Did you know only 2% of women feel that they are beautiful?  Did you know that 3 out of 4 girls say they feel pressure to be a “super girl”?  Did you know that 1 in 5 high school girls say they don’t know three adults to whom they can turn if they have a problem or that 70% of school-age girls report that they don’t have enough self-esteem to raise their hand in class even if they think they know the answer?

By Girls, For Girls is a place where girls can find information and advice about topics of importance to them, chosen and written with girls in mind.

Pursuing higher education is a personal decision with many questions to answer along the way. Do you prefer a community college, a large public university, or a small private university? What can you afford? Do the schools you like have the classes or major you are interested in and the extracurricular activities you like? Research schools on line and visit campuses to see if you feel like you fit in with a given school. Once you have a list of possible schools, you can begin figuring out how to pay for your education.

College can be expensive and paying for it is a big responsibility. Many students take out private student loans from a bank or lending company. You may have a goal of taking out as little in loans as possible by accepting grants and other loans provided by the government or the schools such as the Perkins Loan. One way to avoid loans altogether is to apply for scholarships. A scholarship is a grant of financial aid awarded to a student for the purpose of attending a college. The difference between a grant and a loan is that a grant is a gifted amount that does not have to be paid back, and a loan is a borrowed amount that does have to be paid back. When starting your scholarship search you may have several questions such as “Where do I begin?”, “What scholarships are right for me?”, and “What
do I have to do to obtain these scholarships once I find them?” Answering these questions ahead of time will make your scholarship search a lot easier.

Where do I begin?

Starting a scholarship search can seem like a daunting task. There are literally scholarships out there for anything you can think of. Scholarships for graduating seniors are the most common kind of scholarship available so it’s a great place to begin. Some competitions will allow you to apply for the scholarship before you enter your senior year so it’s never too early to start. Your junior year of high school is the most important. It is the last full year of education a college looks at to determine your admission and whether or not you qualify for academic merit scholarships. The ACT and/or SAT exams are also an important factor in the college admission process so study for these tests and don’t take them lightly. Also, the harder the classes you take and the better your grades are in those classes’ means a better chance of starting off with free money. So get your hard classes out of the way early, but don’t overload and end up with a schedule that you can’t
handle. If you want to search what merit scholarships a particular school has you can visit www.meritaid.com.

Your school guidance counselor is a great resource for scholarship information. Guidance counselors are in contact with local colleges and universities and know what kinds of scholarships are available. High schools usually have a list of some private or foundational community scholarships available for students and your guidance counselor will have information about how to apply. For example, Glenwood High School in Chatham, IL, offers the Charlie Cottle Scholarship in the amount of $1,000.

One of the most important things you can do to ensure financial aid is to complete the FAFSA, the Free Application for Financial Student Aid. This application is to be
completed starting around January of your senior year and can be found at www.fafsa.ed.gov/. This is a government program that determines how much a
family can contribute to the payment of postsecondary education.

Remember college is four years long so don’t stop searching after your freshman year. The FAFSA must be completed every year, and some scholarships are awarded every year while others are a one-time award. A scholarship search may seem like an endless task, but starting early and asking the right questions will get you moving in the right direction.

What scholarships are right for me?

There are so many scholarships out there that if you tried to apply for every single one you could be out of college by the time you were awarded any money. It’s okay to apply for as many scholarships as possible, but the key is to find the scholarships that work for you. For example, if you are Caucasian, don’t apply for the Augustana College Circle of Courage Minority Scholarships because it’s for students of ethnic descent. And don’t apply for the TEACH grant program if you plan on majoring in business because it’s awarded to students pursuing an education degree.

Having a list of qualities and skills that make you stand out is a great starting place and makes your search easier. Make a list of all the extracurricular activities you are involved in such as sports, clubs, committees, and volunteer work. This will also come in handy later when creating a resume. The best scholarships to start applying for are the ones you can get for just being you. Start at home: many employers and unions have scholarship for children of their employees or members such as The Scholarships for Military Children program. Check out civic organizations in your community such as Rotary, Lions Club, and American Legion. You can also get scholarships for attending a church, having a parent or sibling who is an alumnus of that same school, and even being a Girl Scout and earning your Gold Award!

Another great way to narrow your search is to sign up with a scholarship database such as www.fastweb.com. These kinds of sites allow you to create a personal profile to find scholarships that you could possibly qualify for. These sites use your profile to gather information so be as detailed as possible and make sure to update your profile frequently. By making a list of skills and qualities that you possess your scholarship search is narrowed to a more practical and manageable list.

What do I have to do to obtain these scholarships once I find them?

So you’ve matched yourself with some scholarships, what do you do now? Every scholarship is different so make sure to do your research. Each one will have a list of requirements that the candidate must satisfy in order to qualify.

First, look at the award amount; is it worth it to you to apply for this scholarship? If you don’t have much time maybe you apply for a larger scholarship rather than several scholarships with lower award amounts.

Next, make sure to pay close attention to the deadline because some will come earlier than others. There is nothing worse than putting in all the work just to miss the cutoff date.

Then, look at the requirements themselves. Some may require the candidate to major in a specific field, travel abroad, complete a number of service hours, or earn a specific award. For example, the Corinne Jeannine Schillings Foundation Academic Scholarship requires that the candidate plan to or currently be pursuing a college major or minor in a foreign language and be a Girl Scout Silver or Gold Award recipient.

Many scholarships require that you submit an essay. Some essays must be written on a specific topic or theme, while others may leave the topic up to you. Make sure you go into as much detail as possible. Don’t just tell them what you did; explain what you did, why you did it, how it was accomplished, and what you got out of it. These essays usually help the committee select a candidate for the scholarship because your writing gives them a sense of what you are like in lieu of a face to face meeting. Your writing may also help you stand out when other candidates have a similar GPA and volunteer service record.

When you are pursuing scholarships, be aware of scholarship scams. These days it’s hard to search the internet with out coming across a scam of some form or another. Key phrases to look for are “Scholarship Guarantee” or “Inside Information.” Any site that uses these phrases is just after your information and your money. Remember you should never have to pay to find scholarship information because all scholarship information is free.

Scholarship requirements vary from one scholarship to the other. By doing research ahead of time, looking out for scams, and putting in the leg work, you are more likely to locate sources of funding to help you pay for college.
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