The process of finding a scholarship

Tis the season – hunting for a scholarship

Junior+Alexandra+de+la+Mora+looking+for+scholarship+opportunities.+Photo+credit+to+Monserrat+Arenales

Junior Alexandra de la Mora looking for scholarship opportunities. Photo credit to Monserrat Arenales

Monserrat Arenales, Staff Reporter

As seniors start to prepare themselves for college, they also start to think about scholarships. Scholarships are super important and helpful for students that would like to go to college. The process of receiving one is not as simple as people think. There are a lot of steps and requirements that have to be met in order to qualify for a scholarship. Many students like to wait until the last minute to start applying for scholarships, but it is easier to receive a scholarship the earlier that you apply for it. 

Senior Graciela Requena started applying for a scholarship this year and stated “ the process of applying for a scholarship is not as easy as it looks. There is a lot of paperwork involved as well as many requirements that you have to meet”. Not only is there a lot of personal information that has to be filled out, but there is also an essay that has to be written and sent out with the application. Having to write an essay about a random topic that the college wants you to write about can be stressful and exhausting at times because students already have a lot of paperwork to fill out, and on top of that having to write an essay. Essays are good to be included in a scholarship because it gives scholarship committees a better sense of who the applicants really are from simply looking at a form and writing a story. 

There are many options to find a scholarship, there are a variety of students who think that they don’t have an opportunity for a scholarship because they haven’t received straight A’s in high school but that’s not necessarily the case, anyone can receive one. Meeting with your counselor and discussing your plan for college and how you are going to pay for it can lead you to ask about scholarships opportunities that are right for you. Scholarships are not only about grades but the key things to receive one is your skills, activities, or any hobbies that makes you unique. There are many steps including receiving scholarships but it will all be worth it in the end. There is also a better option to apply for a scholarship, if you are a person that likes to do everything online. Most scholarship providers allow students to apply online step by step. The process will depend on the person and it requires scholarship registration, student login, updating details, document downloads and of course the final submission. This option could be better if you don’t like filling out a lot of paperwork. Requena also explained, “I tried the online application and honestly it was easy because all I had to do was take pictures of my documents and upload them. I found it easier to type everything out since it’s faster rather than writing it all out with pencil.” Obviously this option is just something to consider for students who like to do everything online.

 

  The last step of the process would be reviewing that all of the information is correct on the documents and if everything looks good and confirmed it could finally be submitted before the scholarship deadline. Typically the process takes about one month after the deadline to receive results.