Good luck!

P.S. Some of the more competitive colleges or universities do not offer merrit scholarships based on grades.

Answer 2

Your guidance counselor will have a ton of information about scholarships. Many you will need to write essays for, that's just how the majority of scholarships work...but you might find some that make their determination other ways. If you participate in afterschool activities...there might be something there that you can look into.

You might also want to look into a more affordable school, one that does have more financial assistance other than loans for the students. Sure, it might not be your first choice but chances are you'll have the same opportunities and won't have to depend so much on loans that you'll have to pay back later on. Most schools offer scholarships right through their school, have work studies, etc.

Answer 3

Generally, to get the larger scholarships you will have to write an essay. The reason for the essays is that the organization giving out the money does not want it to be wasted, and if you can't put in the time and effort to write a quick essay they have no guarantee you will put the time and effort into your education. You have to look at it from the investor's view point, if student "A" writes a long, eloquent, and aticulate essay while student "B" just scribbles a few sentences on the topic, is it better to fund student "A" or student "B?"

Answer 4

First, find scholarships through books at your library, your guidance counselor, online sources such as www.fastweb.com and others. Think about scholarships as a numbers game. The more you apply for, the more you will get. Even if you don't get 4 scholarships out of five you apply for and the only one you get is for some smaller amount like 500$, that is still more money per hour of your time than almost any job possible. Take your time and complete as many as possible. Check your grammar, and apply for scholarships that you think might not have any chance getting. Proofread them very carefully, and try to take interesting angles in your essays rather than the same boring approach everyone else does. Take a chance to be creative sometimes and see what happens.
If you get that 500 dollar scholarship and it took 5 hours, that's 100$/ hour. Suddenly an essay doesn't seem like that much work for the money when compared to working half a month at McDonalds to make the same money. Getting school paid for should be a main focus right now. If you can't afford more than half of it before taking out loans, I would seriously reconsider your choice of schools.
Your SAT is a bit low, so I would suggest getting a book by Kaplan, studying for it for a few months, then re-taking the SAT. Your score will probably go up by hundreds of points and you will be more competitive for many scholarships.
Scholarships have a snowball effect. If you win one, you start to get confidence and win more and more.
Also check out the community foundations in your area. There are often very good scholarships through them.
Another source is to go to the school to which you're applying and ask for a copy of all their scholarships, then apply for any you think fit you even remotely. Sometimes no one applies for those scholarships because they don't know about them, so it's less competitive.
My final advice would be to think seriously about going into debt for school.
For 20,000/ year, you are probably going to a private school without a nationally known name. Is it really worth it? If you're going to a state school and paying that much just because you're an out of state student, seriously reconsider. Also, from my own life and those around me, don't take out 100,000$ in loans to get a degree in the humanities or something where you have to go on to graduate school to get any real job(history/English/psychology/political science, pre-law...) because you will give away the next 30 years of your life paying that off. It's much better to get your education paid for on this side rather than giving away your life for it. It just gives you more possibilities and choices.
Best of luck. Make a plan and attack it with gusto. Believe you can do it!