Everything You Need to Know When Hunting for Scholarships
We recently looked at the basics of merit-based scholarships and how institutions determine what you'll be able to pay. Now it's time to make a battle plan for winning scholarships.
Where to start? We asked Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the financial aid education site Edvisors and co-author of "Filing the FAFSA." Below are his 10 tips for students seeking merit-based scholarships to pay for college.
1. Create an accomplishments resume. Kantrowitz advises students to think of applying for scholarships as akin to applying for a job. That means making a resume that summarizes awards, interests, activities and accomplishments. "It can help the student write a better application and teachers write better letters of recommendation," he says.
2. Don't miss deadlines. "Half the scholarships have deadlines in the fall and half have deadlines in the spring, so start searching for scholarships ASAP," Kantrowitz says. And for those who aren't high school seniors? Kantrowitz says scholarship opportunities are available to students as early as elementary and secondary school. Other awards require applicants to already be enrolled in college. Either way, vigilance pays.
